(Contractors please scroll down to find your FAQS and info)
How do I sign up?
The easiest way is to click on the link “sign up as a property owner” at the top of the home page.
Is it free?
YES, signing up is free! However, to post a job, it will cost you a minimal one time fee of $9.95.
Is the payment process secure?
Yes, the payment process is electronically secure!
How do I BEST describe my project in the Project Description box?
To best describe your project, you will NEED to be as specific as possible. Take any and all measurements as precisely as possible (we recommend re-measuring AT LEAST once). Make sure you specify whether you are including materials in the price and EXACTLY what type of materials you want to be used (type of materials affects price. The rule of thumb is that the more expensive the materials, the more expensive they are to install, so be aware when choosing materials). TAKE PICTURES! You are provided with space to upload ten photos of your project, we suggest you take as many as possible! Please make sure they are as detailed as possible and show any special obstacles etc. REMEMBER, it is your responsibility to accurately describe your project in order to make the winning bid price valid. If the contractor shows up and finds that there are undisclosed obstacles, he or she is legally allowed to break the contract to of the agreed upon price. This wastes your time and the contractor’s time, which is exactly what we are here to STOP! So please be aware of that.
What if my auction listing does not fit into any of the given categories?
Please contact our customer service representatives at info@theserviceauction.com and let them know and they will add the category for you! Remember, we hired them to help YOU! Feel free to contact them with any concerns or unanswered questions!
What is the project Due Date?
The project Due date is the date that you want the contractor to complete your project by. This is optional and is in place so that you can choose to give the contractor an idea of when they need to complete the job by and thus how high of a priority the particular job is.
What is “My Profile?”
My profile allows you to see the status of all the auctions you have posted so that you may access them quickly in order to check their progress.
What is the feedback rating?
The feedback rating allows homeowners and contractors to rate each other after working together. This allows future homeowners and contractors to get a feel for the people they are either potentially working with or for. This is in place to protect our users on both sides from fraudulent or less than desirable members of our site.
How do I come up with a maximum price for my project?
To come up with the maximum price you are willing to pay for your particular project, you will want to figure out first what type of materials you want to be used for your project. (ie., if you want your new countertops to be granite, then what type of granite?) To do this, you can find all the information you will need and then some by running a quick search on an internet search engine using certain key words (ie., “granite counter tops,” “buy granite countertops,” “granite counter top pricing,” etc.) Once you have decided on the specific type of material you would like to be used and its price for the amount of it that you will need for the job at hand, you can usually double to price of materials to get a general idea of what the total max price for the job SHOULD be. If you think this price is too little, and that you will not get any bids, you can up it. If you think this price is too high, and you cannot afford it, you can always lower it and see what happens.
How do I figure out how much materials I need?
Take measurements of the area where the materials are going and or figure out the dimensions of the area you are having constructed (ie., a 10 ft by 10 ft square patio will need 100 square ft of material to complete the project) If you are still not sure, you can always run an internet search (ie., how many shingles will I need for a 5000 square foot house?)
What if I didn’t get any bids?
Raise the starting price, which is the maximum amount you are willing to pay for the completion of the project. You can do this perhaps by choosing less expensive materials for your project, which will allow you to spend more on labor and entice contractors to bid. Don’t worry about setting your price too high, the contractors will bid it down to a realistic price! It is better to set your max price a little high so that you get bidders and do not have to re-list the auction a second time.
How do I sign up?
The easiest way to sign up is to click in the link “Sign up as a Contractor” on our home page. NOTE: you will need to provide your business license and insurance policy number in order to sign up on the site. You will also want to provide at least two references from work you have done previously, it is to your advantage to make the homeowners comfortable with you as a contractor!
Is it Free?
YES it is FREE to sign up and bid on work! You do not pay anything…EVER!
Why do I have to designate the type of contractor I am?
The first reason is so that as a licensed plumber, you are not bidding on roofing jobs, etc. and second is because our company will send you an e mail, if you choose, every time a job is posted under the category designated as your profession, which makes finding work EASY for you! You can choose multiple professions as long as you are licensed and insured for each of them!
What if the homeowner does not accurately describe the work in enough detail?
If you think that there is not enough detail for you to come up with an accurate minimum price that you would be willing to complete the job for, DO NOT BID! Simply move on to the next listing. However, if you do bid on a job and you are the lowest and thus winning bidder and you get to the house and realize the job is substantially different than what was described in the listing, you are no longer legally obligated to complete the job for the agreed upon price. The homeowners have been warned that they are obligated to describe their projects as accurately as possible and have been given advice on how to do that.
What is “My Profile?”
My profile allows you to quickly see all of the jobs that you are bidding on and their current status without having to search through all of the listings again to find the ones that you are bidding on.
What is the “Project Due Date?”
This is the tentative date that the homeowner would like the job completed by so that you can gauge whether or not you have enough time to take on the specific job given the time constraints. There will not always be a project due date, in this instance the homeowner is not concerned with an exact date for completion and that can be worked out at a later date.
How does the bid process work?
What happens is the homeowner will give you a starting price for the given project, which is the most that the homeowner is willing to pay for the completion of this work. You then review the listing details carefully, decide whether or not you are interested in taking on the job, and then calculate the least amount of money you would be willing to complete the specific job for. If the starting price is say $10,000, and you know you can complete the job for roughly $5,000, you have two options:
1. You can enter your max low bid as $5,000 right away and it will reduce the job price to $5,000 right away, which becomes the new price that other contractors will have to beat if they want the job.
2. You can enter an amount less than $10,000 but greater than $5,000 so you keep the chance of winning the job for the most money possible. Here you would enter something like $9,900 and see if you get outbid. Say someone else bids $9,800, you can then come back and bid $9,700 and so on and so forth until you have reached you lowest bid which is $5,000 in this example at which point you would stop bidding and look for another appealing job listing.
What happens if I am the lowest bidder?
If you are the lowest bidder at the close of the auction, the homeowner is able to view all of your information. This includes your business license number, insurance policy number, contact info, and references, so that they may review your credentials and contact you regarding the project. In most cases you would then be rewarded the contract and allowed to begin work; however, if for some reason your credentials do not pan out, the homeowner can then access the credentials of the next highest bidder and possibly award them the contract and so on and so forth. You do not have to worry about not being awarded the contract if you are the lowest bidder, as long as you have good credentials and a good background, which is of understandably very important to the homeowner!
Is there a question that has not been answered that you would like answered?
Please contact our Customer Representatives at info@theserviceauction.com and they will get back to you with an answer to you question as soon as possible. Remember, we hired them for YOU! So please make sure you approach them with ANY concerns you may have!
What is the feedback rating?
The feedback rating allows homeowners and contractors to rate each other after working together. This allows future homeowners and contractors to get a feel for the people they are either potentially working with or for. This is in place to protect our users on both sides from fraudulent or less than desirable members of our site.
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