Is There An Uber Of Home Repair

Found CITY – For the home boy or habitation girl facing a repair emergency, there's an app for that.

Like there's an app for everything these days.

This app is called "Homee," and information technology was developed by a Tampa visitor of the same name, said Doug Schaedler, a co-founder and CEO of Homee Inc.

Schaedler described his app as the Uber for home repair, a reference to the wildly popular ride-sharing app. He hopes Homee will become every bit the global phenomenon.

It may exist on the way.

Since the app became available a yr ago, information technology's been downloaded past more than 35,000 consumers on their smartphones and tablets, Schaedler said. That includes 25,000 users in Florida, where it was starting time rolled out.

"Nosotros'll have more than than 100 times that many in five years," he said.

Homee users have access to more than ii,000 companies across major urban areas in the U.Due south., Schaedler said. A repairman is mostly available 24/7.

The app has recently debuted in major cities outside Florida, including Phoenix, Las Vegas and Dallas, he said.

In its first year, Homee has generated more $1 million for the company, Schaedler said. Homee gets a percent of the repair pecker ranging from 5 percent to twenty percentage depending upon factors including the size of repair, time of service and altitude between the technician and customer.

Homee covers all of Southward Florida from W Palm Beach to the Keys plus the major cities such equally Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and Gainesville, he said. It has signed upward more than than 850 Florida companies that will respond calls for service.

More than l of the companies covering the Tampa and Orlando areas accept indicated they will travel to Polk County, he added.

One of them is Jimmy Skeens, who operates a handyman service under his name based in Plant City. He was one of the first companies on Homee last autumn.

"They've been keeping me busy every day," Skeens said.

Since his Homee listing, Skeens has gotten jobs including installing and repairing dry out wall, laying rug and flooring tile and uncomplicated plumbing and electric repairs, he said. His business has increment 15 percent to xx per centum since using it.

"In the hereafter, it could be more," Skeens said.

Skeens likes the feature in which his customers can charge per unit him up to 5 stars for his service, he said. He's earned five stars so far.

He as well likes that Homee performs background checks on all companies earlier it will list them, Skeens said. That means he'due south not competing confronting fly-by-dark operators.

Doing background checks on potential Homee companies took a lot more time than developing the app'southward software, Schaedler said.

Homee confirms that each contractor is licensed in its home state and carries the required insurance, he said. Homee employees, currently numbering 27 people based in its Tampa office, also bank check local courtroom records on each company.

Homee itself is a licensed, bonded and insured general contractor, Schaedler said, and it offers a $1,000 guarantee on all repairs.

Schaedler founded Homee because of his own feel finding emergency home repair, he said.

He and co-founder Dave Theus, the company's chief technology officer based in Cincinnati, were attending a professional seminar in San Francisco when their wives chosen them about repair emergencies at habitation.

Schaedler's wife reported the air conditioning had broken downward, and ane repairman wanted $800 only to make the service call, he said. The plumbing trouble at the Pheus domicile stemmed from a repair he had done earlier – incorrectly.

"He tried to repair some plumbing in his 2d-floor bathroom and substantially flooded his home," Schaedler said. "We had emergency needs, and I said, 'Wouldn't information technology be great if we could Uber from here and become somebody to service our homes inside 30 minutes.'"

Homee was born. Given the proliferation of similar apps in other fields, Schaedler said, he was surprised no one else had developed a domicile repair app.

The app operates along the same lines as Uber and similar programs, he said.

Once consumers sign upward and demand a repair, they can open up the app and select ane of the four categories – electrical, air workout, plumbing and handyman, Schaedler said. After describing the trouble, a asking for service goes out to all local contractors in that expanse.

"The average time between when a consumer places the first order and somebody accepts is 48 seconds," he said.

The client has the right to turn down any company, which throws the request open over again.

Homee charges a acceleration fee ranging from $12 to $30, depending upon the job circumstances, just the fee will be applied to the repair bill if the consumer and service provider agree on terms, Schaedler said.

Homee volition mediate any disputes the consumer has afterward the work is done, he added.

"That actually happens significantly less than we idea information technology would," said Schaedler, who indicated that's needed in less than ane out of 100 repairs.

Skeens testified to the fact that someone is commonly bachelor 24/7. He said he keeps his smart telephone on even when he goes to bed and will have an overnight chore.

"I love information technology because as shortly as a job comes upwardly, it will ping you on the phone," Skeens said. "I have information technology on constantly so, if something comes upwardly, I can have information technology."

One satisfied customer, Jacqueline Freeman of Valrico, likewise testified on Homee's usefulness.

"Oh my God, it was amazing. It was then simple," she told The Ledger.

Freeman started using Homee only in June later seeing a report about the company on a local Boob tube news show, Freeman said. She used it to get a leaky bath faucet stock-still.

"Within 5 minutes, somebody called us, and they came in 25 minutes," she said.

The couple were satisfied with the service and cost of that first job and have since used it for another plumbing job in their home, Freeman said.

They plan to employ it again, she added.

"It's and then simple, why wouldn't nosotros," Freeman said.

Kevin Bouffard tin can exist reached at kevin.bouffard@theledger.com or at 863-401-6980.

Source: https://www.theledger.com/story/news/local/2017/08/05/uber-for-home-repair-app-called-homee-connecting-homeowners-with-repairmen-available-in-polk/20001317007/

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