“Helping families rebuild with confidence…every step of the way”

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Services

At OBA, we offer a full suite of construction monitoring and risk management services. We can be engaged on specific items or for general project oversight. Explore our services below, click for an expanded description:

Site Review and Zoning/Permit Processing

We assist with finding the possible sites for your project, gather all site data and maps, ensure your build conforms with all local zoning ordinances, establish local market connections, and ensure your project’s viability in the market. Gathering as much data on the current physical condition of the site will help prevent costly roadblocks. Establishing local industry relationships will effectively advance a project through the vital zoning/permitting phase.

Preliminary Plan and Budget Development

We discuss your vision with you and develop a rough schematic floor plan that will be used to choose the best design team and contractors as well as calculate a preliminary budget. Using your selected specifications, we will develop a detailed budget that can more closely reflect the actual cost of the build.

Professional Design/Legal Team Vetting

We utilize our vast network of design and legal firms and vet the best team for your project in your market. The design team will take your concept drawings from scratch paper to final floor, electrical, elevation, and landscaping plans. The legal teams that we vet and you choose will review all contracts with the design/build firms to ensure that you and your build are properly protected within your contracts.

General Contractor and Build Team Vetting

Our experience in construction oversight lends us the upper hand when knowing what to look for in a general contractor. We ensure that you and your project get the best-suited contractor by researching licensing status, credit status, history of meeting budget, completion goals, verifying credit ability with suppliers/vendors, and verifying that the current insurance requirements are being met.

Verify Contractor’s Build Budget

Before funding your project, we verify that the contractor’s build budget is adequate to construct the project as designed. Our comprehensive financial review utilizes local, regional, and national databases to ensure that the budget reflects today’s local construction costs so that you can know that your project is feasible and fund-able from the start.

Review Contractor’s Construction Contract

We independently review the contractor’s construction contract to make sure that it offers mutual protection and is a document that we would feel comfortable signing ourselves. We ensure that it includes items we deem crucial such as a ten-day right to cancel clause, additionally insured clause, and liquidated damages clause, to name a few.

Payment Applications and Progress Draw Inspections

When the contractor submits their request for funds of completed work, we first make sure that this submittal meets the lender/contract requirements. Then, we conduct an onsite inspection to verify that the levels of completion for the requested line items are meeting the contractor’s request and deliver a report to you within 72 hours with the results.

Perform Random Site Visits & Attend Site Meetings

OBA will perform site visits to ensure that the general contractor is on schedule, complying with the contract, and the owner’s desires relative to the construction. We also coordinate and attend site meetings with the general contractor and other critical sub-contractors to review submittal documents and ensure that each party is up to speed on the project.

Project Oversight Services

We offer these services a la carte or via our three-tiered subscription service. Choose from one of the three oversight service options varying in hours needed per month. Whether you are a construction guru or developing your first property, we have a service option that suits your needs.

“Thank you for your persistence in seeing that my home was completed in a timely manner and on budget. Your team is truly amazing!”

Ellen, Michigan Homeowner

Owner Builder Advisors

Owner Builder Advisors alleviates your stress with quality construction oversight.

Owner Builder Advisor (OBA) gives your project safeguards throughout the building process. Whether you are building a home or a business, the processes called for in a construction mortgage are much different than those of the traditional mortgage. We know those differences and are ready to guide you through the process.

Our expertise is both nationwide and local. We have colleagues in the community where your project is being built, and they are familiar with the local regulations and permit processes. OBA is experienced and has a proven track record working on a wide variety of projects, from single family homes to large commercial developments.

Whether building from the ground up, rebuilding, or remodeling, OBA is proud to partner with the nationally recognized and trusted Construction Inspection Specialists (CIS) to provide you with qualified, experienced, and accountable inspectors. Trust our construction risk management experts to guide you every step of the way.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why shouldn’t I perform my own progress inspections?

The use of unbiased, third-party inspectors is vital as it provides a checks-and-balance system for construction projects, keeping the owner/builder informed of the true levels of completion of a project. This helps to manage the risk of a loan not becoming upside-down and keeps the entire process at an arm’s length position. Additionally, they provide an objective opinion through the inspector’s knowledge of the construction process and experience in the field. Use of third-party inspectors also offers another objective opportunity to analyze projects in an effort to help keep each one on schedule and within budget.

Does OBA provide construction management or oversight services?

Yes, we have the ability to provide both construction management and construction oversight services for our clients nationwide. Our expertise allows us to monitor a construction project from an oversight standpoint or actually functioning as the onsite construction manager. We feel it is imperative that someone with construction experience be the buffer between the general contractor and the project owner to ensure the lines of communication are kept open to all parties involved.

Do you provide complete fund control services?

We provide the majority of fund control services to our nationwide lending clients. Due to our not being a licensed escrow agent in the State of California, we are unable to perform actual fund disbursement services. We have existing relationships with California licensed escrow agents whom we work with to perform the disbursement transactions.

Does OBA vet general and subcontractors?

Yes, we have developed a comprehensive process that allows us to vet both general contractors and subcontractors for any construction project across the country. We have found this vetting crucial to the integration of an experienced licensed and competent general contractor and/or subcontractors to ensure a project’s success. Our considerations include the contractor’s experience with the specific scope of work, their licensure status, relationship with the local subcontractors and vendors, the ability to meet schedules, past litigation, etc.

Meet Our Team

Steve Clark : President

Steve Clark has been involved in the construction industry for over forty years in both Northern and Southern California. His construction experience includes: architectural / civil drafting and design, land surveying of residential / commercial / public works projects, inspections of residential / commercial / public works projects, full-scale land development, custom residential design and construction, construction lending inspection and analysis, contract document review, and construction safety training and inspections.

Diana Clark : Vice President

Diana Clark has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and has been published in various strategic-management and construction-related publications. Diana has been affiliated with the construction industry since 1998. Her experience in marketing, management, and construction is invaluable to our firm and our clients. In addition, Diana directs OBA’s strategic planning and financial management.

OBA Team

The OBA team is made up of passionate and knowledgeable individuals offering unparalleled construction management and analysis expertise. The range of experiences found on the OBA team stems from our backgrounds as private lenders, real estate brokers, sales / marketing professionals, developers, and flippers. You can rest easy knowing that our team is monitoring your project; we know what signs to look for, and how to solve problems before they become crises. Our team members are always available for a friendly chat, whether it is a quick question about a current project or an in-depth discussion about your future development plans.

OBA Partners

At OBA, we pride ourselves on the depth of our network of professionals available to assist on your project. Associates utilized by the OBA Team include: licensed contractors, appraisers, architects, certified master inspectors, project managers, surveyors, construction estimators, plan checkers, forensic experts, commercial property managers, construction contract administrators, and construction lawyers. Our ability to utilize this established, nationwide network ensures that we can find the right professional to engage on your project, all at a moment’s notice.

California General Engineering Contractor #783342
California General Building Contractor #783342
California Home Improvement Contractor #783342
California Land Surveyor I.T. #ZL003461
Registered Construction Inspector #5719
Certified Construction Inspector #5936
Certified OSHA Construction Safety Trainer
American Construction Inspectors Association

Association of Construction Inspectors
Concrete Field Testing Technician, Grade I, American Concrete Institute
Certified Horizontal Directional Drilling Inspector
Certified Storm Water Pollution Prevention (SWPPP) Inspector
Certified FEMA Disaster Inspector
Certified Construction Document Technologist – CDT