Site Supervisors and Owner Builders
Those new to building and first time owner builders can benefit greatly from a site supervisor. Many owner builders rely on site supervisors for their knowledge of local building codes, help with contractors, work arounds for problems and selection of appropriate materials for your job.
Who can be a site supervisor? Do they have to be a General Contractor?
At a minimum, typical bank requirements for site supervisors call for residential construction project manager experience with a least two years of practical on the job experience. If your site supervisor falls into this category he/she will be asked for a resume to document their knowledge. The resume should be written as if your site supervisor is applying for the job of project manager. They should mention of the number of houses built and demonstrate the understanding of all aspects of residential building from “ground up”, highlighting local code knowledge, is a good start to getting them accepted by your bank.
The ideal site supervisor is a general contractor with years of building experience and a state contractors licenses. General contractors have the least resistance in qualifying as site supervisors as long as they have been building for at least two years. Mentioning the number of homes built will be helpful when completing the site supervisor information sheets. Many retired builders are increasingly becoming site supervisors and will pass bank scrutiny as well. Just document their experience and they should be fine.
It’s important to note some states require contractor licenses to build a home. Check with your local building authority for more information.
Where do I find a Site Supervisor?
This question is asked often, and the answer is easier than one may think. In some cases soon to be owner builders have friends or family who are in the construction trade. These site supervisors are going to be the cheapest, they can even charge you $0 for their services. But sometimes you get what you pay for when it comes to friends and family, if you are considering them for your site supervisor, you should also know if they will be there when you need them, always use your best judgment.
If you want a detailed agreement which outlines roles and responsibilities of your site supervisor, be prepared to shell out hard cash for their services or consider hiring an owner builder consulting company to fill the role of site supervisor. If you don’t know someone off hand that would qualify as a site supervisor, you will have many chances to interview potential candidates during the bidding process.
Many subcontractors who will be bidding on you project are licensed contractors who have chosen to specialize one area of building for one reason or another. You will notice a handful of subcontractors will rise above the rest in terms of helpfulness and input into your project. Approach these subcontractors about being your site supervisor. You will be surprised with the results.
Most often you will find the more money you spend with a subcontractor the more receptive they will be about being your site supervisor.
Drafting the Site Supervisor Agreement
The second part of the banks site supervisor requirement is the “Site Supervisor Agreement”. The first question most potential site supervisors will ask is if they can be held liable for any damages. The answer lies on your site supervisor agreement. The site supervisor agreement is simply a contract between you and the site supervisor. The site supervisor is not asked to commit themselves to the bank and are not legally responsible to the bank, only to you. This puts the onus on you to ensure you have spelled out all the roles and responsibilities you expect from your site supervisor. This being said, site supervisor agreements come in all shapes, sizes and costs as every owner builder has different needs thus the contracts will differ.
Logically the more you demand of your site supervisor the more money they will demand of you. Site supervisors will have to charge you a flat fee for their services (banks will not accept per hour agreements) and prices will vary depending on the detail of your agreement.
Site supervisor agreements don’t have to be lengthy, but be specific in areas you want addressed. But, if you are looking for detail and ask for lots of responsibilities from your site supervisor, owner builder consultants may be your best route.
Ready to get started?
Click the next button and complete a simple questionaire.
