by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
So many times, those last minute minor repairs or problems found after a home inspection need to be fixed and fixed fast to close the deal.
Large contractors don’t want to bother and homeowners don’t know how, so that’s where Handyman Connection comes in.
Bill Hoffman, owner of the three Handyman Connection locations on the First Coast, has a crew of over 50 who can come out within 24 hours to fix pretty much any problem to get the process rolling again.
Services include caulking a bathtub, fixing crown molding, repairing rotten fences, leaks or drywall.
“We specialize in small to medium size home repair and remodeling,” said Hoffman, who opened the franchise a year ago. “We are a national franchise that is locally owned.”
Hoffman is currently an inactive Realtor, but remembers what it is like out there in the trenches.
“My recollection of being a Realtor is that they basically want to sell a house,” said Hoffman. “They want to get a good price for the house and not have the worry or concerns of issues. Home inspections have come in vogue the last couple of years and have taken that monkey off of the Realtor’s back and basically put it on the home inspection companies where it belongs.”
Hoffman said that Handyman Connection works very closely with the builders and home inspection companies to basically fix the problems.
“If a Realtor is interested in closing the deal and eliminating the last minute snafu of rotting wood or the pet chewed this or something is wrong, basically we step in within 24 hours to fix the problem,” said Hoffman. “Major contractors who work with builders are more interested in building houses or putting on a room addition. It’s this little stuff that only makes $200 or $300 that they have no use for. We are filling this niche.”
The company has offices in Jacksonville Beach, St. Augustine and Amelia Island. They can send a handyman out as quickly as possible to perform all forms of remodeling and home improvement including kitchen and bath remodeling, ceramic tile, carpentry, decks, drywall repairs, painting as well as closet and garage shelving.
Hoffman said they only charge for the labor, which saves the customer money.
“The customer picks up the materials at a Home Depot or Lowe’s, so there is a savings to the customer,” he said. “We give them a price range of ‘no more than’ and ‘as low as,’ so they know exactly what to expect.”
Hoffman is a licensed Florida general contractor, so his company can also do commercial work.
“It keeps us above board and above reproach,” he said. “It tries to put a different standard on the work level.”
Hoffman said that the term ‘handyman’ has a poor. He said that there is no standardization in the handyman profession.
“It’s had the bad connotation of ‘Get in, get out and get down the road’ and you’ll never see me again,” he said. “So, what we are doing is standardizing the service across the board in all Handyman Connections. We are raising the bar and the standard of a handyman.”
All of Hoffman’s craftsman are interviewed and have their background checked by the company. They go through a series of interviews and questions to see what their skill-set is.
“We insist from the beginning that they are honest with us about their skill level,” he said.
Then they send them out to do jobs and see how they do. After they have shown they can do the job, they are sent out to do the jobs they like to do.
As the owner, Hoffman does the marketing and advertising and brings in the jobs for his craftsmen.
He spent many years doing marketing with Fortune 500 companies and had gotten downsized one too many times.
“As a kid, I was always helping my dad who was very handy around the house,” said Hoffman. “So, from eight years old, I was holding the hammer, holding the nail, cutting the long, that sort of thing. So, there is a real life experience. Also, here in Ponte Vedra Beach, I lived in a condominium and I was on the board. It was a natural thing for me to walk around and see things that needed fixed. I was always the one selecting the contractors or supervising the work.”
A year ago, he decided to step out on his own and meet a need in North Florida with his own company.
“There are about 120 owners in the 150 different locations across the United States and Canada,” said Hoffman.
The company website is www.handymanconnectionofjax.com.