Frequently Asked Questions

No. Shovld is not a traditional lead-selling platform. Traditional lead services like Angi or Thumbtack sell the same consumer-submitted request to multiple competitors simultaneously. Shovld provides verified, AI-scored construction opportunity signals from public data — permits, code violations, storm damage, property liens — upstream of consumer intent, before urgency forms. You make contact earlier in the opportunity cycle, before the property becomes a bidding war. See how it works →

Angi, Thumbtack, and Google Ads all depend on homeowners searching for help first — then sell that same intent to 3–5 competitors simultaneously. Shovld finds construction opportunities before homeowners start searching. Every signal is exclusive to your industry and territory, AI-scored for urgency, and delivered with pre-written outreach so you can respond in minutes. One flat monthly fee — no per-lead charges, no bidding wars.

Shovld is built for four industries: Contractors (113 trade specialties including roofing, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and more), Restoration Companies (water damage, fire damage, mold remediation), Public Adjusters (storm and disaster claim specialists), and Real Estate Investors (distressed property and motivated seller buyers).

Construction signal intelligence is early-stage data that identifies possible construction, restoration, property, or insurance-related opportunities before they become traditional leads. Shovld monitors 50+ data sources — permit filings, storm events, code violations, FEMA declarations, pre-foreclosure filings, and HOA project signals — and delivers verified, AI-scored opportunity intelligence organized by industry, trade, and market.

Shovld monitors 50+ real-time data sources including:

• NOAA storm alerts and severe weather declarations
• FEMA disaster declarations
• Municipal building permit databases (14 markets)
• Code enforcement violations and unsafe structure orders
• Fire department incident logs and emergency dispatch records
• HOA meeting minutes and community repair records
• Community platform posts (local forums and neighborhood apps)
• Deed transfer records, HELOC filings, pre-foreclosure records
• Property lien records and expired permit alerts

Every signal is scored 1–10 by an AI model that evaluates urgency, permit value, structural risk, source credibility, and trade relevance.

• 9–10: Act now — high urgency, verified opportunity
• 6–8: Follow up this week
• Below 5: Monitor and watch

This eliminates the need to manually evaluate each opportunity.

Emergency signals — structure fires, flooding incidents, water damage reports — are dispatched to restoration company dashboards within 60 seconds of detection from live fire department logs and municipal emergency records. Your team can be on-site before the homeowner has even called their insurance company.

Shovld offers flat monthly pricing with no per-signal fees and no shared leads:

• Contractors: from $99/month
• Real Estate Investors: from $99/month
• Public Adjusters: from $149/month
• Restoration Companies: from $149/month

Every plan includes a 7-day free trial. Annual billing saves 20%. See full pricing →

Contractor plans: Starter $99/month ($79 annually) · Pro $149/month ($119 annually) · Power $249/month ($199 annually). Additional trades available at $25/month each with bundle discounts up to 50%. See contractor plans →

Restoration and public adjuster plans: Starter $149/month ($119 annually) · Pro $249/month ($199 annually) · Power $399/month ($319 annually). See all plans →

Yes. Every new account gets a 7-day free trial with full access to all signals and features in your market. Your card is not charged until day 8. You can cancel before then — no questions asked, no fee.

No. Shovld charges one flat monthly fee — there are no per-signal charges, no per-lead fees, and no bidding. You get unlimited signals in your market for your chosen plan.

Yes. Shovld supports 113 contractor trade specialties including roofing, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, general contracting, painting, flooring, foundation, windows, siding, gutters, landscaping, and more. Signals include storm damage, permit filings, HOA repair notices, code violations, and community platform requests.

Yes. Restoration companies use Shovld for emergency signal dispatch in under 60 seconds. Structure fire logs, flooding reports, and storm damage incidents are pulled from live fire department and municipal emergency records and routed to your team before the homeowner makes their first call.

Yes. Public adjusters use Shovld to reach homeowners the moment a storm or disaster strikes — before they call their insurance company directly. NOAA alerts, FEMA disaster declarations, and fire incident signals are delivered with pre-written claim-intake outreach templates.

Yes. Real estate investors use Shovld to find distressed properties and motivated sellers before they hit the market. Code violations, unsafe structure orders, deed transfers, HELOC filings, and expired permits are monitored across 14 markets with pre-written motivated seller outreach included.

Shovld currently covers 9 states: California, Texas, Florida, New York, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. New states are added regularly.

Shovld has 14 active markets: Greater Los Angeles · SF/San Jose · San Diego · Houston · Dallas · South Florida (Miami/Fort Lauderdale) · Orlando · Tampa · New York City · Las Vegas · Phoenix · Atlanta · Charlotte · Nashville.

Yes. New markets are added regularly. If your market is not yet listed, sign up and you'll be notified when your area launches.

Sign up at getshovld.com/signup. During onboarding you choose your industry, state, market, and trade specialty. Your 7-day free trial starts immediately — no card charge until day 8. You'll receive your first signals within minutes of completing onboarding.

After your 7-day free trial your card is charged for the plan you selected during onboarding. You continue receiving all signals without interruption. If you cancel before day 8, you will not be charged.

Yes. You can cancel at any time from your account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period — you retain full access until then.

Most lead generation platforms were built around consumer intent — a homeowner searches, clicks, and submits a form. That model worked when demand outpaced competition. It doesn't anymore. Consumer form submissions go to 3–5 contractors simultaneously. Ad costs for trade keywords have risen sharply. And homeowners who've already decided they need help are already comparing prices, not selecting on value.

