Family-owned and operated Care Free Homes: almost 40 years offering quality, reliable home improvements

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One of the positive aspects of these spotlights is that you get to meet the people behind the businesses. Gone are the days of flashing neon signs, obnoxious adverts, and people dressed in costumes waving at commuters. There is such a thing as marketing fatigue and in this day and age, the old fashioned method of advertising is a fossil. A faith based method that is assumed to work. How many of us hear an ad on television or radio and change the channel?

There has been a subtle change. No one cares about bells, whistles, bright flashing signs, and “ad-talk.” We’ve built an immunity and grown to mistrust this form of advertising for the most part. To build trust, rapport or confidence we want to hear what OTHER people are saying. We want to read testimonials. We want to meet the people behind the businesses. We want a relationship with people we are going to give our money to.

The many smiling faces at Care Free Homes.

How many times have you heard an advert from Care Free Homes? What do you know about them beside the services they offer? If you’ve followed through and actually hired them, you will of course, know more. However, if you haven’t, you would want to know more about them before you used them, wouldn’t you? Who are they? Why have they chosen this line of work? Are they passionate about it and love doing what they do? What do they do for the community?

These are all things we want to know. It places what is most important first, instead of last: people. People are the best asset any company has. Treating your staff right, trickles down to the customer, because a happy staff goes the extra mile, love their job, and that energy is what customers will see.

This is exactly the sort of thing that fuels Care Free Homes. It starts at the top and trickles down through the staff to the customer. Loving what you do and have tremendous pride in that is infectious and if you are a company that places people – staff and customers first you WILL succeed. The mission statement should not be to make a ton of money, it should be people first. The money follows.

This is something that is understood all too well at Care Free Homes. In fact, the Pickup family who own and operate Care Free Homes, made it abundantly clear that the spotlight didn’t promote or push sales, but showcased WHO they are and WHY they do what they do. They wanted the South Coast to know that their support for the community is a deeply committed one. That veterans have a soft spot with them and they appreciate what the armed forces do. That they happily give to local charities, give away roofs in their “No Roof Left Behind” program (a community voted program where a free roof is given away), offer $250 rebates with “Roofs for Troops,” and a $25,000 Home Makeover which included a new roof, vinyl siding, and windows. They offer a variety of ways for everyone to benefit from the many discounts they offer. They do these things, not because they have to, but because they WANT to.

Care Free Homes frequently gives back to the community in a variety of ways, and the “No Roof Left Behind” program is just one of them.

Why are these things important to the Pickup family and their extended family, the staff? Because they grew up right here. This is their community. They have been here for generations and will continue to be here. They raise and are raising family here. Their kids play sports in these schools. Care Free Homes has been in Fairhaven for almost 4 decades.

You’ll spot not only Dana’s sons, but his veteran craftsman brother Bob, and Nate’s wife Stephanie who serves as the Marketing Director. Who is the extended family? I’ll use Stephanie’s words, since I can’t improve upon them: “Kerri Finnerty is our customer service representative, Erin is one of our marketing gals, and Joe Martone is our favorite, blue eyed sun-room guy. We’re all Pisces which explains why we happily share office space! Haha!” In addition, they have an extended family in manager and human resources personnel Andrea Caruso and customer service rep and marketing coordinator Erin Conner.

The company got its start 37 years ago when current President Dana Pickup, Sr., after realizing there was a local need for a quality, reliable home improvement company. Give the people what they want. Initially, Dana’s company was a small roofing, siding, and window business run entirely out of his dining room, before it evolved into the full service home improvement and construction company it is today.

Within a year, word spread that Dana Pickup had something special and he outgrew the humble dining room office. Eventually he purchased and remodeled an old farmhouse and they have been their ever since. Today his sons Nathan ( Company Vice President), Russell (Sales Manager), and Dana Jr. (Project Manager) are partners in the business. But it doesn’t stop there – if you need some convincing on whether one of the South Coast’s largest home improvement companies is family owned and operated, just take a gander at the company’s about page.

The veterans programs and discounts are a direct product of Company Vice President, Nate Pickups military service. After earning his bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1997, he served as an infantryman in the U.S. Army and had tours in Bosnia and Afghanistan. After serving as a commissioned officer for 5 years, he returned home to work in the family business yet continued to serve in the Massachusetts Army National Guard.

You will likely spot the Pickup family and Care Free Homes staff, out and about the South Coast in a variety of special events.

Nate and Stephanie – who is also the co-founder/author of Our Heroes’ Tree, a national initiative and e-book which honors the service and sacrifice of the nation’s military and their families – have a soft spot for military personnel and their backgrounds not only define who they are, but define their business ethic. This why they offer these steep discounts and run programs where they give away roofs worth tens of thousands of dollars. In fact, talking with Stephanie one day, she seemed genuinely bummed out that she hadn’t found a way to give away an entire home. Her eyes lit up with the possibility of doing something like that.

