First Things First

As a building or property owner, we believe that among the many issues for consideration when taking on a capital improvement or construction project there are two main factors that come to into play: 1.) risk-assessment and risk-allocation 2.) cost. This is true of an owner with multiple properties, as a developer, single-family home, and anything in between.

Perhaps you’ve heard it said, “well that’s just not possible for that price!” Us too. If we are working for you, our prepared statement of probable cost will provide you with all the documentation you need to address this comment. Then you’re equipped to have the individual or company provide documentation to substantiate their dispute and simply do your own comparison. Of course it’s not always a simple or enjoyable task depending on the relationship and contractual provisions/requirements. Nevertheless, there is always someone qualified and capable willing to produce or provide the same thing as someone else for the same or reduced price. If in the worst case, using the previous example, you determine you simply cannot continue to do business with a particular party we’ll gladly help you secure a qualified replacement. Our pool of builders, contractors, architects and engineers come with relationships that go back 20 years. There’s no shortage of qualified contractors or AEC firms ready to compete for your work. Remember, they work for you and not the other way around.

Additionally, it’s true that many owners these days are forced to yield to their own contract restrictions and provisions. This has a way of causing contractors to avoid these projects all together or submit a very high bid to compensate. In turn this will shrink the pool of qualified contractors and/or bids will be received in excess of estimates from the AOR (Architect of Record) or PDC (Prime Design Consultant). The resultant consequence can then lead to using under-qualified contractors followed by unnecessary cost overruns and delays. This is true in both public and private sectors. Often a counter measure of adopting risk allocation (risk-sharing/risk-assignment) is utilized. Of course lower bids may then be received, but far to often we then see an increase in change work, disputes, and claims. Therefore, having a representative party such as MyRealCost prior to any design/construction dollar is spent you’ll have the surety that project cost remain what it needs to be. With this level of expertise you’ll then have the necessary information and data to create greater contract provisions and language necessary to mitigate these problems.

What Sets Us Apart

  • During the planning/programing stage our expertise allows us to help define a complete scope of work and the associated construction costs to form an accurate budget, which includes design cost. Our years of construction management, cost analysis, and working for top industry architects and engineers has given us the expertise of working from a blank sheet of paper.

  • We can harmoniously and seamlessly integrate the cost management and analysis into the design process along side your pre-selected design professional. By working together with your design professional we can eliminate extra cost that can occur when the intended design requires modification to accommodate best practices in the field.

  • One of the greatest cost to owners is from the AOR/PDC in the form of change work to correct design deficiencies. Our vast experience and advanced knowledge allows us to identify issues before work is put-in-place. The time for the greatest level of cost savings on a project occurs during the pre-construction/programming stage of the design process. What is often misunderstood, is that changes during construction generally cause delay and lead to significant cost increase—rarely the opposite.

Cost Concerns

Project Budget/Cost—If you have already selected an Architect of Record (AOR) or Prime Design Consultant (PDC) they will defer to you, the owner, for the amount of money available for the new project. As the owner, you know the maximum funds you can allocate to the new project. However, what is your project going to actually cost? Let’s say you have $60,000 available for the project and you communicate this to your design professional. They will then create a design and include their fee to arrive at that number. Then any bids for constructing the intended design is qualified to that number. However, what if the actual cost of construction for the project is $40,000 and design cost is $5,500? You have just spent $14,500 more than actual. This extra money could have stayed in the bank or put to work elsewhere.

Design Cost—Even with a qualified AOR/PDC selected, understanding what the design costs will be is crucial to achieving everything you want in your project. Design costs are seldom cheap. Here at MyRealCost we are uniquely qualified to give you budgetary figures for design costs. Every design professional will bill differently based upon project type, requirements, and their in-house policies. We understand the general best practices, guidelines, and principles that determine how their pricing gets structured. We have decades of experience working for and with architectural and design firms. Throughout our experience we have performed extensive research and analysis on their billing practices. We can determine design cost upfront so you’re not shocked by this expense, and offer you a realistic budget to guide your project.

Designing for Construction, Constructing a Design—We provide the specific level of expertise to provide pre-construction analysis to stay ahead of cost over-runs and assurance that actual work put-in-place is commensurate with intended design as well as identifying potential modifications required to make the intended design work.  By not having this expertise, a relatively simple design ends up with a builder, contractor, or craftsman that requires needless detail which has an impact (sometimes substantial) on the budget and schedule.

Green Building / Sustainable Design—We use proprietary cost models to understand and compare initial cost vs. life-cycle cost. Cost factors to be considered: 1.) A realistic assessment of savings on water and energy efficiency for the project should be prepared 2.) Project utility cost analysis for the added upfront cost during construction vs. time required for recapture of added cost increase 3.) Tax credits/deductions for offset of investment 4.) Life-cycle cost analysis including maintenance costs 5.) Comprehensive checklist for every feature desired to understand additional cost. 6.) This type of project requires a commitment from the owner to allow the necessary time to find savings and areas for effective cost management for the AOR/PDC as well as the builder/contractor.

Primary Functions

If your project is land development, Capital Improvement, Public Housing Authority (PHA), ground-up construction, new construction, gut-rehab, major renovation, remodel, or adaptive reuse our expertise and experience can provide solutions.

Forensic Estimating

The process of determining causation and reasonable value of various types of construction claims.  we apply specific techniques to analyze and establish the cause and effect of construction claims, and to prove the reasonable value of any associated changes or claims by the preponderance of the evidence.  Burden-of-proof is generally established by presenting evidence that is slightly more persuasive (or 51%) over the opposing party. OUR GOAL: to surpass the threshold of 51% for confidence and assurance, and to find out who did what, to whom, when, where, why, and the value/impact of a claim—to all affected parties of a contract

cost estimating

At MyRealCost, we can provide complete cost estimating for your design and construction project.  Either in the public or private sector.  We can provide comprehensive and accurate cost data for a given project using qualified, actual, and historical in-house data.  We offer estimating services for design and construction projects in the range of $1—$1 billion.  Our services are available for your projects in the following segments: land development, residential, commercial, multi-tenant/multi-family, mixed-use, adaptive reuse, and health care.  Our in-house estimating staff can prepare a wide range of comprehensive, detailed cost estimating at all stages of design: conceptual, pre-construction/programming, SD, DD, CD, and thru close-out.

Cost Analysis

Cost analysis is the backbone here at MyRealCost.  We strive to become your go-to when it comes to the bidding process—especially as it relates to unbalanced bids.  We can provide customized, detailed analysis of cost at every level for all types of competitive and negotiated contracts: lump-sum, unit price, cost-plus-fixed percentage, cost-plus-fixed fee, cost-plus-variable percentage, target estimate, and GMP.  Additionally, we understand that when it comes to risk allocation (i.e. risk sharing/risk assignment) due diligence is key.  All analyses performed are based upon a firm grounding and understanding of contractual language and rights across varied contract methods.  The analysis we can provide can be as simple as data and supporting detail for change order work to more complicated claims analysis, and everything in between.