With the housing and rental markets booming in the wake of the recent slowdown, multi-family housing construction is at a new high. In order to secure the contract to build for new projects, competition is quick and fierce.
It is more important than ever to manage the time it takes to create a bid and ensure that you come in lower than the competition and that your projections are realistic. While many contractors have great experience building, the recent interruptions in the supply chain have made creating estimates problematic and a grueling process.
Rather than spend all of that time yourself during the bid process, wouldn’t it make sense to turn over the estimation of the materials to a specialist and reap all the benefits of coming in with the lowest bid?
How a Construction Estimator Can Help
Largely gone are the days when a builder is solely responsible for every facet of multi-family unit construction. Subcontractors are hired for the purposes of speed and expertise and the ability to work in waves throughout the project.
This necessitates a different planning model than in the past, and the procurement of materials is more important now than ever. The ability to save money on construction materials translates into multiple benefits for the contractor trying to win the bid.
By keeping materials costs down, you can save tens of thousands of dollars, which makes it more likely that you will win construction loans from the bank. The savings also translate into savings with the subcontractors since you will be supplying the materials yourself. Since you can then hire labor-only subcontractors, the savings are significant.
But perhaps the greatest assistance a construction estimator can offer for your multi-family construction project is the most intangible gift of them all – that of time. Researching prices and maintaining relationships with suppliers in a volatile market is a full-time job.
As you prepare to write your bid, the last thing you need to do is burden yourself with the materials estimation process. When you engage an expert in this field, they can dedicate time and resources that you need to allocate elsewhere, from other job sites to labor estimation to finding reliable subcontractors who are available.
In the business world, time is money, and hiring a good construction estimator can save you both.