Focusing on the Ultimate Goals of the Project

AREAS OF FOCUS

• Budgeting: We create detailed budget estimations and conservative cost structures to ensure the financial demands of your project are always accounted for.
• Scheduling: Through strict scheduling and deadline management, we keep things on time and within budget, making timely decisions in your best interest.
• Team cultivation: Our thorough vetting and stringent management ensures only the best, most reliable teams are heading up your developments.
• Inspections: With rigorous monitoring and inspection throughout each phase of a project, we make sure problems are found and resolved fast, or prevented altogether.
• Quality control: There is no substitute for excellence. We measure every completed phase to the highest standards of quality, for results that reflect your best investment.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• What is Owner's Representation?

  An Owner retains an Owner’s Rep (OR) to protect the Owner’s interests in a construction contract.  Typically the OR acts in an advisory role and recommends courses of action that can be taken in dealings with contractors and designers.  A savvy OR will insure the owner is treated fairly and that, likewise, the Owner provides timely decisions that control costs and delays.

• How do I know if I need an Owner's Rep?

  If you are reading these FAQs, chances are you need an OR.  The construction process is not intuitive and can be a minefield for people inexperienced in construction.   An Owner’s Rep will provide clear, unambiguous advice every step of the way to ensure the Owner gets treated fairly.

• What are the finiancial benefits of hiring an Owner's Rep?

  A well-run project is a cost-effective project.  Conversely, failure to provide timely input can, and often does, have a significant impact on construction costs.  A good OR will ensure the Owner is aware of deadlines to ensure excess costs are minimized.  Once the project is under way, the Owner will frequently by bombarded with Change Orders for changes in the work.  Often the costs of such work are represented as being higher than they need to be.  In a typical construction project, a good Owner’s Rep will save the Owner many times more than the cost to hire him or her.

• At what stage should I hire an Owner's Rep?

  Ideally, the OR is the first person retained by an Owner.  Optimizing design effort is a critical OR function and this can only be achieved if the OR is onboard from the very beginning.  Similarly, determining the appropriate form of contract has to occur before any work starts and an OR can provide valuable time and money-saving advice to the Owner from day one.

  That said, Owner’s Reps can be brought on board at any phase of a project, but the earlier they are involved the better.

• How do I select an Architect, Engineer, or Construction Manager?

  There are a multitude of Architects with different levels of experience and cost.  Selecting the right architect is paramount for the success and your enjoyment of the project.  An Owner should choose a number of Architects for interview.  It is helpful for the Owner’s Rep to participate in this selection process, hence the need to retain and OR early on.  Without Owner’s Rep participation in the selection process, it is difficult for an Owner to properly interview and assess an Architect.

  Typically, the Architect will retain other professional consultants such as the structural engineer, geotechnical engineer, electrical engineer.

• Why isn't the Architect able to fill the role of the Owner's Rep?

  Architects are often asked to provide OR services, but most prefer not to.  Architects are typically creative individuals who would rather not have to confront and manage contractors.  Furthermore, many relationships between Architects and Contractors go back a long way and such affiliations (as well as the desire to maintain good relationships for future work) do not always result in the Owner’s interests being fairly considered. Amicable Architect/Contractor relations are a good thing, though, and these friendly working relationships are facilitated by an OR whose job it is to represent the interests of the Owner.

• How does having an Owner's Rep benefit the Architect or Contractor?

  Invariably, Architects will encourage the involvement of an Owner’s Rep to insure timeliness of material selections, reliable cash flow and the knowledge that the Owner is receiving advice from an experienced advocate.  When the Owner’s Rep is happy, the Owner is confident that the Architect and Contractors are doing a good job for a fair price.

• What is the difference between an Owner's Rep and a Construction Consultant?

  All Owner’s Reps are Construction Consultants but not all Construction Consultants are Owner’s Reps. That is, the OR has a specific role (providing advice and assistance to the Owner at all stages of the project, from soup to nuts!) whereas Construction Consultant is a generic term that includes Owners Reps plus a multitude of other functions related to construction.