Planning a renovation to your home or condo? Then you have certainly run into these two seminal questions: who can I trust to do the work and how much is this going to cost? Porch.com, a new website, is launching this week with the goal of providing all of the resources you need to answer not only these two uncertainties, but plethora other questions you will encounter during the process of dreaming, planning and executing your project.
Think Angie's List meets Houzz, throw in a little bit of Yelp with your neighbors recommendation and you get Porch.
"Until now, a roof repair, kitchen remodel, or backyard landscaping project has been frustrating and painful because there is no single source to evaluate projects, understand costs, and find professionals based on trusted word of mouth recommendations," said Matt Ehrlichman, Porch Chairman and CEO. "Porch is changing this by organizing home project information and providing transparency for everyone across the country to know which professionals have done specific types of projects, at precise costs, for neighbors and similar homes."
When the nationwide site goes live on September 17, it will include contact information for over 27,000 professionals here in South Florida. Many of those professionals have full profiles including projects and links to references. One of the firms profiled is Errez Design, the up and coming interior design firm that might best be described professionally as the Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan of Brickell. Errez's principals, Katie and Ruben Gutierrez, were selected to be part of the first group of professionals to include projects on Porch. According to Katie Gutierrez, "Porch presents home design inspiration on a level that's more personal to the homeowner by connecting them to design and building professionals in their area."
As an added incentive for visiting the site September 17, day of launch, Porch will offer, for a limited time, a $50 gift card to Hayneedle, an online home furnishing store, to help jump start your home improvement projects.
Struggling to decide which changes to make to your home? The following slideshow highlights the improvements that offer the best return for investment as ranked in the 2013 Cost vs. Value Report, by Hanley Wood's Remodeling Magazine.
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Top 5 Renovations For Return On Investment
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