Home improvement leads: buy them or find them?

How paid home improvement leads work

There are three main ways to buy leads:

• Marketplaces. Services such as Angi (HomeAdvisor is part of the same company) and Thumbtack collect a homeowner's request through a form and pass it to contractors. Payment models differ by service and change over time, but most charge per lead or per contact, and a request is often sent to several pros.
• Exclusive and pay-per-call vendors. These promise that a lead or call goes to one contractor, usually at a higher price per lead.
• Lead lists. Data vendors sell contact lists, such as recent home buyers. A list is not a request; you are starting cold outreach.

Prices vary by trade, area and vendor, and they change, so compare each service's current terms rather than a published average. Watch for how disputes and refunds for bad leads are handled.

Finding neighbors who are already asking

Every day, homeowners ask neighbors for contractors in Facebook groups, on Nextdoor and in city subreddits. The wording is trade-specific. These fictional examples show it:

• "Can anyone recommend a painter for two bedrooms?" See painting leads.
• "Need someone handy for a list of small repairs." See handyman leads.
• "Breaker keeps tripping, looking for a licensed electrician." See electrician leads.
• "Tree came down on our fence in the storm, who can remove it?" See tree service leads.

These requests carry no per-lead charge, and the thread shows the job, the neighborhood and who else has replied. The trade-off: they depend on active local groups, other contractors see them too, and someone has to watch for them. Answer in the thread, disclose that it is your business and follow each group's rules. The guide on recommendation requests explains which posts are worth a reply.

When paying for leads still makes sense

Finding requests is not a replacement for every paid channel. Paying can be the better choice when:

• You are entering an area where you belong to no local groups.
• You have crews to keep busy and need more volume than your groups produce.
• Your work is something people rarely discuss in public, such as foundation repair or mold remediation.
• The job value is high enough that a per-lead cost is small by comparison.

It makes less sense when leads are shared widely and your response time is slow, or when job values are small, as with many handyman jobs. In either case, keep your own record of cost and outcome per source.

Paid leads vs. community requests

The table compares models, not results. How many leads turn into jobs depends on your trade, your response time, your prices and your area, and no vendor or tool can promise a number. The fair test is your own record: for one or two months, note where each job came from and what that source cost you.

Response time matters in both models. A shared marketplace lead is often contacted by several contractors, and a neighborhood request collects replies within hours. Whichever source you use, the first specific, honest answer usually has an advantage over a later generic one.

Watching for requests without scrolling all day

BuyerSpotter is a Chrome extension that monitors Facebook groups, Reddit, LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and Nextdoor for posts where someone asks to buy, hire or get a recommendation, and alerts you so you can reply yourself. It watches up to 25 Facebook groups you belong to, Nextdoor within 1 to 80 km of your neighborhood, and Reddit, X (Twitter) and LinkedIn searches, using up to 10 phrases. It never posts or messages. The local business guide shows a full setup.

Mark each request Saved, Contacted or Won. The Results screen totals what you recorded, which you can set beside what you spend on paid leads. BuyerSpotter Premium is $39 per month or $390 per year, with a 5-day trial that needs no card.