When Your Buyer Is Building

Some of your buyers aren't buying a house. They're buying a lot and building one, or buying in a subdivision where the builder comes with the lot. Your part of the deal closes, and theirs is just starting. The next big decision is a construction bid, and most people have never read one.

Talus reviews custom home and major remodel bids, remotely, for the person who will sign the contract. I spent 25-plus years in residential construction, seven of them directing construction operations for a custom-home builder in the Colorado mountains, so I know how bids get put together and where they tend to leave room.

What Talus does

• Reads a builder's bid against the drawings and the finish level the client has in mind, and lists what's missing, which allowances look light, and what's vague.
• Levels two or three bids so they price the same house and the comparison means something.
• Reads contract terms for construction substance: payment schedule, change orders, allowances, schedule language.
• Gives a second opinion on a single change order or draw request once a client is building.

Every review ends with written questions the client can send their builder.

What Talus doesn't do

No site visits, no contact with the builder, no negotiating, no legal advice. Talus reads documents and says what they show. Decisions stay with the client, and contract questions go to a construction attorney.

When a buyer might want it

Bids in hand. They have one or more builder bids and can't tell what the numbers include.

A lot with a builder attached. No competing bid means no outside check on the price. A review is the closest thing to one. There's an article on this: You love the lot, but you're not sure about the builder.

Choosing between builders. Different formats, different allowances, different exclusions. Leveling puts them side by side.

Still in design. The free Bid Completeness Checklist and the articles help them ask for bids that can be compared.

How it's paid

Talus is paid only by the client who books the review. It takes no referral fees from builders, agents, or anyone else, and has no stake in which builder a client picks. That's what lets the review be useful to your buyer.

Prices are on the site: $750 for a single bid review, $1,250 for leveling two or three bids, $250 for a second opinion on one change order, draw request, or schedule update.

Sharing it

If it's useful, I can send you a link to pass along. The free checklist is the easiest place for a buyer to start. Reach me at tim@talusbidreview.com.