Competitive Quotes

Here's a suggestion that probably sounds like basic knowledge but often gets overlooked:

When you are in the planning phase of your project, presumably with the architect, you should make it clear that you are going to require multiple competitive quotes from general contractors. As part of this, you should ask for specifications/breakdown pricing template which you can then use to distribute to various general contractors for bids. Keep in mind that the architects will also have preferred GCs whom they like to work with, either for compatibility or financial reasons. You should also insist on taking the quotes to thrid-party GCs who are not related to the architect to at least get a sanity check on the pricing.

We ran into the problem where the GCs quote was 60% over our indicated budget. At the outset of the project, we indicated clearly to the architect our budget. With a single quote from the Architect's preferred GC, we did not know if we are taken for a ride. So, we had to scramble at the last minute to get two alternate GCs to bid on the project. At this point, it seems that the GC is about 20% over the competing quotes. Another problem is you will want to give early heads-up to the competing GCs on the project so they can work it into their schedule.