If the Pickup men are the muscle and brains of the operation, Stephanie is the heart and brains of the company. She simply does not mention Care Free Homes without bringing up anecdotes about the people the company has touched through the discounts, Roofs for Troops and other programs. In fact, she virtually fought back tears when sharing many anecdotes about the homemade cars, notes, and gratitude she gets frequently. She feels that seeing firsthand the dramatic effect a new room, roof, or renovation has on a family’s life is the most rewarding aspect of her job.

One anecdote in particular even got me a little teary-eyed. I also have a soft spot for the military, particularly older veterans, so it doesn’t take much. When Care Free Homes ran their “No Roof Left Behind” program, a WWII veteran’s son nominated his dad to win the free roof. When 94 year old Manuel Leite got wind of it, he made his son call Care Free Homes’ office and strike his name from the list. The veteran didn’t want something he didn’t work for, and felt that it would be better if someone else who needed it, got the roof.

Stephanie wanted to talk to the veteran herself to see if she couldn’t convince him to remain in the drawing, but he didn’t budge an inch. “Fighting” a WWII Marine veteran is a losing battle – that is one dog that has no quit.

As I mentioned above, Stephanie has a huge heart and was in no way letting this veteran ride off into the sunset. She was as determined to honor this amazing individual as he was in refusing it. She contacted friend and coordinator of the Fairhaven Veteran’s Day Parade, Gerry Payette to see what could be done.

Marketing Director Stephanie Pickup with 94 year-old WWII veteran Mr. Manuel Leite and his son Russ, on Veteran’s Day.

It was decided that Leite, who was shot through the lung while invading Saipan and was awarded the Purple Heart, would represent all WWII veterans as the Parade Marshal in the Fairhaven Veteran’s Day parade this year. Unfortunately, as we all know, rain canceled this year’s parade. Like the trooper that Mr. Leite is, he simply responded with a “Looks like I’ll have to stick around for another year!”

This type of compassion and empathy characterizes the Pickup Family. They don’t separate who they are who what they do. They treat their employees and customers as extended family. They love waking up each day and doing what they do and have a deep passion for it. And it shows in stories like this one.

You may be thinking “All that is fine and dandy, but at the end of the day, are they qualified, are they reputable and are they affordable?”

Care Free Homes has been an A+ member of the Better Business Bureau for over 20 years, they are fully licensed and insured in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, have received the GAF Consumer Protection Excellence Award, a Best of Houzz for Service Award, and 10 consecutive Great Reviews Badge on Guild Quality.

The entire family and extended families biographies and qualifications can be read on the About Page. The university degrees, credentials, qualifications and decades of experience are simply too numerous to list.

Suffice it to say, that if you are a homeowner seeking a local, quality home improvement and construction contractor, especially roofing, siding, and window services, you couldn’t find a more qualified, knowledgeable and experienced company. roofing, siding, and window services. If you are looking for guarantees, Care Free Homes, won’t take a penny from you until the project is complete and you are satisfied. In fact, they would never take a deposit for any of our exterior home improvement projects. That’s putting money where your mouth is. They are that confident in what they do.

All the product warranties are backed by a 10 year workmanship guarantee. As GAF MasterElite, Harvey Elite Series and Mastic Elite contractors – they offer warranties to their customers that a handyman in a truck could never provide.

Contact the folks at Care Free Homes to see what current deals, sales, sweepstakes or discounts are available.

Looking for a deal or discount? If you are serving in the military, you are eligible for the $250 Roofs For Troops Rebate and military discounts. Not in the military? Inquire about their Fall into Winter Savings which can save up to $2,500 or get free financing for a year. The website is jam packed with a full list of services and high quality products that they offer . In addition, you can schedule a FREE quote online. Of course, you can get a good idea of what Care Free Homes is from their website, but nothing beats talking to a living, breathing, person. Remember days when customer service had live people?

Since the entire company is comprised of locals, you will likely recognize someone from this article. They buy local, play local, are always at local events, and of course, supporting their children at local sporting events. Of course, the best way to get an idea of who they are, what Care Free Homes does, why they have been so successful at doing it, is to give them a call and meet someone from the family. No impersonal website, no automated voices, no corporate sales people – family.


Care Free Homes Spotlight
239 Huttleston Avenue
Fairhaven, Ma
Phone: 508-997-1111 or Toll Free: 1-800-407-1111
Email: info@carefreehomescompany.com

Hours of Operation:
Mon-Fri: 8:00am-5:00pm

Facebook: facebook.com/carefreehomes
Website: carefreehomescompany.com/



About Joe Silvia

When Joe isn't writing, he's coaching people to punch each other in the face. He enjoys ancient cultures, dead and living languages, cooking, benching 999#s, and saving the elderly, babies and puppies from burning buildings. While he enjoys long walks on the beach, he will not be your alarm clock, because he's no ding-a-ling.

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