Author Topic: Mustachian - angies list?- referral list?  (Read 5092 times)

thurston howell iv

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Mustachian - angies list?- referral list?
« on: December 22, 2014, 11:06:51 AM »
I've recently purchased a home that unfortunately required some repairs (as in everything!) Nearly 40 years of neglect and custom fixes...

Anyway, while I've always liked DIY stuff and have been knee deep in this money pit, I'm wondering if there are any mustachian networks of other DIY folks around. I'm wondering if maybe I've missed a spot on this site where like-minded mustachians might congregate in order contribute some muscle to each others projects like MMM does...

I've tried to hire people but they are almost always overpriced or unreliable. Any thoughts?

iamsoners

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Re: Mustachian - angies list?- referral list?
« Reply #1 on: December 22, 2014, 09:57:19 PM »
All I can add is that we have Angie's list and I haven't been overly impressed by it.  Even the straight A rated vendors have sometimes done bad work--its more of a measure of politeness than anything; prices on work haven't been great; some vendors work very hard to improve their scores... Wish I could find a better source for advice on local projects

thurston howell iv

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Re: Mustachian - angies list?- referral list?
« Reply #2 on: December 23, 2014, 07:24:14 AM »
I tried Angie's list as well. It was crap.

Just seemed like there would be some sort of network of people or at least referrals out there for MMM- minded people...

kib

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Re: Mustachian - angies list?- referral list?
« Reply #3 on: December 23, 2014, 07:55:10 AM »
Sounds like a good idea.  We have a neighborhood co-op for waterwise projects, wish I knew of one for home repairs.   I'm not surprised Angie's list isn't reliable.  Seems like everyone gets a mandatory gold star five star rating and a certificate of merit just for showing up these days.   

thurston howell iv

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Re: Mustachian - angies list?- referral list?
« Reply #4 on: December 23, 2014, 08:31:40 AM »
I was thinking of posting this in the Mustachian Meet-ups section...

While I'm not terrible social, I am handy and am always happy to lend a hand...

Even with my friends people would always want me to help them with their cars... My only rule is that you need to also be hands on and get dirty with me so I can teach the individual or so that individual could get some sort of understanding and experience... If you want to stand and watch me work then you need to pay me.

Where I work people found out I work on cars on the side and now I get a regular stream of people asking advice. I'm not a mechanic. I just tinker.

Anyway, it's sort of the same with my house renovation. I'm doing the stuff MMM is doing - probably on a smaller level but I don't have any network of people to help me and it's tough doing it by yourself.   

That's what got me wondering about getting groups of like-minded people (skilled or unskilled) together to cooperate on group projects sort of like Amish barn raising...

HipGnosis

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Re: Mustachian - angies list?- referral list?
« Reply #5 on: December 23, 2014, 10:12:13 AM »
There are multiple free alternatives to Angies list
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/home_and_garden/2013/05/19/1-competitors-challenge-top-rater-angies-list.html

Craigs List if you're near a city.
I've read that Yelp can be usefull too.

thurston howell iv

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Re: Mustachian - angies list?- referral list?
« Reply #6 on: December 23, 2014, 12:11:33 PM »
Good info I'll check it out.

Craigslist did not yield good results. Either overpriced contractors who wanted only big $$ jobs or unlicensed hackers... Of the many people I called, about 4 showed up. All claimed to be licensed and insured. Not one was. They all claimed to be able to provide the info when asked and when I asked they did not respond. A guy with a neck tattoo showed up as well! 

Had a licensed electrician show up. Quoted me one price, did a half-assed job and then charged more for it. 

Was just hoping to find honest people to do honest work at a fair price.

couponvan

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Re: Mustachian - angies list?- referral list?
« Reply #7 on: December 23, 2014, 03:28:30 PM »
We are in the same boat as you - 1976 lake house at its finest "steal" that needs a lot of work.  (Purchased pre MMM, and now hoping it will be our retirement home base.)

We've done most of the fixes we know how to do so far, and it is mostly liveable in a this is better than camping kind of way.  Now we are left with a vaulted roof that sags on the top, and some other large projects that will be done in descending priority. We can't even seem to get professionals in the remote area to give a written estimate. The main beam "may" need to be replaced. I get so jealous when I see MMM just popping on additions and doing all that cool stuff.

