Have, or considering, a new “high-end” construction Project in Southwest Florida? If so, you are, or will be, paying considerably more for the work than you have to. Not "you might", you will.

Have, or considering, building a new “high-end” construction Project in Southwest Florida? Maximize cost savings and meet your goals by hiring NCHCC as your Builder, Construction Manager or Owner’s Rep…

All NCHCC Services offer Owners and investors incredible value, no matter the size,
Scope or cost of the Project.“Do the math” for yours:

  • NCHCC specializes in providing exclusive Project Cost Management Services on behalf of Owners, Investment Groups and Legal Trusts for their Residential Custom Home & Remodeling Projects
  • Engaging NCHCC in the process is easy! Simply direct your Architect or Builder to provide us with the latest information on your Project
  • NCHCC Services are practical. Cost savings mean they typically more-than- pay for themselves.
  • NCHCC Services are available “’a la carte”. You only pay for the Services that you need, when you need them.
  • Enjoy Convenience and Peace of Mind - Let us monitor and control your Project costs for you!
  • As a Licensed and Insured Florida Certified Building Contractor,
    NCHCC serves Owners, Investment Groups and Legal Trusts with Residential Construction Projects by offering any of several means to meet their specific ends. If you’ve not yet hired one, NCHCC should be your home Builder. Why? Please see our Builder Services page.
  • Already hired a Builder? You need an Owner’s Rep...
  • NCHCC serves Owners, Investment Groups and Legal Trusts with Residential Construction Projects by offering any of several means to meet their specific ends. We specialize in Project Cost Management and prioritize value on every Project. However, if you’ve not yet hired a Builder and the goal for your Project is to maximize cost savings, then you’ll want to strongly consider hiring NCHCC to be your Builder. For more, please see our Builder Services page
  • Already hired a Builder? You need an Owner’s Rep...

What is an “Owner’s Representative”? Why should I hire NCHCC
to act as mine?

An “Owner’s Representative” is an independent, 3rd party that acts on behalf of the Owner to ensure their construction Project comes to fruition having met all of their needs. The American Bar Association has acknowledged the “growing need for Project Advisory Services” and stated that “Given their central role on the Owner’s side of the Project table, Owner’s Representatives have a significant and direct impact on the success or failure of a project.” With construction Projects, the probability of going over-budget is very high. Project delays and inconsistencies emerge that can result in serious conflicts, even legal challenges. Many Owners simply don’t have the time or expertise to deal with the technicalities of a construction Project. An Owner’s Representative is hired to help minimize the potential that such issues even arise and solve the problems when they do. They serve to advise the Owner and advocate for them over the course of the entire job. Builders will offer Owners attractive, but often unrealistic, Proposals to try to win the work. They will propose to do your work on a “Cost-Plus-Fee” basis. Cost-Plus-Fee Contracts are appropriate for most “high-end” construction work. However, they shift all of the cost risk to the Owner, leaving them exposed in a market that exploits exactly that vulnerability.
With Cost-Plus Fee Contracts, who is ultimately responsible for ALL of the construction costs, whatever they end up being? You are. Left unchecked, poor Project cost management by your Builder alone will result in your total Project costs being at least at least 5% higher than they need to be. That is BEFORE the cost of any changes or upgrades.

The numbers that you’re presented are inaccurate from the outset. The first Preliminary Budgets/Estimates you receive are incomplete and inconsistent. Numbers are “spun”.  You might procure (2) or (3) Estimates from competing Builders. If they were all based on the same information, how can it be that the pricing varies so much? How can you discern from it to be able to make an informed decision at this – the most critical point in the process? YOU CAN’T, but NCHCC CAN. We specialize in reconciling the Pre-Contract Estimates you’re given – making them “apples-to-apples” so they can be objectively compared. 

Your risk may be mitigated once you’ve chosen a Builder, but it’s still there. After Contracting with a Builder, that risk is exposed because….

  • your Project is to be built in the “inverted” SWFL market which dictates that premium costs be paid for all of the work to be done....
  • ...by a Builder who likely has higher-priority Projects...
  • ...struggles with Project Cost Management to begin with...
  • ...and who, Contractually, need not be too concerned about what those premium costs for the work are anyway!
Further, the Fee for most Cost-Plus Contracts is a percentage of the total job costs. In these cases, as the job costs increase, so does the amount of the Builder’s Fee. So, not only does your Builder have little motivation to try to control your job costs, they, in fact, have a very good reason NOT to try:

The higher the Project’s – YOUR – costs, the more money your Builder makes!

