Any investment in a building needs to be thoughtfully considered and planned carefully.

Whether it’s a roof repair or replacement, masonry project, new call box or lobby renovation, it’s important to understand the nuances of the bidding and pricing process so your partnership with Roost yields the best possible outcomes.

Apples to bananas: Creating a clear expectation

Clarifying the project and scope is essential. Otherwise, vendors may be offering bids that can’t be compared or don’t tell the story of how much the project will truly cost. Understanding the full scope of the project will help avoid this and it’s something our project management team can guide you through.

Establishing a baseline

We always start by soliciting one bid, to determine the budget and to ensure we have an appropriate scope of work. We review that pricing with the Board and then determine whether the project pricing fits into the budget and a timeline for initiating the work meets the association’s priorities. When a budget for the project, a general timeline is approved by the Board and money is available, we will then be able to capture additional competitive bids.

Timing is everything. So is patience

Vendors that can deliver outstanding work at fair prices in the District are in VERY high demand. We enjoy great relationships with vendors in all trades - but we cannot solve for their overwhelming workloads. Estimates now commonly take 2-6 weeks for non-emergency work. Even bids for emergency work can take time to capture. Keep in mind that vendors become disinterested in working for firms that call them out for estimates that don’t lead to paid work. This is why any vendor should have the expectation that they have a roughly 30% chance of winning any bid. If they realize they are offering bids just for comparison reasons - they will stop taking our calls and that’s not the outcome anybody wants.

Not all good projects have a good vendor

While most projects are straight forward (boiler or call-box replacements) other upgrades, replacements or repairs may be more nuanced or complex. In some cases, there will only be one or two vendors able or willing to bid on a project. Keep in mind that when vendors are in high demand, they are able to be more selective with the projects they take on and tricky or unpredictable projects are less attractive when work is abundant. Having comparison bids is always ideal, but it may not always be possible.

We’ve been around the building block!

The good news? With few exceptions, we’ve seen it all. Roost has a novel staffing model that pairs a client experience team member with a field based project manager. The ability to specialize in field based work means our project management team knows what to expect, when to expect it and how much we can expect it to cost. This experience means the risk of a bid that isn’t appropriately outlined or priced, becomes a remote possibility. That’s a more streamlined process and project management experience for you! For information on our maintenance and management policies, we’ve got you covered! Take a look here.