The contractors building the strongest pipelines are finding opportunities earlier in the cycle — when the property signal is present but the homeowner hasn't started searching yet. See how signal intelligence changes this →

Construction and repair decisions don't start when a homeowner calls a contractor. They start earlier — when a storm passes through, when a permit is filed nearby, when an HOA votes on a repair project, when a code violation notice goes out. A contractor who reaches the property owner at that earlier moment has a fundamentally different sales conversation. There's no comparison shopping happening. No competing quotes already in hand. Just a property owner with a fresh problem and someone credible offering help.

Early-stage construction opportunities are property-level signals that indicate likely construction, repair, or restoration need — before the homeowner has started looking for a contractor. A permit filing is early-stage. A NOAA storm event in a specific zip code is early-stage. A code violation order is early-stage. A HELOC filing on an aging property is early-stage.

These signals don't guarantee a job, but they surface upstream — before competitors are aware. See the full signal types →

HOA repair signals are references to construction or maintenance projects found in HOA meeting minutes, community maintenance logs, and resident association records. When an HOA votes to repair a roof, repave a parking lot, or replace siding on a complex, that decision appears in meeting records before any contractor is contacted. Shovld monitors HOA activity across active markets to surface these project signals early.

Deferred maintenance refers to property repairs that are overdue — items identified as needing attention but not yet addressed. Properties with deferred maintenance often show multiple overlapping signals: expired permits, code violations, aging ownership tenure, and sometimes lien activity.

For contractors, deferred maintenance properties often represent higher job values and lower competition because the work is needed regardless of market conditions. Shovld surfaces deferred maintenance indicators as part of its property signal layer.

Most property deterioration doesn't happen suddenly. It builds through observable sequences: a permit that expires without a final inspection, a code violation that generates a correction order, a storm event that affects a zip code, an HOA maintenance note in meeting minutes. These signals precede the actual repair moment — sometimes by weeks, sometimes months. Systematically tracking them is the foundation of construction signal intelligence. See how Shovld applies this →

Every major lead generation platform has grown by adding contractors faster than adding consumer demand. More contractors competing for the same shared leads means lower close rates, higher bid-per-job costs, and compressed margins. The underlying issue is structural: consumer-intent-based lead generation is a zero-sum model. One homeowner form submission can reach many contractors.

Shovld works differently — by surfacing property signals that aren't shared across subscribers, giving each user pre-intent visibility that lead platforms don't provide.

The most reliable way is to monitor the data sources that precede consumer intent: permit filings, storm reports, code enforcement records, HOA meeting minutes, pre-foreclosure filings, and community platform posts. Together these create a picture of where repair or construction need is forming — before homeowners start their search.

Shovld aggregates and scores these signals across 14 US markets, filtered by trade specialty. Start a free trial →

Angi collects consumer form submissions and sells them to multiple contractors simultaneously. You pay per lead and compete immediately with several other contractors bidding for the same job.

Shovld does not sell consumer leads. It monitors public property data — permits, code violations, storm events, HOA records — and delivers AI-scored construction opportunity signals before the homeowner has started searching. There are no per-signal fees, and you're not competing with other Shovld subscribers for the same signal.

Thumbtack and HomeAdvisor both operate on the same consumer-intent model: a homeowner submits a request, and multiple contractors receive and bid on it. Shovld operates upstream of consumer intent. When a storm hits a zip code, when a permit is filed, when a code violation notice goes out — Shovld captures that signal and routes it to the relevant contractor before any homeowner has submitted a form anywhere.

Google Ads for construction keywords targets homeowners who are already searching — the highest-cost moment in the funnel, where multiple contractors compete for the same click. Shovld gives contractors visibility into properties likely to need work before the homeowner runs a search. Lower cost per opportunity, less competition at the point of contact.

No. Shovld is a construction signal intelligence platform, not a CRM. A CRM manages relationships with contacts you already have. Shovld surfaces new construction opportunity signals from property data — giving you something worth putting into a CRM in the first place. The two tools are complementary. See Shovld plans →

Traditional lead generation companies sell consumer-submitted requests — the homeowner already knows they need help and has chosen to submit their information. The contractor receives that lead alongside several competitors and must convert under time pressure.

Shovld works at an earlier stage. The signals it delivers come from public property data, not consumer form submissions — which means earlier access, no shared distribution, and a different competitive position from the start.

Shovld monitors 50+ data sources across its active markets, including NOAA storm feeds, FEMA disaster declarations, municipal building permit databases, code enforcement systems, fire incident logs, HOA and community records, deed and lien filings, and pre-foreclosure data.

Shovld supports 113 contractor trade specialties during onboarding, covering everything from roofing and HVAC to foundation repair, electrical, plumbing, painting, flooring, gutters, siding, windows, and specialty trades.

Shovld serves four industries:

• Contractors — all trades, 113 specialties
• Restoration Companies — water damage, fire damage, mold remediation
• Public Adjusters — storm and disaster claim specialists
• Real Estate Investors — distressed property and motivated seller buyers

Each industry receives signals filtered and scored for their specific use case. See plans by industry →

Plans start at $99/month for contractors and real estate investors, and $149/month for restoration companies and public adjusters. All plans include a 7-day free trial — your card is not charged until day 8. View all plans →