Do most Builders actively seek to exploit these terms? No. The point is that, with regard to Project Cost Management, most Owners with Cost-Plus Fee Contracts have only the “good-faith” efforts of the Builder to fall back on – nothing else. With all the other factors set against them – that’s not enough. NCHCC has the insight and experience to counter those factors and protect Owners from unnecessary cost overruns. We accomplish this by being proactive and addressing the problem(s) from all angles – all without ceding quality or delaying the job!

The SWFL Construction Industry is inverted: there is more work than there are Qualified Subcontractors to perform it. Make no mistake, the tail wags the dog.

As fewer Tradespeople enter the workforce and more of the Skilled age/retire, it will only get worse. Highly skilled professionals are already rare. That means there are even fewer qualified Subcontractors – both available and able – to perform the “high-end” work that is so prevalent in Southwest Florida. The “high-end” work done primarily under Cost-Plus Fee Contracts. Your “high-end” work.

Builders, too, struggle to find and retain professionals for their own companies. Quality Administrators (Estimators and Purchasing Agents, in particular) are scarce. Consequently, poor, inconsistent communication and weak, confusing reporting are the norm. Your Builder is competing for all of these resources. How can you know where your Builder stands in this Subcontractor market? When navigating the market, they must consider all of the Projects they have under way. How do you know that they are prioritizing YOUR Project?

The answer = you can’t.

The Industry is also highly networked - from the Builder through the smallest Subcontractor.

There are long- standing relationships in place that were there before you came along, that are intended to still be in place long after your Project is complete. Builders foster these relationships to try to maintain their leverage in the inverted market. In doing so, they become averse to obtaining competitive bids from different Subcontractors for the work to be done. How can you be certain that your Builder is doing all they can to control the costs that ultimately get passed on to you?

The answer = you can’t.

The Deck is Stacked...

Cost, quality and schedule/duration are the (3) main concerns with regard to every construction Project. For each job, Builders are tasked with striking an optimal balance between them. Quality isn’t so much a variable. It is defined by the Plans and Specifications. Schedule is a function of the Scope of Work, which is constantly evolving. It is perhaps the hardest variable to control, particularly in the inverted market.

To try to compensate, Builders will hire Subcontractors at a premium. If they really fall behind, they’ll “throw the kitchen sink” at your job – additional manpower, overtime. Whatever it takes, with little regard for the costs of their doing so. Cost tracking, “buy-out”, reporting and administration is difficult and labor intensive. Multiple jobs are constantly being juggled. That means that some must be lower priority than others. If it’s THEIR Project (a Fixed-Price Contract, Model or Spec home), you can be sure that cost will be the priority. But YOU have a Cost-Plus Fee Contract, absolving the Builder of cost risk.

A Builder’s Project Manager and an Owner’s Representative are similar in their tasks – they oversee a Project’s budget and make decisions when issues arise. The difference is to whom they report to. An Owner’s Representative works for the best interest of the Owner – they advocate for and intervene to ensure the Owner’s goals are met. Project Managers oversee their own team’s work and will, necessarily, ultimately act in the best interests of their Company first.

Given all of these circumstances, how can you be confident that all that can be done to control your Project costs, is being done?

The answer = you can’t.

Don’t take my – or anyone else in the Local Construction Industry’s
– word for it!

Ask your friends and neighbors. Most people are reluctant to talk about personal financial matters and nobody wants it to seem that they may have “struggled” to pay for their Project. Yet, specific numbers need not be discussed. The questions are:

  • As a rough percentage, how much did their Project’s end-of-the day costs vary from the original Budget they agreed to?
  • Did they expect such a Variance?
  • Were they clearly and consistently informed of, and asked to approve, all of the cost increases along the way?
  • Was that process smooth and to their satisfaction or inconsistent and frustrating?
Local Builders aren’t actively trying to take advantage of you. They didn’t “stack the deck” – it’s all they can do to “play” the multiple hands they have! The problem isn’t what they are doing, it’s what they are NOT doing: providing Clients with diligent, thorough and accurate Project cost management. They intend to and try, but performing that work is hard and they aren’t proficient at it. They have no obligation to do it to any measurable extent. Lacking motivation and given the circumstances, it’s understandable that they struggle with it. Far from being “anti-Builder”, NCHCC actually helps Builders by facilitating the process. Ultimately, you can’t really know from, or control, the level of effort a Builder puts into the cost management of YOUR Project, but I can. By allowing NCHCC to “push back” against the prevailing circumstances, you can be empowered….
  • To make highly-informed decisions – both Pre-Contract and throughout the course of construction.
  • To ensure your Project is – and remains – your Builder’s top priority.
  • To control the “Budget Creep” that is characteristic of almost every construction Project and hold your Builder accountable to you and the Contract.

I started Naples Custom Home Cost Consulting to help provide you with that empowerment.