When business development specialist Denise Wike-Lewis read a recent survey about women and home maintenance she thought she was looking in the mirror.

The survey said, among other things, women would prefer to tackle home maintenance tasks themselves, but when they need a professional, good help is hard to find and even when they do find it they believe they are being over charged for the work.

"I truly related to the feeling of being 'ripped off' by repairmen. I do try my best to keep my home maintenance up, but I know I'm paying through the nose," said Wike-Lewis, also a single woman homeowner in Santa Ana, CA.

Department store and Craftsman tool maker Sears, in surveys of women homeowners on home ownership and home maintenance found that while most women have been or will be responsible for home maintenance, a task they look forward to, even more of them are concerned about getting a fair price from a home repair professional.

And the home improvement industry, by and large, doesn't appear to be addressing those concerns.

Culling data from two studies that reveal what women think about home ownership and home maintenance, Sears found that 85 percent of women surveyed have been, are or expect to be solely responsible for a home at some point in their lives.

More than half said they are already responsible for basic household maintenance and repair, either on their own or in conjunction with their spouse.

However, 94 percent of them are concerned about getting a fair price from home maintenance professionals; 63 percent of them believe they are charged more than men for the same work and that good home repair professionals are harder to find than doctors, financial advisors or real estate agents. Only good lawyers were considered more difficult to find, according to one survey.

"From the record numbers of single women buying a first home to those who are suddenly single as a result of divorce or the death of a spouse, more and more women are finding themselves responsible for a home," said Georgeann Georges, vice president of Sears Home Services.

"Given that a woman's home is frequently her most valuable financial asset, women need to arm themselves with the knowledge and tools to keep their homes in good repair," said Georges.

While a Sears press release calls some of the findings "worrisome" women who do know tools and home maintenance say the study is more in line with what they hear from women rather than reason for worry.

"Instead of feeling that these are 'worrisome trends,' we see them as important directions for women as homeowners. There is a huge demand from women to have good tools and the know-how to use them," said Sue Wilson, co-founder, president and CEO of Tomboy Tools, a Denver, CO-based company that provides tools and home improvement techniques designed specifically for women.

True. The survey said 63 percent of women homeowners said they'd rather get an hour of free advice from Bob Vila than from Dr. Phil.

Sears also found that 61 percent of women homeowners say they enjoy home maintenance and repair projects; 70 percent of women homeowners say they would like to know more about home maintenance and repair and 55 percent of them say it's important for them to learn more about home maintenance and repair.

What may be worrisome is that the male-dominated home improvement industry could be missing a boat set to sail international seas, according to Web-based business trend watcher Springwise.com.

"We're talking only two specialized firms in a DIY market that is worth $200 billion in the U.S. alone, while phenomena like single women becoming homeowners, and the rise in the number of divorced women, are commonplace in North America, the European Union and many metropolitan areas in Australasia. Need we say more?"

The single women home buying demographic is such a powerful trend it's one of the several primary factors recent studies have credited with driving the current housing boom, a boom that's helped the economy weather the last recession and a boom that is expected to continue for the next 10 years.

Sears, Home Depot, Lowes and others hold classes and seminars for women and more companies are developing tools that are a better fit for women, but few companies exist solely for the benefit of women who want to work on their own homes.

Women's home maintenance-related concerns, desires and plans are addressed by companies like Tomboy Tools and ex-New York City construction firm head Barbara Kavovit's barbara k!, but few, if any, others.

"Younger women entering the home ownership market today come with an attitude of expecting to know how to maintain their homes and being able to tackle many of the projects required. It is a matter of skill building and they are ready to acquire what is needed," said Wilson.

Baby boomers ready to retire in place include a large number of women who outlive men and may have to care for their home alone.

"Likewise, we hear from many more mature women who recognize their responsibility of maintaining their homes since it is generally their biggest asset. They too are developing the attitude of 'I can learn this.' Even if it means getting educated so they are better consumers as they hire out jobs to be done around their homes," Wilson added.

Published: July 9, 2004

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Broderick Perkins parlayed a career in old-school journalism into a contemporary digital news service that really hits home. The award-winning consumer journalist, originally from Wilmington, DE, is founder, publisher and executive editor of the bootstrap DeadlineNews Group, a Silicon Valley-based editorial content and consulting service specializing in residential real estate, consumer news and related editorial consulting services. The DeadlineNews Group includes the website, DeadlineNews.com, offering real estate editorial content and consulting services, and its back shop, the Deadline Newsroom, an open house on news that really hits home. Perkins obtained his formal journalism education from University of Delaware and a journalism boot camp, the Institute of Journalism Education at the University of California-Berkeley. He went on to 20 years of service as a daily newspaper journalist at the Wilmington, DE News Journal and San Jose, CA Mercury News. Perkins covered housing on the San Jose Mercury News reporting team which earned a General News Reporting Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. He has also produced real estate, consumer and small business content for the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, RealtyTimes.com, Nolo.com, Better Homes and Gardens, the National Association of Realtors, Homestore/Move and Intuit/Quicken among more than three dozen publications. In addition to managing the DeadlineNews Group, Perkins most recently served as chief editorial consultant for Nolo's Essential Guide To Buying Your First Home, Nolo, and writes real estate television scripts for RealtyTimes.com.