HomeAdvisor and similar lead generation sites work by selling your contact information to multiple roofing contractors who then compete to win your business. You submit your project details, and within minutes your phone starts ringing. It's fast, but that speed comes with trade-offs that homeowners should understand before choosing this route.
The alternative is getting quotes directly from contractors you select yourself, either by researching local roofers or using services that connect you with vetted contractors without selling your information to the highest bidders.
Both approaches can work. Which one works better depends on what you value.
How Lead Generation Sites Actually Work
Sites like HomeAdvisor and Angi (formerly Angie's List, now merged with HomeAdvisor under the same parent company) operate on a simple business model. They spend money on advertising to attract homeowners looking for contractors. Then they sell those leads to contractors who pay for the opportunity to compete for your job.
When you fill out a form requesting roofing quotes, your information becomes a product. Multiple contractors receive your name, phone number, address, and project details. Each contractor pays for that lead whether they win your business or not.
The Federal Trade Commission has received complaints about lead generation practices across home improvement categories, with homeowners reporting unexpected call volumes and concerns about how their information gets shared.
This model creates certain incentives. Contractors who buy leads need to close enough jobs to justify their lead costs. That pressure can translate into aggressive follow-up and sales tactics. The contractor calling you paid for the privilege, and they want a return on that investment.
The Homeowner Experience with Lead Sites
Submit a request on HomeAdvisor for a roofing project and here's roughly what happens:
Your phone rings. A lot. Multiple contractors receive your information simultaneously, and they all know they're competing. Speed matters because the first contractor to reach you often has an advantage.
Some homeowners appreciate this. Multiple options show up without doing any research. Competition happens automatically. If you want choices fast, lead generation delivers.
Other homeowners find it overwhelming. Five calls in twenty minutes from contractors you've never heard of, all pitching hard, can feel more like harassment than help. And the calls might keep coming for days as your lead circulates through the system.
The contractors you hear from are the ones willing to pay for leads. That's not inherently bad, but it's a self-selected group. Established contractors with strong reputations and full schedules often don't need to buy leads. They stay busy through referrals and repeat customers.
What Happens to Your Information
This is where some homeowners get uncomfortable.
Your contact details and project information become a commodity that gets sold, potentially multiple times. The site's privacy policy governs what they can do with your data, but those policies often allow broad sharing with "service providers" and "partners."
Once your information enters the lead marketplace, controlling where it goes becomes difficult. Some homeowners report receiving calls from contractors they never heard of weeks or months after their initial request.
If you're protective of your privacy or simply don't want your phone blowing up, lead generation sites require accepting some loss of control over your information.
The Contractor Perspective
Understanding how this looks from the contractor side explains some of what homeowners experience.
Contractors pay per lead, typically $15 to $75 depending on the project type and location. Roofing leads often sit at the higher end because roofing jobs are large and profitable. A contractor might pay $50 to $75 for your information.
That cost gets built into their pricing. A contractor spending $5,000 monthly on leads needs to recover that expense somewhere. It's not coming out of their profit margin.
Lead quality varies wildly. Some leads are homeowners ready to move forward. Others are people casually browsing with no real intent. Contractors pay the same regardless, which creates frustration on their end and sometimes translates into pressure on homeowners who seem like serious prospects.
The contractors who thrive on lead generation tend to be aggressive closers with sales-focused operations. That's not a criticism, just a reality of the model. Succeeding in a lead-based business requires converting a high percentage of leads into jobs.
Direct Quotes: The Alternative Approach
Getting quotes directly means you control the process. You research contractors, select the ones you want to hear from, and reach out on your terms.
This takes more effort upfront. You're doing work that lead generation sites do for you. But that effort comes with advantages.
You choose who contacts you. No surprise calls from unknown contractors. Every conversation is with someone you selected.
Your information stays controlled. When you call a contractor directly, they get your contact details for that specific purpose. It's not entering a marketplace to be sold repeatedly.
You can vet before engaging. Research reviews, verify licensing, check references, all before your phone ever rings. With lead generation, vetting happens after you're already fielding calls.
Different contractor pool. The roofers who rely on referrals and reputation rather than purchased leads might offer different qualities than those built around lead conversion.
For homeowners in the Chattanooga area, researching local contractors directly connects you with roofers who know regional conditions and have verifiable track records in your community.
Hybrid Approaches
Some services try to capture benefits of both models.
Rather than selling your lead to multiple bidders, these platforms connect you with a curated set of contractors who meet certain standards. Your information goes to vetted professionals rather than whoever's willing to pay for it.
Getting roof quotes through these services can streamline the process without the chaos of traditional lead generation. You get multiple quotes and competition without your phone number becoming a product.
The key distinction is how your information gets used. Is it sold to the highest bidder, or is it shared selectively with contractors who meet quality thresholds? That difference shapes your experience significantly.
Comparing Your Options
Lead generation sites (HomeAdvisor, Angi):
Fast results
Multiple contractors reach out automatically
Your information gets sold, potentially repeatedly
Heavy phone volume and sometimes aggressive follow-up
Contractor quality varies since anyone willing to pay can participate
Direct quotes:
More effort required to find and contact contractors
You control who has your information
No unexpected call volume
Can vet contractors before engaging
Potentially different contractor pool
Vetted quote services:
Streamlined process with less research required
Information shared selectively rather than sold
Contractors meet certain standards
Multiple quotes with less chaos
May have geographic limitations
Questions to Consider
Before deciding which approach fits your situation, think about:
How much do you value your time? Lead generation saves research time but creates management overhead with multiple aggressive follow-ups. Direct quotes require upfront research but give you more control.
How do you feel about your phone ringing? If you don't mind fielding multiple calls and can handle pushy salespeople without stress, lead generation's volume might not bother you. If unexpected calls frustrate you, direct outreach works better.
Do you have contractor connections? If you know neighbors who recently got roofs or have trusted referral sources, direct quotes leveraging those connections might yield better results than random lead-generated contractors.
What's your privacy tolerance? If you're careful about sharing personal information, lead generation's data practices might concern you more than they would someone less privacy-focused.
Using a roofing calculator before either approach helps you establish baseline expectations so you can evaluate whatever quotes you receive, regardless of how they arrive.
Making an Informed Decision
There's no universally right answer here. Some homeowners have great experiences with HomeAdvisor and similar sites. They get competitive quotes quickly and find good contractors. Others feel overwhelmed and wish they'd taken a different path.
What matters is going in with realistic expectations. If you use lead generation, expect your phone to ring a lot. Expect some pressure. Be ready to manage multiple contractor relationships simultaneously.
If you go direct, expect to invest time in research. Building your own shortlist takes effort. But that effort gives you control that lead generation doesn't.
Either way, the goal is the same: finding a qualified roofer at a fair price who does quality work. How you get there matters less than arriving at a good outcome.
