Do It for Me Services: When Do Homeowners Call in the Pros?

Many homeowners approach their home improvement projects with great ambition. Whether they're skilled with their hands or simply have spare time, the do-it-yourself approach relies on the homeowner to tackle projects without outside help.

However, not every project can be done without professional expertise, and not every homeowner wants to take on the heavy commitment sometimes associated with the DIY route. In either case, project planners often choose an alternative route: do it for me, or DIFM.

To better understand motivators for using DIFM services, the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) commissioned Decision Analyst to conduct a survey that explores the types of DIFM services homeowners are utilizing.

Here are a few key findings from the DIFM research:

Most homeowners are hiring professional help.

Just think about all the work that most homeowners need to complete. From landscaping to pest control and one-off appliance repairs, the average homeowner would have to commit serious time to handle all of these issues adequately. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that approximately two-thirds of the nationally-representative screening sample of homeowners in this study have hired a DIFM service in the past year. Here are other key insights:

• Males are more likely to hire outside help than are females.
• Those with a higher income are also more likely to call the pros.
• Residents of the Northeast and the West tend to be more likely to hire services than those in other regions.
• One may think that the young and capable would be more prone to DIY, but interestingly, there are no differences across the generations in the number who are using DIFM services. However, Gen Z and millennials are utilizing more types of services.

Homeowners are more likely to hire pros for specialized services.

The Decision Analyst survey found that DIFMers are commonly DIYers who may need help with certain projects due to a lack of time, tools, or the right skillset (or any combination thereof). That being said, the most popular services hired in the past year were lawn/landscaping, HVAC, pest control, and handyman services. All of these services either require some specialized equipment/tools for general maintenance or involve repetitive tasks that can be time- and labor-intensive.

Homeowners want the best bang for their buck.

Sometimes, a certain project is too important to risk doing it incorrectly. There can be multiple reasons for hiring a professional, even if the homeowner does enjoy completing some home improvement projects on their own. However, the potential to save money and avoid additional labor costs are the top reasons by far to not hire a professional to do the work.

Satisfaction with DIFM services may also play a role in the decision to hire a pro. Most homeowners who were satisfied with at least one of the services they hired stated a good-quality job as the reason. Meanwhile, one-third of those who were dissatisfied with at least one service stated poor workmanship as their reason.

Overall, the need for pros remains strong in the short term (and likely in the long term as well), with 80% of survey respondents answering that they definitely or probably will hire a DIFM service in the next two years.

If you'd like greater detail on homeowners' attitudes toward DIFM services or want to dive deeper into the demographics, join HIRI today for full access to this report.