We want to learn how to fix things ourselves in the future, but are scared to mess up structural things like a roof!

I have other skills in the landscaping, wallpaper removal, paint, wood flooring installation, etc.

It would be nice to find a "you fix this I will help with that" group.  I think we are all scattered around the globe though.  I'm debating volunteering at habitat for humanity so I can learn some new skills under the supervision of another person that knows what they are doing. :-)

Kevan

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Re: Mustachian - angies list?- referral list?
« Reply #8 on: December 23, 2014, 09:51:40 PM »
I'm a plumber who stays busy five or six days a week.  I almost never advertise except for having a web site.  All of my business comes from referrals.  I'm on Yelp and have gotten one job from it.  I've posted on Craigslist a few times, but never got a job (although one person called).  I might have gotten five jobs from people seeing my web site.

From customers I have learned that Angie's List and other labor pools are a crap shoot at best.  They remind me of a dating website: if he's so cool, why is he single?  There are plumbing problems everywhere; why do these plumbers need to be on these dating websites?

I'd advise that people seek contractors through word-of-mouth.  Ask everyone you know.

Indexer

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Re: Mustachian - angies list?- referral list?
« Reply #9 on: December 25, 2014, 08:31:53 PM »
I tried Angie's list as well. It was crap.

Just seemed like there would be some sort of network of people or at least referrals out there for MMM- minded people...

I dated a girl once who had worked for Angie's list, and it was her job to sign up new companies.  According to her it started off as a good idea, but like any for profit company they kept pushing to make more money even after the company was pretty well established and mature.  To keep increasing profits they force companies that sign up to basically offer services for very little or even for free to get on the list.  Angie's list will get you a customer by offering that customer a $40 coupon for XYZ service.... Angie's list gets the $40.  You get nothing.  The idea it that you the business will will get additional services from the same prospect to make up the difference.

So Angie's list actually encourages companies to tell you that you need additional services you don't need. 

Who do you know who would be an expert in this area?   I would say call your insurance agent for your homeowners(this works best if you have an agent as opposed to a 1800 number).  They probably have to deal with home repairs far more often than anyone else you know.  Tell them nothing is wrong, but you are doing some changes you know you want done right and you are curious if you can get a referral to approved vendors they normally use in the area.  They are normally going to use people who do things at the lowest price, but they aren't going to use someone who has screwed up in the past.  Best of both worlds.

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Mustachian - angies list?- referral list?
« Reply #10 on: December 26, 2014, 04:55:41 PM »
A number of people have expressed desire in doing carpentourism or local projects in scattered threads. If you share the location, you might very well have some Mustachians interested nearby.

thurston howell iv

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Re: Mustachian - angies list?- referral list?
« Reply #11 on: December 27, 2014, 07:57:29 AM »
I'm not too keen of the big companies because they all want to sell you more than you need. I usually do most all my own work but I know my limitations... I can do drywall for example but it's not pretty and it takes me twice the time to do the work. Additionally, trying to do some projects alone makes it even harder. It's helpful to have an extra set of hands sometimes.

I have no problem with barter. I once traded a carpenter time for time. We provided the respective materials for the jobs he built me a sturdy work bench and I fixed his truck.

Another guy helped me install a kitchen and do some tile counter tops and I installed a new sound system in his truck.

There's gotta be many more people into this than just me.

Goblin chief: Should I start a new thread?

I'm in Lexington, ky.

« Last Edit: December 27, 2014, 08:03:38 AM by thurston howell iv »

iamsoners

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Re: Mustachian - angies list?- referral list?
« Reply #12 on: January 06, 2015, 01:03:34 PM »
We had a fantastic real estate agent who has worked in our specific suburb of older (80+ yrs) homes for 25 years--he knows all the right people. I tried using Angie's List and Yelp to find my own people but now I know to just call him. If you can find someone who can refer like that, it's awesome.

An added suggestion--Yelp exists to be the free (and less gimicky) version of Angie's List. My problem is that I've found it to be very sparse in my area--if we Mustachians committed to putting more reviews on Yelp, it would grow as a viable resource.  Although AL and Yelp have downfalls, people at least return my phone calls...

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!