Boards make construction decisions every day. Most have never made one before.
A volunteer board is being asked to interpret structural reports, evaluate competing bids, model special assessments, sequence work around occupied units, and defend decisions against litigation exposure. We sit on your side of the table — translating engineering, controlling contractors, and protecting the building’s financial trajectory.
Request Board BriefingDifferent from a property manager. Different from a GC. Different from an engineer.
Property managers handle operations. Engineers identify problems. Contractors execute scope. None of them owns the bridge between those three worlds. The owner’s representative does — translating engineer findings into scopes, evaluating contractor bids against realistic unit costs, sequencing capital programs against association cash flow, and standing between the board and the construction industry’s worst habits.
What we do for boards every week.
Scope Translation
Engineer reports become quantified, biddable scope documents with realistic unit costs. No more guessing whether a $4M Phase II repair is $2M or $7M.
Bid Evaluation
We read between the lines on contractor proposals — what’s excluded, what’s deferred, what’s underbid intentionally. Boards stop comparing apples to oranges.
Budget & Reserve Modeling
Special assessments, reserve drawdowns, financing options, and assessment caps modeled against owner tolerance. The board sees the math before voting.
Construction Oversight
We’re on-site, on the punch list, in the change order conversation. Contractors don’t drift because someone with construction literacy is watching.
Owner Communication
Boards stop being the lightning rod. We handle technical owner questions, town halls, and the inevitable “why is my balcony covered in scaffolding” conversations.
Three buyer profiles. One representation model.
Condominium Boards
- Recertification (25/30/40/50-year)
- Milestone inspection responses (SB-4D)
- SIRS implementation
- Roof + waterproofing + restoration sequencing
- MEP capital programs
- Special assessment evaluation
- Engineer & contractor selection
HOAs
- Common area capital improvements
- Pool deck, garage, road restoration
- Community-wide envelope programs
- Insurance compliance projects
- Reserve-driven capital planning
Developers & Investors
- Pre-acquisition construction due diligence
- Construction management for ground-up
- Repositioning projects
- Distressed asset evaluation
Not every contractor should also be your owner’s rep.
Owner’s representation done correctly requires alignment between us and the building — not between us and the next contractor. When Academia represents a board, we structure the engagement to make sure our incentive is the building’s outcome, not the volume of work flowing through us.
In some scopes we self-perform; in others we coordinate independent contractors. Boards decide the structure. We’re transparent about both.
Boards who do this right end up with better buildings, smaller assessments, and longer tenures.
A well-represented board makes one expensive decision well instead of three cheap decisions badly. The building stays insurable. Unit values hold. Owners renew their faith in governance. The boards who skip this stage — who let lowest-bid contractor selection drive recertification programs — end up in special assessment fights, insurance non-renewals, and litigation. We’ve seen both outcomes. The difference is operator coordination.
Owner’s rep engagement questions.
What does owner’s representation cost?
Engagement structures vary — flat-fee per project, percentage of construction value, hourly for advisory work. Typical owner’s rep fees run 4–8% of project value, often recovered many times over through better bid pricing, scope discipline, and avoided change orders.
How is owner’s representation different from project management?
Project managers execute. Owner’s reps protect interests. A PM keeps the contractor’s schedule. An owner’s rep ensures the contractor’s schedule actually serves the building. Different roles, often working in parallel.
Can our existing engineer/attorney work alongside Academia as owner’s rep?
Yes. We routinely operate alongside association engineers, attorneys, accountants, and property managers. We integrate with your existing professional team, not replace it.
Do we need owner’s representation for smaller projects?
For projects under $250K, often not. For projects over $1M with multiple trades, recertification deadlines, or insurance exposure — almost always yes.
How do you handle conflicts when Academia self-performs part of the scope?
Transparent disclosure to the board. Competitive bids on the self-performed scope. Separate accounting between owner’s rep engagement and construction contracts. The board chooses the structure with full visibility.
What’s the engagement structure — flat fee, percentage, hourly?
We offer all three, scoped to project size and complexity. Most condo recertification programs work cleanly as flat-fee engagements with milestone billing.
