You're about to sign something that's going to cost you more than you think.
I've been reading contractor bids and catching what's missing from them for thirty years. Most clients find more than my fee in the first review alone.
THE PROBLEM
Contractors write bids to win jobs. Not to tell you the full story.
What's missing from the bid is what kills the budget. Missing structural specs. Missing code requirements. Line items that disappear until demolition starts and walking away isn't realistic anymore.
By then the number has changed. And you're the one absorbing it.
REAL EXAMPLE
I reviewed a commercial repositioning bid recently. New facade, parking, lighting. Competitive number. Professional presentation.
Missing from the bid were the structural supports for the parapet addition and the roof modifications the parapet required. Both mandatory. Both code. Neither listed.
The updated bid came in $260,000 higher. After the contract was signed.
Nobody on that project was reading the bid the way a contractor writes it. That's what I do before you commit to anything.
WHO I AM
Jeph Burnett. Houston based construction consultant, accredited inspector, active investor, and expert witness on construction disputes.
500 commercial projects. Every asset class. I spent twenty years as a general contractor before I started doing this. I know what's in those bids because I wrote them.
I've caught hundreds of things inspectors missed or signed off on anyway. Foundations with wrong measurements. Roofs missing gaskets on every screw. Issues that show up two years into a lease when the ceiling starts doing something interesting.
I've evaluated institutional portfolios for publicly traded REITs and reported directly to their boards. I've been on every side of every type of construction project that exists.
WHAT THIS COSTS YOU TO IGNORE
One bad bid on a commercial project runs $50,000 to $500,000 over before it's done. Sometimes more. My fee is $5,000 to $20,000 depending on scope.
The math isn't complicated.
THE ASK
If you have a bid on your desk, a deal you're evaluating, or a project that doesn't feel right, book a call. Fifteen minutes. I'll tell you exactly what I'm looking at and whether I can help.
No pitch. No fluff. Just a straight answer.