Renovations are an exciting time for homeowners, but they can be extremely time consuming and expensive. The process of hiring trustworthy contractors, beating deadlines and meeting expectations can take a toll, but Remodelmate is letting users manage projects with just a few clicks from their smartphone.
According to a Zillow report on consumer housing trends, the average homeowner made at least one home improvement in the past year and 65 percent plan to make at least one improvement within the next year.
After helping a friend with a kitchen renovation, Remodelmate co-founder, Chad Hall, realized there was a hole in the market for easily accessing and hiring contractors.
“Everything else in the world has become so simple,” Hall said. “Push a button, you get a ride with Uber. Push a button and you get lunch delivered — but this home improvement stuff is relatively archaic.”
Hall said at the time, the only apps that helped with finding contractors were Angie’s List and Yelp and those apps were “glorified versions of the yellow pages.”
Hall’s background in construction and experience at another tech startup prepared him for Remodelmate’s road ahead.
The Washington, D.C. – based company lets users build projects, receive material and labor estimates plus monitor the progress of the project through the app. For users who do not want the hassle of constantly checking the app, Remodelmate offers a Concierge who completely manages the project for a 10 percent fee of the total labor.
Remodelmate screens contractors through applications on its website, background checks and ensuring contractors have licenses. The company currently has about a dozen contractors listed on its platform.
“We’re not focused on being the biggest on the contractor side,” Hall said. “We just want to be the best.”
Remodelmate plans to expand to Denver next year. Hall said Denver’s market is nearly identical to Washington, D.C.’s since it is a tech hub with a booming real estate market being moved by relatively young or first-time homeowners.
Chad Hall will be participating in the AfroTech Cup Pitch Competition. Check out the live stream starting at 2 o’clock to see him and other founders pitch their ideas.
