Most owner’s representative RFPs produce proposals that cannot be compared to each other. One firm quotes a percentage, another a monthly rate, a third a lump sum against an assumed duration. Scopes differ enough that the cheapest number is often the narrowest service. The owner ends up choosing on price for services that are not the same services.
That is an RFP problem, not a market problem. This article covers what to put in the document so the responses arrive in a form you can actually evaluate.
Define the Scope Before You Ask for a Price
The single most common defect in an owner’s representative RFP is asking firms to propose a scope and a fee simultaneously. You get creative scoping optimized for a competitive number.
Instead, state the scope yourself, phase by phase, and let firms price it. Be explicit about which of the following you are buying:
- Preconstruction — program validation, budget development, consultant selection, design review, constructability input, procurement strategy.
- Procurement — bid documents, bidder prequalification, bid analysis, contract negotiation support.
- Construction — site presence, progress verification, schedule oversight, payment application review, change order review, quality monitoring, meeting management.
- Closeout — punch list management, commissioning oversight, warranty and O&M collection, record document turnover.
Where you are unsure of scope, say so and ask for it priced as an option. That is far better than leaving it ambiguous.
State the Project Facts That Drive Effort
Effort scales with specific project attributes. If the RFP omits them, every proposal is a guess.
- Project type, size, and location, including whether the site is occupied or operating during construction.
- Estimated construction value and the current stage of design.
- Target schedule, including any fixed external dates.
- Delivery method — design-bid-build, design-build, CM at risk, or multiple prime contracts.
- Number of contracts the representative will oversee.
- Whether a lender, investor, or board requires specific reporting.
- Known constraints: phasing requirements, historic designation, coastal or flood conditions, jurisdictional complexity.
Specify Staffing, Not Just the Firm
Owners hire firms and receive individuals. The RFP should force clarity on who is actually assigned.
- Require named personnel with résumés for anyone who will spend meaningful time on the project.
- Require stated time commitment per person — hours per week or percentage of availability, not “as required.”
- Ask what else those individuals are assigned to during your project window.
- Require a named single point of accountability and a defined escalation path.
- Ask what happens if the assigned lead leaves the firm or is reassigned, and whether you have approval rights over replacements.
Require that key personnel changes need owner consent. Firms that resist this are telling you something useful.
Define Site Presence Precisely
“Regular site visits” means nothing. State what you expect and ask firms to confirm or propose an alternative.
- Frequency and duration of site presence, by project phase.
- Whether presence increases during critical activities — structural, envelope, MEP rough-in, commissioning.
- Whether the representative attends owner-architect-contractor meetings, subcontractor coordination meetings, or both.
- Expected response time for site issues requiring a decision.
Set Authority Limits Explicitly
This section prevents the most expensive category of misunderstanding. Define what the representative may decide alone and what requires you.
- Dollar threshold above which change orders require owner approval.
- Whether the representative may issue field directives, and under what limits.
- Who signs payment certifications, and whether the representative recommends or approves.
- Authority to reject work, stop work, or withhold payment recommendation.
- Authority to communicate directly with the contractor, and whether the owner is copied on everything.
An owner’s representative operates under delegated authority. The clearer the delegation, the fewer disputes about whether something was within scope.
Specify Deliverables and Reporting
Ask for samples, redacted if necessary. A firm’s actual monthly report tells you more about how they work than any narrative response.
- Monthly report contents and format, with a sample attached.
- Cost report structure — how budget, commitments, changes, contingency, and forecast to completion are presented.
- Schedule reporting — whether the representative independently analyzes the contractor’s schedule or reports it.
- Payment application review documentation, including how findings and recommended adjustments are recorded. Our guide to construction draw review describes what that review should actually cover.
- Change order log and how pending changes are tracked before they become executed. See our framework for change order management.
- Meeting minutes turnaround time.
- Photo documentation standards and where the record is stored.
- Who owns the project records at the end of the engagement.
Ask for Fees in a Format You Can Compare
Do not leave the fee format to the respondent. Provide a form and require it.
- Require fee stated in one primary structure — fixed fee, monthly rate, or percentage — and require the alternatives shown for comparison.
