New matchmaker service focuses on outdoor jobs

A new online marketplace for contractors and consumers will launch in time for homeowners who loathe the job of hanging their holiday lights. ServiceVines.com, based in Oklahoma City, will focus on jobs that involve the exterior of the home: landscaping, lawn care, lawn maintenance, tree removal and fencing. Putting up the Christmas lights and inflatable snowman is also on the list.

Consumers and property managers can post their jobs and wait for free bids from service contractors. There are more than 300 service providers in the ServiceVines network, according to the press release. Providers get a satellite view of the house but no address until the homeowner selects them as a provider. There's also a mobile app for using ServiceVines.