Owner's Representation
Your interests at the table, on every call, in every meeting
Everyone else on the project is paid to deliver their scope. An owner's rep is the only party paid to protect the outcome.
What an owner's representative actually does
Reads the contracts before they're signed and flags what's missing. Reviews pay applications against actual progress. Evaluates change orders on merit instead of accepting them on schedule pressure. Tracks the critical path and calls out slippage while it's still recoverable. Sits in design meetings and asks the questions that catch coordination gaps before they become RFIs.
Most owners are excellent at their own business and have run few or no construction projects. That asymmetry is expensive, and it compounds quietly.
Where the money leaks
Change orders priced without competition. Allowances set low to win the bid and reconciled high during construction. Scope gaps between trades that nobody caught in the buyout. Schedule extensions granted without documentation. Retainage released early. Substitutions approved without a value comparison.
None of these require bad faith from anyone. They're the normal consequence of an owner who can't evaluate what they're being told, and they're most of what an owner's rep pays for.
Carol's version of the role
Twenty-five years of running these projects from the other side of the table means the questions are specific. She has priced this work, scheduled it, built it, and been on the receiving end of the same arguments. She also holds every member of the team to the same standard, which is a large part of why projects she runs stay on schedule.
What you get
- Contract review before execution
- Design and consultant team coordination
- Bid and buyout support, scope gap analysis
- Pay application and change order review
- Schedule and budget tracking with regular written reporting
- Lender, insurer and agency coordination
Bring CLD in when
- You're spending significant money on a project type you've never run
- The contractor and architect disagree and you can't evaluate who's right
- Change orders are arriving faster than you can assess them
- A lender requires third-party oversight on draws
Common questions
Is this the same as a general contractor?
No — and it's important that it isn't. A general contractor is a party to the construction contract with their own commercial interests. An owner's representative advises you and has no financial stake in the construction outcome.
How is this priced?
Typically a monthly fee for the duration of the engagement, or a fixed fee for a defined phase. Percentage-of-cost arrangements create bad incentives for a role whose job is to control cost.
Can you start mid-project?
Yes, and it happens often. The first step is a review of contracts, current budget and schedule status, and open change orders to establish where things actually stand.
Where this service is available
In person across Snohomish County · King County · Skagit County · Island County. Code research and submittal preparation for this scope is also available remotely, nationwide.
Related
Services that usually go with this one
Construction Oversight & Quality Control
The approved drawings describe what should get built. Oversight is the process of confirming, repeatedly, that it is.
Read more →Design & Consultant Coordination
Architecture, civil, geotech, survey and landscape each produce a correct set. Plan review is where you find out they don't agree with each other.
Read more →Permitting & Entitlements
Plan review is a conversation with a reviewer who has a checklist and a queue. Projects move when someone reads what's actually being asked and answers it completely.
Read more →Tell Carol about the project
The first conversation is a straight read on whether the project is workable and what it would take to move it. No charge for that call.