The home improvement industry is a valuable facet of consumer spending, and so it requires a substantial amount of time and money. A home is the most valuable asset for most families in the United States, and management of the payments associated with home owning is an important part of family planning. Buying and selling a home is an extremely regulated and intensive process that requires several intermediary services at a significant cost. Home remodeling projects should also be treated with the same diligence. Oftentimes contracts between homeowners and contractors are done in an expedited and careless manner. When contracts are quickly agreed upon without understanding the full terms and conditions, misunderstandings end up in delayed projects or costs increasing. 80% of home remodeling projects go over budget by at least $500, and half of projects end up taking longer than the estimated timeline. Our company is trying to change the home remodeling process with a standard for communications and expectations for both parties involved in a project.

The first step in any home improvement project is assessing the changes you would like to make and the services they will require. Then budgeting, vetting the contractors, and securing the necessary permits. By the time you have completed these steps, you may find yourself relieved that your contractor is able to start working after you agree to the materials to order and a small deposit is made. The most common types of problems occur from change orders that happen during a project, or when homeowners feel pressured to pay for poorly performed work. There is also a significant amount of fraud during rebuilding after a natural disaster when there is an abundance of insurance funds being used. Dishonest contractors will run away after receiving a large deposit given to them from insurance companies. If contractors offer to communicate directly with your insurance provider, and they get you to sign an Assignment of Benefits (transferring your insurance right to the contractor) they can receive the payment and do none of the work. Other fraudulent contractors use low quality materials and put terms in their contracts to keep themselves from being liable for damages. Contractors may complete parts of a project, spending time and materials, without the permission or supervision of the homeowner. When this dissatisfaction is communicated, contractors may tell you it is too late to make another change. Contractors are often able to get away with these schemes because of threats to file a property lien against your home. This means they will file a document asking for their work to be paid for in the sale of the home they worked on. Depending on the size of the job and the value of the home this has led to bank foreclosures and sales of homes. Contractors use this to scare homeowners when in fact they are the party committing fraud. In addition, a property lien can decrease the value of your home when you are ready to sell it. All these problems are especially bad for budgets, because there will almost always be a double cost when you end up having to hire another contractor to properly do the job.

The platform we developed has been designed to target these problems, and helps homeowners navigate these projects without issues. Releasing funds in phases throughout a project helps prevent contractors from securing funds when they have not completed the necessary work that was agreed upon beforehand. We recommend submitting photos of the work prior to the start of a project, and contractors submitting receipts for all of the materials they have ordered. The more information entered before generating your custom contract the more protected both parties will be in case of a dispute. Our software gives you complete customization over the details of your project, so you and the contractor have the freedom to design the payments for a project in the most efficient way possible. We guarantee the satisfaction of customers that use our platform for homeowners and contractors, because we know the right way to transact is with transparency and communication.