What is an owner’s representative? Simply, it is a professional who advocates for your best interests on your construction project. Someone with the extensive knowledge needed to help oversee your project smoothly.
As an owner’s representative, we at Crystal Construction Consulting are primarily responsible for advocating for your best interests on whatever project it may be, whether it be the entire project or a smaller portion. You can hire us to join you at whatever point in the project you want for however much time you want. You can even put us on standby! The choice is yours. Our job is to set you up for success.
Before we tell you more, we’d like to share the “how” and “why” our construction consultant Martin Espinosa got started.
“As I grew more experienced in construction over the years, when working with clients I began to see a missing link between owners and other contractors. Mainly, a person with a lot of knowledge and years of experience who could help smooth out the process to make it easier for everyone. Around that same time when I began to see the need for a construction consultant, a fellow contractor and friend of mine of about 30 years recommended me for an owner’s representation job. A client had asked him to do it, but my friend didn’t have the broad base knowledge of construction that I have. In fact, this friend always called me with questions on things outside his field of expertise.
I started my first owner’s representation job in Coral Gables, Florida, 16 months of work on a beautiful home of about $2.9 million that was being built across two properties. During that project, I visited the job site 2 or 3 times a week and took pictures. After each visit, I’d write a report with the weather, conditions, personnel present, and the state of the work in progress. For this job, I had the power of the architect to sign off on change orders and payments. I saved the owner’s money several times during change order and payment sign-offs. One change order called for brass lamps to be installed that was about $110,000. I knew a place that sold great quality brass lamps and they would provide them for $65,000. The owners saved most of my consulting fee with this one suggestion.
I also was able to help two jobs at once by combining the disposal of materials, greening the environment, and saving money. With the soil and boulders (worth about $300 each on market) removed from the $2.9 million job after digging foundations and for gas tanks, I saved the owners enormously on disposal by transporting them to a nearby job (instead of to a gas-expensive far away dump) for the Chamber of Commerce who used them for landscaping, also saving that client money and using green, reusable materials.”
Martin’s story shows how his wealth of experience benefitted the construction process as well as saving people time and money. Plus, it was a fun working experience for everyone.
Construction is a complicated process, and Martin and his team can help you foresee problems that saves you money on delays and cost overruns. We handle the hard work of dealing with contractors, subcontractors, architects, engineers, and building departments. We monitor your job. We answer your questions about the construction process. Basically, we are on your side, representing you, advocating for you. We can represent your construction interests here in Northern California or remotely anywhere in the United States.
But most importantly, you are a part of the team! Keeping you up-to-date and informed makes the whole process more enjoyable for everyone. We keep dialogue open with you so you can always be informed, share ideas, ask questions, and really understand the shape and direction of your project.
We at Crystal Construction Consulting are proud of the work we have done with clients and how they have been able to shape their own projects with our expertise. It is our pleasure to work with you and help you achieve the results you want at the best cost.
Remember, we are here to advocate for you.
One more story before you go. Martin has a ton of them!
“I was working on a clinic that was 3 stories. The 2nd floor was to be completely redone with examination rooms, equipment rooms, a reception area, a cafeteria, and an eyeglass center. I worked with the owners and contractor to redo it with sustainable equipment and materials.
One of the many ways I helped this client out was during a change order from the electrician. There was an item on it that was in the contract, which means my client would’ve been double charged if the error had not been caught. I worked with the electrician on the change order and saved the client twice my fee. Other change orders were lowered for similar reasons. It was a big job with a lot of contractors and a lot of details. Because I oversaw the process, I could catch mistakes and save my client time and money.
I also stepped in to help remove the several liens filed against the clients removed so that they regained full ownership and control of their clinic and property. I could be on their side and advocate for them with the contractors and the city.”