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Build Contracts and Contractor Selection

A contractor chosen on purpose: the right procurement route, a vetted tender list, comparable bids scored on quality as well as price, and a signed building contract with bonds, retentions and insurances in place.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Then open the Marketplace in the app, search for Build Contracts and Contractor Selection, and click Install. It goes into your own files, and works offline from then on.

Before you start: this plan is general information to help you organise your own affairs. It is not legal advice. Rules differ between countries and change often, so check decisions that matter with a qualified lawyer or the official authority in the country concerned.

What it installs.

1

Pillar

1

Area

50

Projects

200

Starter tasks

🏢 Real Estate Investing & Development

Build Contracts and Contractor Selection

Procuring a contractor: traditional or design and build routes, tender lists, contract forms, bonds and retentions, and choosing on more than price.

  1. Procurement route decision for the scheme
  2. Design information readiness for tender
  3. Tender budget from the development appraisal
  4. Procurement programme from tender to start on site
  5. Contract administrator role decided
  6. Lender conditions on the building contract
  7. Risk allocation table before tender
  8. Choosing the contract form family
  9. Contractor long list from local completed schemes
  10. How procurement routes share risk
  11. Reading a standard building contract
  12. Bonds and guarantees primer
  13. Retention terms and retention bonds primer
  14. Liquidated damages and extensions of time
  15. Contractor insurances in a building contract
  16. Interim payment and notice rules
  17. Contractor's design portion and responsibility
  18. Reading contractor accounts and credit reports
  19. Pre-qualification questionnaire for contractors
  20. Financial and reference checks on the shortlist
  21. Visits to contractors' live sites
  22. Final tender list of four to six contractors
  23. Invitation to tender pack
  24. Pricing document and contract sum analysis
  25. Tender query and clarification log
  26. Mid-tender meeting with each bidder
  27. Tender return day and opening check
  28. Like-for-like tender comparison
  29. Weighted quality scoring beyond price
  30. Contractor interviews with the proposed site team
  31. Post-tender clarifications and negotiation
  32. Tender report and recommendation
  33. Letter of intent with a capped liability
  34. Contract signing and execution pack
  35. Bonds and guarantees in place before start on site
  36. Subcontractor warranties and key subcontractor list
  37. Debriefing unsuccessful bidders
  38. Construction market watch on tender prices
  39. Contractor bench record for future schemes
  40. Insurance and bond expiry register
  41. Tender pipeline tracker across schemes
  42. Contractor financial health monitoring after signing
  43. Procurement lessons review after each tender
  44. First build contract as a new developer
  45. Small scheme with a local builder on a minor works form
  46. Managing trade packages without a main contractor
  47. Procuring a contractor in a small island market
  48. Two-stage tender with early contractor involvement
  49. Schedule of amendments to the standard form
  50. Contractor insolvency contingency plan

Where it starts.

Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.

Procurement route decision for the scheme

Choosing between traditional, design and build, two-stage and management routes decides who carries design risk, how firm the price is at signing and how much your lender will like the deal.

First tasks

  • Write the scheme's size, unit count and current design stage in five lines
  • Score four procurement routes against programme, cost certainty, design control and capacity
  • Ask your lender or equity partner which routes they will fund
  • Record the chosen route and the two deciding reasons in the scheme file

Design information readiness for tender

Contractors price what they can see and add risk money for everything they cannot, so a tender issued on half-finished drawings comes back high, vague or full of exclusions. Checking which drawings, specifications and surveys are complete, and which gaps will be priced as provisional sums, tells you whether you are ready to tender or should hold for a few more weeks of design.

First tasks

  • Ask the architect for the current drawing register with status against each sheet
  • Mark each missing item as finish, provisional sum or contractor design
  • Confirm which survey and investigation reports can be shared with bidders
  • Hold a 30-minute go or hold call with the architect and quantity surveyor

Tender budget from the development appraisal

Tender returns are judged against a number, and if that number is not written down before bids arrive, the lowest bid quietly becomes the budget. Setting a target construction cost from the appraisal, with the profit-on-cost floor it protects, gives you a clear line for when a tender is acceptable, when to negotiate and when to pause the scheme.

First tasks

  • Pull the construction cost line and profit on cost from the latest appraisal
  • Ask the quantity surveyor for a pre-tender estimate on the current design
  • Work out the highest contract sum that still meets your profit floor
  • Send the target and ceiling to the quantity surveyor and lender

Make it yours.

Install Build Contracts and Contractor Selection, then tell Aurum the date you're aiming for. It checks whether the plan fits the weeks you actually have.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Blueprints are general information to help you organise your own work. They are not medical, financial, legal or other professional advice. See the Terms.