Only a few years ago if you contacted a local company about a home renovation, that would be the company doing the work. Today it’s a different landscape. When you start searching for a reputable local company the first thing you will come across is very fancy and polished websites. They are visually appealing and say everything you want to hear.  So what’s the catch? They are usually not contractors; they are marketing companies. Once they lock in a contract they offload the work to a local contractor. Often times they are not transparent that they in fact are not the ones doing the work. In our opinion this is dishonest. At a minimum this is going to inflate the cost because now a middle man is involved. Another problem arises if an issue comes up in the future. Depending on how the contract was structured it might not be so straight forward to seek a remedy or to know who to pursue. A contractor is good at building things not necessarily at marketing. This is where the opportunity exists; these tech companies are very well funded and have superior knowledge about marketing and how online advertising works. Essentially they are very good at making sure they are the first option you see, and at selling a job. It goes both ways though, the contractor isn’t good at marketing, but the marketer isn’t good at building either. Don’t fall for the fancy websites and gimmicks. You should know who you are hiring and have a direct relationship with them. Not only will it save you money but you eliminate the possible pitfalls of adding an unqualified middle man to an already complicated situation.