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Serving Older Homeowners Well in Home Services
Older homeowners are a growing share of the customer list for HVAC, plumbing, electrical and roofing companies, and they judge a contractor on patience, paperwork and the absence of pressure as much as on the repair.
At a glance
- The U.S. population 65 and older grew 34% in a decade, from 43 million in 2012 to 58 million in 2022, and 75% of adults 50 and older told AARP they want to stay in their current home.
- Those homes need work: 43% of adults 50 and older surveyed by AARP plan changes so their home can handle future physical limitations, led by bathroom upgrades such as grab bars and no-slip tile.
- Older adults are also wary, and with reason; reported fraud losses among adults 60 and older rose from about $600 million in 2020 to $2.4 billion in 2024, according to the FTC, so a contractor's calm, written, no-pressure process is part of the service.
- For an illustrative company with 400 customers over 65, keeping five more in every hundred on a $199 maintenance plan is worth about $3,980 a year, before the repairs that follow.
Part 1 | The visit starts at the door and the driveway
A service call to an older homeowner often begins with a slow walk to the door, because mobility limits rise steeply with age. Census survey data summarized by Pew Research Center show that serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs affects 15% of people aged 65 to 74 and 30% of people 75 and older, against 6% of people 35 to 64.
That shapes the small moments of a call. The dispatcher's text should name the technician and include a photo so the homeowner knows who is knocking; the technician should knock, wait longer than feels natural and step back from the door; and anything the homeowner needs to see, such as the furnace filter, the water heater's age tag or the panel label, should be brought to them or photographed rather than asking them down basement stairs. The published guide In-Home Etiquette for Technicians: Shoe Covers, Updates and Clean-Up covers the rest of the in-home routine.
Part 2 | Trust is earned with paper and patience
The FTC's annual report on older consumers found that adults 60 and older report losing money to fraud at a lower rate than younger adults, but that their median losses are much higher, above $1,600 for people 80 and older, and that total reported losses rose roughly fourfold between 2020 and 2024. An older homeowner who has heard about scams from family and the news is right to be cautious with a stranger who says the furnace is unsafe and needs replacing today.
The owner's instinct may be to read caution as stalling. She's just shopping us around. A homeowner who asks for the estimate in writing, wants a son or daughter to look it over or asks to wait until tomorrow is taking sensible precautions, and a contractor who makes those steps easy removes the main reason to look elsewhere.
A no-pressure script for the kitchen table:
"Here's what I found, and I've written it all down so you can keep it. The heat exchanger has a crack, here's the photo, and that's why I'd recommend replacing the furnace rather than repairing it. You have three options on this sheet, with prices. You don't need to decide today. If you'd like your family to look at it, I can email a copy to them too, and my office number is on the top. Whichever you choose, we'll set up a time that suits you, and the crew lead's name and photo will come by text the day before."
Part 3 | Plan for the next ten years, not just this call
AARP's 2024 Home and Community Preferences survey of 3,090 adults found that among people 50 and older planning home changes, 72% want bathroom upgrades and 71% expect changes that make it easier to get into or around the home. For plumbers, electricians and HVAC companies, that is a natural list of follow-up work, such as lever handles, a hand-held shower, brighter lighting on stairs and outdoor steps, a thermostat with large numbers and a reminder plan that schedules tune-ups so nobody needs to remember them.
| Customers aged 65 and older (Assumption) | 400 |
|---|---|
| Annual maintenance plan price (Assumption) | $199 |
| Improvement in share who renew each year (Assumption) | 5 percentage points |
| Extra customers renewing (Calculated (400 × 5%)) | 20 |
| Plan revenue kept per year (Calculated (20 × $199)) | $3,980 |
Illustrative example; replace every assumption with your own numbers. It leaves out repairs and replacements found during tune-ups.
How you compare
- Your customer list: with 58 million Americans aged 65 and older in 2022 and the population over 75 projected to grow about 45% in ten years, sort your list by first service date to see how many long-time customers are aging with you.
- Mobility: about three in ten customers aged 75 and older have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs, so plan every visit to a home in that age group with that in mind.
- Your own baseline: count how many estimates over [amount] given to customers over 65 last year were accepted within a week, and how many after a written copy and a follow-up call; the difference shows what patience is worth.
Questions to ask this week
Does every customer know who is coming? Check that the day-before text includes the technician's name and photo.
Can every estimate leave the house on paper? Make sure techs can print or email a copy on the spot.
Who on the team handles family members' calls? Name one person in the office who can explain an estimate to a customer's adult child.
Which aging-in-place jobs could you offer? List three you already do well and add them to the tune-up checklist.
The next step is to add the technician's name and photo to the day-before text and make a written, three-option estimate standard on every call to an older homeowner.
About this research: This article draws on Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, AARP's 2024 Home and Community Preferences survey of 3,090 adults, the FTC's 2024-2025 report on protecting older consumers and Census Bureau disability data summarized by Pew Research Center. The retention example is illustrative.
Sources
- Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Housing America's Older Adults 2023. 2023.
- AARP. 2024 Home and Community Preferences Survey. 3,090 adults 18 and older.
- Federal Trade Commission. Protecting Older Consumers 2024-2025 and press release. December 2025.
- Leppert, R. and Schaeffer, K. 8 Facts About Americans With Disabilities. Pew Research Center, 2023.
Related reading: In-Home Etiquette for Technicians: Shoe Covers, Updates and Clean-Up · Explaining the Work: How to Walk Customers Through Options Without Pressure · Maintenance Plans: How to Set One Up for a Service Business · Arrival Windows Homeowners Trust: Scheduling for Home Service Pros · How Many Customers Live With a Disability, and Why It Matters for Your Business
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