Key takeaways
- An owner’s rep manages design, approvals, contractors, budget, schedule and quality for the owner.
- The largest savings come early: a realistic budget, complete drawings, leveled bids and a good contract.
- During construction, pay applications, change orders and schedule updates are checked before the owner approves.
- At closeout, retainage, final lien waivers and turnover documents protect the owner.
- A rep can join at any stage, including a project in trouble.
An owner’s representative is the construction professional on the owner’s payroll. The rep manages the architect, contractor, engineers and permits for the owner and holds each to its contract.
Phase 1: Feasibility and budget
The rep helps the owner answer what can be built, what it will cost and how long it will take.
- Site and property review: zoning, setbacks, height limits, flood zone and base flood elevation, existing conditions, utilities, access, and any historic, HOA or condo restrictions
- A complete budget: hard costs, soft costs (design, engineering, permits, testing, insurance, financing), owner items such as furniture and technology, and a contingency
- A master schedule: design, approvals, bidding, construction and closeout, with realistic permit durations
- A team plan: which consultants are needed, and when
Example only: an owner tells the architect the budget is $2,500,000. If soft costs, owner items and contingency come to $600,000, the construction budget is $1,900,000. A design drawn to $2,500,000 of construction arrives at bid day about 30% over.
Phase 2: Design management
The rep helps select the architect, interior designer and engineers, scopes their contracts and keeps their work coordinated and on budget.
- Defining the program (rooms, finish level, systems, priorities)
- Running design meetings and recording owner decisions
- Cost checks at schematic design, design development and construction documents
- Buildability reviews that catch costly details and conflicts between architectural, structural and mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) drawings
- Value engineering: cheaper ways to get the same performance
- Confirming the drawings are complete enough to bid without large allowances or scope gaps
Every “by others” and “TBD” in a drawing set becomes a change order later, priced on the contractor’s terms.
Phase 3: Permits and approvals
In South Florida, approvals can drive the schedule as much as construction. A project may need a building permit under the Florida Building Code plus review by bodies such as the Miami Beach Design Review Board or Historic Preservation Board, the Coral Gables Board of Architects, the Town of Palm Beach Architectural Commission (ARCOM) or Fort Lauderdale’s Development Review Committee, along with HOA or condo board approval.
The rep handles submittals, reviewer comments, resubmittals and board presentations.
Phase 4: Contractor selection and bidding
- Vetting each GC: license, insurance, finances, workload, comparable projects and owner references
- Issuing a bid package with drawings, specifications, a defined scope, a bid form, the proposed contract, the schedule and an allowance list, so every bidder prices the same job
- Running a pre-bid walk and answering questions in writing to all bidders
- Leveling the bids: same line items, exclusions and scope gaps flagged, allowances normalized
Example only: Bidder A comes in at $3,150,000 and Bidder B at $3,400,000. Bidder A excluded the supply of impact windows ($180,000) and carried a $40,000 lighting allowance against Bidder B’s $95,000. Adjusted, Bidder A is at $3,385,000 before adding back permit fees and the generator it also left out.
Phase 5: Contract negotiation
The rep works with the owner and the owner’s attorney on the business terms:
- Contract type: lump sum, cost plus a fee, or guaranteed maximum price
- Price, fee, general conditions and reimbursables
- Allowances: realistic amounts, and how overruns and savings are handled
- A schedule of values in measurable lines, without front-loading
- Retainage (the share of each payment held back until the end) and when it is released
- Change-order rules: pricing, markups, time requests and backup
- Payment terms and lien waivers
- Schedule, delay and hurricane provisions
- Warranties and closeout deliverables
In our experience, a contractor’s proposal often holds 10–20% of room once scope is clarified and terms are negotiated. Example only: on a $5,000,000 job, 10% is $500,000.
Phase 6: Construction
Cost
Every monthly pay application is checked against the schedule of values and the work installed, so payments don’t run ahead of the work. Lien waivers come with each payment. Change orders are checked for need, scope and price before the owner gets a recommendation. The budget is updated monthly with committed costs, pending changes and contingency.
Schedule
The rep tracks the critical path and asks for recovery plans early, while a slip is cheap to fix. Owner decisions are tracked with due dates, so the owner doesn’t cause delays.
Quality
Regular site walks, inspections and testing, submittal review and an open-issues list. The rep checks that what gets installed matches what was specified and paid for.
Reporting
A weekly owner report covers progress with photos, decisions made and needed, budget, schedule and risks.
Phase 7: Closeout
- Punch list walks, and checking that every item is complete
- Final inspections and the certificate of occupancy or completion
- Warranties, as-builts, operation and maintenance manuals and attic stock
- Training on building systems
- Final lien waivers and the contractor’s final payment affidavit before final payment and retainage release
- Turnover to the owner or property manager
Release retainage early and punch lists stall.
When a project is already in trouble
Owner’s reps also take over projects that are over budget, behind schedule, in dispute or abandoned. The work starts with an audit of the contract, payments against work in place, change orders, schedule, open permits and lien exposure, followed by a revised plan and regular reporting.
Who does what
The owner’s rep manages the business of the build. The GC’s superintendent directs the trades and site safety. The architect and engineers are responsible for the design. The owner’s attorney handles legal terms.
How Monster Project Group delivers it
MPG provides every phase above, or only the ones a project needs, for owners across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach and for owners running a South Florida project from elsewhere. Osher Dyce has spent more than ten years managing construction for developers and private owners, including lead project management on 805 Washington, a nine-story residential building in Brooklyn, and a $10M harbourside residence in Sydney.
When should I hire an owner’s rep?
Ideally at feasibility or early design. A rep can still help at bidding, during construction or in a recovery.
Is an owner’s rep the same as a construction manager?
The terms overlap. A “construction manager at risk” is a builder holding the construction contract. An owner’s rep works only for the owner and holds no contract with the builder.
Do I still need a construction attorney?
Yes. Your attorney handles the legal language. The owner’s rep works with them on scope, price, allowances, payment rules, schedule and change orders.
How much of my time will the project take?
Much less than managing it yourself: the weekly report, a regular meeting and the decisions only you can make.