HomeAdvisor Teams With Affirm To Offer Installments For Improvement Projects

Online home services firm HomeAdvisor is teaming up with FinTech installment lender Affirm to extend payment options for home improvements.

HomeAdvisor, a division of ANGI Homeservices, is the first digital home services marketplace to collaborate with Affirm for installment options. Known for offering buy-now-pay-later (BNPL), Affirm now offers homeowners transparent pay-over-time options for home improvement projects.

“Payment is a particularly stressful part of the home services experience, be it due to unexpected expenses or the lack of transparency around the cost of many home improvement projects,” Brandon Ridenour, chief executive officer of ANGI Homeservices, said in a press release on Thursday (Dec. 17). “With the launch of our digital payment system and now the partnership with Affirm, we are making it fast and easy to book, finance and pay for any home improvement job, no matter the project type or size.”

He added that homeownership is among the biggest investments people make and requires ongoing maintenance. “With HomeAdvisor, every customer now has an opportunity to either maintain or upgrade their homes on their budget and their terms.”

Homeowners can use the HomeAdvisor app to tap into HomeAdvisor Pay. From there, people can checkout with Affirm and find out in near-real-time if they are eligible. Installment options range from three months to three years.

“People have spent more time in their homes this year than ever before, and many have been investing in making their living spaces more comfortable. This includes increased spending on everything from home repairs and improvement projects to new furniture and appliances,” said Silvija Martincevic, chief commercial officer at Affirm.

Martincevic added that the tie-up with HomeAdvisor means that more people can get “flexibility and transparency” in paying for home improvement projects “in simple, easy-to-understand payments without any concern of hidden or late fees.”

Consumers are increasingly turning to digital when it comes to hiring a professional to handle home improvements. Over the past year, consumers turned to brands under the ANGI Homeservices umbrella to handle more than 28 million household projects. Most people paid for services and material using cash or checks.

Research from HomeAdvisor indicated that 60 percent of consumers use traditional payment methods for home improvements. A Bankrate survey found that 41 percent of people in the U.S. lack sufficient savings to cover a $1000 emergency. Water damage, for example, is one of the most common home emergencies, and it usually costs several thousand dollars to remedy.

Affirm recently partnered with the travel industry eCommerce platform Inntopia to extend BNPL options to the hotel industry. Launched by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin in 2012, Affirm aims to deliver flexible payment options without hidden fees.