Do I really need a Buyer's or Owner's Rep?
Buying, Building or Renovating your Dream Home could be a nightmare without an experienced Representative by your side.
We are here to help each step of the way.
Shopping for a home?
You might wonder why you would need anyone other than a real estate agent when shopping for a home. Your real estate agent is skilled in the transaction aspect of the home buying process. A good agent negotiates the best price for you, but the higher the price tag the more they make. Think you might be shown homes that stretch your budget? You betcha.
Agents open doors for you but few can point out more than the obvious features beyond selling points. Do they for instance talk about human factors, home orientation/solar path or heat gain, functional planning, acoustics in and out, security, ease of re-modeling, resilience of the construction, shell, drainage issues, soil...just to name a few? With a Buyer's Rep, a Design/Building Science team by your side, you can eliminate any homes that don't pass muster way before you fall in love. General inspections don't happen until a 'money down' commitment is made. You could bring a designer and contractor in also at that point to give you ideas and costs to renovate to your taste. However, we see this approach as the cart before the horse.
Consider putting us in your corner and you'll have the professionals helping you with one of the larger financial and life decisions on day one of shopping for your home. This will also open up 'ForSaleByOwner' options, homes which many agents don't bother to show you. Fact is they make money showing their listing first as they have the most to gain by a purchase of their listed properties. Our interests are not tied to a commission, based on the sale price. With a flat hourly rate you may use our consulting services for a day or until you close. Your choice! No contract required.
We'll start with an interview regarding your lifestyle, expectations, interests and needs today and in the future. Our support and knowledge saves time and money by eliminating homes and pointing to only those that deserve your consideration.
While real estate agents are anxious to sell we are anxious to educate.
Building or Renovating a home?
Many people start off with a good relationship with their builder. This makes sense, as this is why one contractor is chosen over the rest. But way too often things go south and there's issues that can lead to broken contracts and the firing of the builder. Contractors can balk at owners involvement and this can lead to 'my stories of bad clients'. To avoid this all too often and messy experience, start the project with an Owner's Rep who will help you out of the gate with choosing your builder. A good builder doesn't just work for money but rather they have a passion for creating.
In hiring an Owner's Rep you are hiring a skilled and knowledgable, go-between person with decades of experience in building science and systems to ensure you and your builder stay on good terms, while guaranteeing you are getting what you paid for. Builders can't short-cut or make excuses that bog down a project, because as your Rep we are on-site and know exactly what is required for a quality build. As an Owner’s Rep we help you with your dream home or renovation from day one until the happy day you move in. Our Role is to Review, Recommend & Inspect to ensure your interests are represented in every decision through each phase of development, including:
- Concept/Initiation: What is the design idea? Where will you build it? Who should be considered for bidding on the project?
- Feasibility: Surveys, Zoning & Permits.
- Procurement: Assisting with the hire of the Architects/Engineers, Builder, Sub-Contractors, & Construction team. Coordination, Review of Estimates, Scopes of Work & Contract Reviews.
- Design: Complete Review of Architectural Plans to minimize change orders. Interior Design Planning, Construction & Systems Design Consultations & Constructablity* Review.
- Construction: Maintain Quality Control & Review of Contractor schedules, Progress Reports, Trouble shooting.
- Post-Construction: Punch list management, Operation and maintenance manual collection.
Building can be an exciting and gratifying experience when you have an expert representative on your side. Eyes on the project ensures that you have someone watching out for your best interests. With decades of experience in the field, our focus is to help avert issues and solve problems as they arise and ensure that they don't land on your lap or the project goes way over budget.
Your house is one of your biggest investments, make sure it is one of your best investments!