When my family inherited our 1951 Florida home—a property passed down from Grandpa to Dad and along to us—we faced the inevitable challenge of modernizing a beloved piece of family history. Like most homeowners, our first instinct was to scour websites and popular contractor platforms. What followed was a frustrating cycle of inflated quotes and disappointment—until a chance encounter at a local establishment changed everything. If you want good work at a reasonable price – you gotta know someone in the local network.

The Turning Point at Dead Bob’s

It was during a Tampa Bay Lightning game at Dead Bob’s, over a grouper sandwich and cold beer, that I struck up a conversation with a local Realtor and her husband. Their business specialized in both real estate and home flipping in our neighborhood—an area primarily developed in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

After sharing my renovation struggles, the Realtor offered a simple solution: a name. Just one recommendation that would unlock an entire network of exceptional craftspeople who operate almost entirely by referral.

The Referral Network Revealed

The Brazilian tile artisan she recommended arrived promptly, quoted a price approximately 75% lower than competitors, and delivered craftsmanship that exceeded our expectations. But the real revelation came afterward—this wasn’t just about finding one good contractor. When you remodel a kitchen, you work from the floor up.

When we mentioned needing countertops, our tile expert immediately connected us with another skilled professional who continued the pattern: excellent work, reasonable pricing, and genuine care for the project. This countertop specialist then suggested completing electrical work before installation and introduced us to a trusted electrician who was also a friend of theirs – “in the network.”

The chain continued when we needed plumbing work. The referral led us to a female plumber who completed in hours what others had quoted days and significantly higher prices for—charging a few hundred dollars compared to quotes reaching $1,200. She actually just looked at the job, gave us a price, and grabbed her tools – an hour later she was done.

Two Worlds of Home Services

This experience revealed a critical truth about the contractor landscape: there exists a parallel market of exceptional tradespeople who sustain their businesses entirely through referrals. These artisans bypass expensive marketing platforms and pass those savings directly to homeowners while maintaining superior quality. A revelation for me is that these independent contractors prefer to work in the network because their work fits together like a puzzle. They know that their buddy is going to do a good job and that will make their work easier. 

Unlike the contractors competing for visibility on popular service websites, these professionals invest in relationships rather than advertising. Their reputation is their currency, and they protect it fiercely with every project.

The Untapped Potential for Real Estate Professionals

Perhaps the most surprising discovery was how few Realtors fully leverage this powerful network they’ve cultivated. While most real estate professionals maintain connections with quality contractors, many underestimate the tremendous value this network represents to clients.

In today’s digital age where anyone can find dozens of contractor options online, what homeowners truly desire is access to the vetted, trusted network that only comes through personal connections. They don’t want just any list—they want their Realtor’s list.

Tools like Homeowner.ai are helping forward-thinking real estate professionals capitalize on this opportunity by systematically sharing their contractor networks with clients. This approach transforms the traditional transaction-based relationship into a lifetime of trusted advisory service.

For homeowners navigating the renovation landscape, the lesson is clear: sometimes the best resources aren’t found through search engines or apps, but through the trusted referrals of those who’ve built their business on quality and reputation rather than marketing spend.

An Executional Plan for Brokerages

As an industry, we went too far into the lead-to-close strategy. Generally, past clients are orphans. Homeownership hubs are the way back to past clients. You will get satisfying benefits from offering out of the box solutions from Homeowner.ai (we are investors and they are clients), but if you really want to see the gain – the service providers that are presented to your past clients need to be hand selected and curated. A friend of mine who operates a 20 person “teamerage” in South Dakota has 100 service providers paying her $3500 per year to be in her service provider network. She hired a business development director to call on them and sell them on why they need to partner with the top brokerage in town (yes, she is the largest broker in her town). 

As it turns out, brokerage companies that collaborate with successful local businesses for co-marketing are more compelling together than they are when they market themselves independently. And you might not be surprised that she handles all of the trades for service providers in her network. 

We also believe that homeowners need financial help, especially when they are selling their home. They often lack the money to do the repairs and home detailing (think car detailing) that positions the home as a move-in ready home. Here, WAV Group recommends HouseAmp (we are investors and they are clients). For brokers of a decent size, you can white label the service. They provide up to $400k for home improvements prior to sale. The application process is super quick – like a credit card application – and they lend on the home equity – but it’s not a traditional HELOC – much less paperwork and less expensive to underwrite. This service goes hand-in-hand with home ownership portals. I am sure that you see the connection to the curated service providers.

A few years ago – Tom Ferry and I came up with the language of Homeowners Under Management. When you look at the brokerage business that way, everything changes. I will close with this. The secret to dominating your market is strategy. Please watch this 30 minute video – you can watch it at double time if you only have 15 minutes.