Comparing Handymen for Maintenance at Rental House

[Chad Wilhelm]

I have been having some issues getting handymen to respond to inquiries.  I was able to find a handyman that is doing some work for me currently, and told me they would charge me by the hour for the general items that I needed taken care of, as that would be cheaper for me, which was $75/hr.  I was thinking this seemed a little high for Cedar Rapids, IA, but given the market we are in and being new to the game, maybe that's acceptable?  

What's the best way to compare one handyman to another when concluding which to go with?  It seems that most want to charge by the job, and not by the hour.