CAI-NJ July 2022

as an owners’ representative, or a design-build contractor who brings the expertise to manage the entire project them selves, from start to finish. Carefully weigh the pros and cons of your options for a construction professional. For example: If you opt for an engineer or community manager as your owners’ representative, you should plan to interview two to three candidates before you begin hiring other experts and contractors. Once on board, your construction professional will conduct the request for proposal (RFP) process to help you select the firms you need to design and implement your project—firms like architects, engineers, and general or specialty contractors. Essentially, your construction pro fessional is an expert intermediary for overseeing details, coordinating all the moving parts, and representing your best interests. If you opt for a design-build contractor, you may reduce cost, time, and risk since you’ll eliminate or significantly reduce the need for selecting multiple providers (i.e., phases 5 and 6 below). These turnkey firms have the resources in-house to design a replacement solution, develop plans and specifica tions, obtain permits, and complete the renovations, all under one contract. Bear in mind, however, that if any issues arise, you’ll need to negotiate with them directly. Phase 4: Scope Your Project During this phase, your construction professional will use a scope of work to create and issue an RFP to bidders. To do this, the board must make decisions regarding the scope of work, like whether to include upgrades, how to handle home owner improvements vs original construction, and whether the project will cover both common areas and in-unit work. (If you hire a design-build contractor, they will work with you directly to finalize their scope and you are unlikely to issue an RFP.) Also, during this phase, your construction professional will ensure a set of plans and specification documents that are needed to obtain building permits from your local juris diction are created. Phase 5: Evaluate and Select Contractors from RFP Bids If you chose an engineer or other third party as your construction professional, roll up your sleeves and prepare to dig in! Selecting your contractors means evaluating their competence and whether they’re a good cultural fit with your community.

Essentially, you’ll apply the same evaluation criteria as you would have used if you selected a design-build con tractor, but your construction professional will facilitate vet ting candidates and choosing the right ones. For example, you can count on your construction professional to make sure that you are comparing “apples-to-apples” by ensuring bids are complete and satisfy the requirements in the RFP. During selection, expect to participate in several activities and deliberations, including: • Taking contending contractors on “bid walks” to assess the property • Answering contractors’ Requests for Information (RFIs) so that they can respond appropriately to your RFP • Asking contractors questions about their processes and pricing — e.g., how they handle change orders and inspections • Comparing the price breakdown with your statement of work (SOW) • Checking references on the top contractor candidates to ask about things like their responsiveness and commu nications, work quality, and how many change orders they required • Conducting interviews with finalists • Voting on the winner While price will certainly influence your selection, it’s clear from the variables you’ll consider: cheaper is not always better.

filadendron/E+/Gety Images

Phase 6: Negotiate the Contract Once you’ve selected a contractor, you can start nego tiations to solidify the contract terms and pricing. At this point, your subcommittee and construction professional (either your community manager or design-build contractor) should finalize the scope, allowances, and start date, and submit any necessary permits. CONT I NU E S ON PAGE 32

31

J U L Y 2 0 2 2