copied from the buildzoom FAQ page
We look at dozens of factors to influence a contractor’s score:
Has the license been suspended or revoked at some point in the past (up to negative 40 points)
Customer reviews*
Quality of project photos
Better Business Bureau rating
Do we have a valid phone number and email for the contractor
Does the contractor respond to property owner phone calls
Contractor response time – do contractors respond to requests within a few minutes, or at least in the same day?
Endorsements from other contractors
Contractors know more about other contractors than just about anyone.
Building permit history
Type of work completed
Average project value
Max project value
Repeat business with a similar property owner – does a contractor work with the same property owner as the homeowner moves on
Repeat business within a neighborhood — does a contractor do a lot of work in the same neighborhood? This is a sign he is getting word of mouth visit
Hiring history through BuildZoom
Did the contractor do a great job for one of our property owners?
Proof of knowledge — How many questions have they answered at BuildZoom Answers, and how many upvotes have their answers received.
The BuildZoom score isn’t a perfect measure of a contractor. In many cases, we simply have no information about a contractor beyond them having an active contractor’s license. These contractors get a score of 90, but we can’t judge them beyond that.