- Require an hourly rate schedule for all personnel classifications, even on a fixed fee, so additional services can be priced later.
- Require reimbursable expenses to be itemized with a not-to-exceed.
- Require a stated assumption about project duration, and define what happens if the project extends. This is where fixed fees most often become disputes.
- Require the fee broken by phase, so partial engagement or early termination is priced.
- Ask what is explicitly excluded.
Our overview of fee structures for owner’s representatives in Florida covers how the common models behave under schedule change.
Ask Qualification Questions That Discriminate
Generic experience questions produce generic answers. Better questions force specifics.
- Describe three projects of comparable type, value, and jurisdiction completed in the last five years, with references.
- Describe a project where the budget was exceeded and what your firm did.
- Describe how you handled a disagreement with a general contractor over a change order.
- What is your process when the contractor’s reported percentage complete does not match what you observe?
- Describe your experience with this specific building department.
- Confirm licensing and registration status as applicable, and insurance coverage with limits.
Verify what you can independently. Florida contractor licensing status is publicly searchable through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Publish Your Evaluation Criteria
State how you will score. It improves proposal quality and protects the decision.
- List criteria and weightings — typically relevant experience, assigned personnel, approach, local knowledge, and fee.
- State whether interviews will be held and who must attend from the proposing firm.
- State the timeline: questions deadline, response date, interview window, award target, engagement start.
- Name a single point of contact for questions and require questions in writing.
Weighting fee below fifty percent is common on this type of engagement, because the cost differential between proposals is usually small relative to what the role influences.
Include the Commercial Terms Up Front
Attach your intended agreement or the key terms with the RFP. Discovering an unacceptable indemnity or insurance requirement after selection wastes both parties’ time.
- Insurance requirements and limits.
- Indemnification and limitation of liability positions.
- Standard of care language.
- Termination for convenience and the associated fee treatment.
- Conflict of interest disclosure — specifically whether the firm has any relationship with likely bidders.
That last point deserves emphasis. The value of an owner’s representative rests on independence from the parties being overseen. Require disclosure and take it seriously.
A Short Structure That Works
- Project description and known constraints
- Scope of services by phase, with options identified
- Staffing requirements and named personnel
- Site presence expectations
- Authority limits
- Deliverables and reporting, with samples requested
- Fee proposal form
- Qualification questions
- Evaluation criteria and schedule
- Commercial terms and conflict disclosure
Ten sections, and every proposal comes back comparable.
Mistakes That Produce Unusable Proposals
A few recurring errors account for most of the cases where an owner runs a full RFP process and still cannot make a defensible decision.
Asking for a fee without a duration assumption. A monthly rate with no stated project length is not a price. Two firms quoting the same monthly figure can differ by hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on what they assume about schedule. Require the assumption to be stated and the mechanism for extension to be priced.
Leaving site presence undefined. This is the largest single cost driver in the engagement and the easiest place for a firm to win on price by assuming less. If the RFP does not specify expected presence, the responses will not be comparable and the lowest number will belong to whoever assumed the least time on site.
Accepting a firm résumé instead of individual résumés. Firms have deep benches on paper. What matters is who is assigned, at what percentage, and what else they are carrying. A proposal that names a well-known principal without stating their actual time commitment is telling you very little.
Ignoring the closeout phase. Owners scope preconstruction and construction carefully and leave closeout as an afterthought. Closeout is where warranties, as-builts, commissioning records, and final lien documentation are secured, and where an under-scoped engagement quietly ends before the work that protects the owner is done.
Running the RFP after the contractor is selected. The largest value an owner’s representative adds is usually in preconstruction — validating budget, testing the schedule, and shaping the contract. Engaging one after those decisions are locked buys oversight of choices already made.
Not asking about conflicts. Independence is the entire premise of the role. A firm with an existing commercial relationship with a likely bidder may still be the right choice, but that has to be a decision you make knowingly rather than discover later.
Discuss Your Selection Process
If you are preparing to engage an owner’s representative and want the scope defined before the RFP goes out, contact FALKE CORP.
This article is for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. Owners should have procurement documents and professional services agreements reviewed by qualified counsel.