How to Start Your Real Estate Project?
by
Albert A. Sanchez on Oct. 21, 2015
Business Real Estate Real Estate Construction
Summary: A property owner or developer must make important decisions as to a design team when planning a construction project in order to create a good project budget and achieve a good return on investment.
Good Design, Good Designers and the Correct
Budget Process
There are many decisions that a
property owner or developer (let’s call them owner) must make when creating a plan to build a residential or
commercial building(s) on land they own.
None are more important than the determination of the project budget and
the selection of the design team.
The
Budget
Whichever approach the owner employs
to determine the amount of the project budget, the ability to achieve the budget
target and the quality of the completed product, will be significantly affected
by the process the owner adopts to:
·
Assemble a good design team to include
architects, engineers, interior and landscape designers
·
Ensure intentional costs fall within the
targeted budget and avoid unintentional costs which can increase total project
costs dramatically
·
Follow a process of maximizing good design
and quality building materials by making selections with the design team that
are thoroughly vetted; and minimizing total project costs by requiring
detailed, complete construction documents and rigorous bidding
Good Design, Good Budget, Better Return on Investment
Good designers create attractive, functional
and livable buildings with great curb appeal - all of which inevitably enhance
the value of the property. Good
designers also produce detailed and complete drawings which are essential for
successful bidding and the avoidance of unintentional costs. It is almost always the case that people
prefer to occupy and visit appealing projects; and those projects therefore
enjoy greater occupancy rates and resale values than inferior designs and
lesser quality buildings in otherwise comparable locations.
Unintentional
Costs
In order to achieve the best possible
project budget, the owner must recognize that added costs are not limited to
choosing more expensive materials or larger square footage. Added costs can
occur unintentionally because:
- The
construction documents, including plans, specifications and shop drawings
are not clear, are incomplete, or are inconsistent with other drawings. As
a result, the contractor, owner and subcontractors engage in disputes
during construction regarding change orders; the project budget is
increased and the completion date is delayed.
- The
designers do not recommend alternative selections for materials and hence
selections of very pricey items for which there are less expensive,
equally acceptable alternatives are not available to bid.
- The
owner's representative does not require several bids from either the
contractor or each subcontractor and supplier; or employs the use of
allowances without detailed analysis of the assumptions inherent in the
allowances.
How
to Start
The
process of building a residential or commercial project should start with an
architect or where appropriate, a design-build contractor. Phase One of the process is to obtain
conceptual exterior elevations and interior floor plans.
Armed with conceptual plans, the owner
should add the interior design and landscape architect/designer to the design
process
Once the owner has provided the
architect and interior designer with general ideas of building material
selections, (e.g. flooring, cabinetry, countertops, plumbing, appliances and
woodwork preferences), and the landscape designer has received input regarding
site design, the owner can obtain a rough estimate of total project costs.
This rough estimate
provides the owner with feedback to better understand what the budget will
likely amount to, at minimum, and information to develop a plan for final
decisions and bidding.
Now
it’s time to build
Once the owner, design team and
contractor have designed an attractive, functional, livable building, with curb appeal; and selected the best bids for
the final budget, the parties can move into the construction phase of the
project knowing they have enhanced the
value of the project before it is even built.
