About Seth's Home Pros - Maine's Vetted Contractor Network
We came up on job sites, not in an office.
Seth's Home Pros is run by Seth Leichnitz, from Waterville. We spend our days making sure Maine homeowners do not hire the wrong contractor.
Where does our construction experience come from?
Seth has a degree in Sustainable Construction, but the education that stuck happened on site.
He started as a laborer. Carrying material.
Cleaning up. Doing what he was told.
Over the years he worked up to project manager on historic renovations and custom homes, including timber-frame projects. After that came three and a half years in service and estimating before moving into sales.
That is where you learn what goes wrong on a job. You also see how homeowners hear about it.
When a contractor says his crew can start Monday and finish in six weeks, we can tell whether that sounds true. We can spot what is missing from a quote.
And when a homeowner tells us what they want to build and spend, we usually need only a few minutes to tell whether those numbers belong in the same sentence.
That is the basis of what we do now.
Why do we make introductions?
We watched it go wrong too many times from the inside.
The pattern barely changes. A homeowner calls six contractors.
Two call back. One shows up and gives them a number.
With nothing to compare it against, they sign. Six weeks later, the crew is working another job.
Change orders pile up while their calls go to voicemail.
Homeowners are not careless. There is simply no good way to distinguish a serious builder from a convincing one before the contract is signed.
We know the difference. We have worked with both.
So we started making introductions. We learn what you are building and tell you honestly whether the budget is real.
Then we introduce three contractors who do that kind of work in your town. With three quotes side by side, you can finally see what the job costs.
Why do we tell you what you don't want to hear?
The most useful part often happens on the first call. It is not always what people hope to hear.
Sometimes it is "your budget is about half of what that project costs, and here's why." Other times, it is "what you want is a kitchen, not an addition." Occasionally we will say, "the contractor you already have sounds fine. Keep him."
We will not tell you a number works when it does not. You would find out later, at a much worse time.
We would rather tell you early than drag you through three quotes for a project that was never going to happen.
How do we get paid?
The contractor pays us a commission when they close work with you. You pay us nothing.
Depending on our arrangement with the brokerage, we are sometimes paid in connection with a real estate referral. It varies and does not apply to every introduction.
We are putting that in plain type because you should be able to weigh it. We benefit when a project happens.
You benefit when the right project happens with the right builder. Those interests usually line up.
When they do not, you deserve enough information to recognize it.
If you want to know whether we are being paid in connection with your specific referral, ask. We will tell you straight.
You are never obligated to hire anyone we introduce.
What are we not?
This matters. We are not burying it.
We are not a general contractor. We do not build, supervise, estimate, permit, inspect, or guarantee anyone's work. We do not attend your site visits. We do not sign your contract. We never handle money between you and your builder.
Your contract is with the contractor, in writing, as 10 MRS §1487 requires for any Maine job over $3,000. The work and the responsibility for it belong to them.
We know the difference between builders and make the introduction. We also stay reachable while your project runs.
That is the service. It is useful, but it is not the same as being your contractor.
We have seen enough disputes to know that line matters.
One more thing worth saying plainly: Maine does not license general contractors or builders. Only plumbers and electricians are licensed in this state, and you can check the state's own list at the Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation. So nobody, including us, can "verify a builder's license" here, because there isn't one to verify. Anyone who tells you otherwise doesn't know the law or is counting on you not knowing it.
Instead, we verify work history and references. We also check insurance and financial stability, then look at reputation and communication.
That is the 10-step process, and it is harder to fake than a license number.
What does 'on your side' actually mean?
Contractors pay us. We have said it plainly.
Take "on your side" for exactly what it is worth and no more.
Here is what that means in practice. Contractors in our network know that treating a homeowner badly costs them future introductions.
That is the entire enforcement mechanism. It is a real one because referrals are worth more to a good builder than any single job.
We are also reachable during your project. We are not the supervisor.
That is not our role. But we know both parties, and we can pick up the phone when communication breaks down.
Plenty of construction disputes are communication failures that nobody caught early.
What are you building?
The first call is a conversation, not a pitch. If it is not a fit, we will say so.