House Method Editorial Guidelines

House Method exists to help homeowners make smarter decisions about homeownership. We achieve this by producing original, credible, unbiased, and engaging information for our readers, researched and written by a team of seasoned in-house and freelance experts.  

Purpose

Our mission is to help homeowners save time, money, and stress when it comes to maintaining, improving, purchasing, or selling their homes. Our editorial team strives to empower readers to turn “to do” into “done,” from DIY solutions for everyday home maintenance issues to finding the best expert for every need and budget. Critical to this goal is the quality, accuracy, and objectivity of our content. Our team works with established subject matter experts and trusted service providers who are vetted through our rigorous review standards to deliver unique, authoritative, and authentic content that truly helps today’s homeowner.

Editorial Content and Integrity

We’re committed to being the go-to online resource for homeowners, and we stand by the integrity and depth of our content. House Method is an independently owned site with full editorial control and access to its content. Our seasoned in-house writers, editors, fact-checkers, and subject matter experts cover a broad range of home service topics. High-quality, ethical journalism and straightforward analysis are at the core of what we do.

Content on House Method is not influenced by our provider partners, advertisers, or other third parties. Our editorial team operates independently from our advertising and marketing teams to ensure we remain unbiased and put the homeowner’s needs first.

Our Audience

House Method’s audience includes, but is not limited to:

• Homeowners who need information and assistance on a variety of topics related to home buying, selling, improvement, and maintenance.
• New homeowners looking for best practices, tips, and advice on caring for their homes.
• Renters seeking information on financial topics, tips, and best practices concerning renting a home.
• Landlords and vacation rental owners in search of best practices, recommendations, and guides for home improvement and maintenance of their properties.
• Members of the media and independent experts researching authoritative, unique, data-driven studies and articles on home ownership.
• People interested in carefully researched, timely information about important home services.

Our Partners

House Method works with leading providers across a variety of home services categories, including but not limited to:

• Flooring
• Foundation
• Gutters
• Home Insurance
• Home Warranty
• Lawn Care
• Moving
• Pest Control
• Pet Insurance
• Roofing
• Solar
• Windows

Among the provider partners we routinely feature on our site are:

Every provider partner we write about is subject to our rigorous review standards to ensure we provide homeowners with the information they need to make the best decisions for their homes.

Transparency

House Method aims to provide complete transparency in our coverage. Our editorial team strives to provide clear attribution for sources in all articles, photos, illustrations, and videos featured on our site, either within the main content of the page and/or at the bottom of every article. We don’t attribute information that is considered common knowledge. Articles will commonly include links to the original sources of information cited in our research.

Most articles feature a byline with a link to the author’s bio, and many include links to the fact-checker or reviewer who ensured the content was accurate. The article date indicates when the piece was published or most recently updated.

Our research includes proprietary data from our own homeowner surveys and publicly disclosed third-party data from established sources, including Redfin, Zillow, Kiplinger, and the U.S. Census Bureau.

Methodology

Our approach is simple: We dig in and do the research, so you don’t have to. Our in-house team reviews thousands of providers, reads customer testimonials, conducts anonymous homeowner surveys, and interviews trusted experts to craft well-informed and authoritative evaluations of home service companies for every article we publish.

The results of these findings are incorporated into reviews and guides designed to serve as an accessible and empowering resource for homeowners, renters, landlords, real estate professionals, and other readers.

Our research process uses a rating system based on different categories, depending on the service. We consider a variety of factors when grading home warranty providers, gutters and gutter guards, and moving companies, to name a few. All supporting information is sourced from public data sources, verified policyholder testimonials, and homeowner experience surveys.

Learn more about how we rate and review providers, and read our detailed methodologies for each category:

• Gutters rating methodology
• Home Warranty rating methodology
• Lawn Service rating methodology
• Moving Service rating methodology
• Pest Control rating methodology

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about a product or service mentioned on the site, contact us at legal@housemethod.com.

Style Guidelines

House Method generally adheres to the Associated Press (AP) stylebook. Our governing dictionary is Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, which is easily accessed at merriam-webster.com, and our governing usage manual is Garner’s Modern English Usage, Fourth Edition.

Voice and Tone

The House Method voice is straightforward but personable — we offer our take, but we also offer objective facts.

Our tone is informative and authoritative. We portray lifestyles accurately and realistically, we put a stake in the ground, and state our opinion.  We understand that we’re here to help people make the best decisions on where and how to spend their money on their homes,  and we assist them by presenting the facts, options, and our recommendations as in-depth, fair, and objective researchers.

Sourcing

Our policy on article sourcing is key to maintaining our standards of transparency and objectivity. We rely on proprietary data from our homeowner surveys and source content from trusted primary sources, including subject matter experts and publicly disclosed data from government organizations and reputable companies. Likewise, all illustrations, imagery, and video are either produced in-house or sourced with credit from reliable third parties. Images and graphics are never doctored, edited, or embellished to show a false representation of the subject matter. 

We follow the protocols and best practices established by the following institutions in all our content:

• Society of Professional Journalists Ethics Code
• Copyright Law of the United States
• U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index

Linking Policy

The content on Housemethod.com is proprietary and protected by copyright laws. External organizations, members of the media, individuals, and nonprofit organizations who are interested in sharing our content are asked to attribute to House Method when referencing our articles, research, data, or custom illustrations, photos, and videos. 

House Method will link to credible sources as described above to support our findings and recommendations. We don’t link to sources whose authenticity cannot be verified.

Corrections

Our editorial team strives to deliver useful and factually correct content. Our content is routinely fact-checked and updated for accuracy. We welcome feedback and suggestions for improvement and will work to correct any errors as quickly as possible. If you’d like to contact us regarding any article, image, video, or illustration on our site, please write to us at contact@housemethod.com, or reach out to our editorial team:

Executive Editor:

Zain Deane

zain.deane@three-ships.com

Commercial Editor:

Roxanne Downer

roxanne.downer@three-ships.com

The Daily Method Editor:

Lora Novak

lora.novak@three-ships.com