Construction Estimator - Property Inspections & Capital Planning

Job Description

Job Description

Construction Estimator – Property Inspections & Capital Planning

Reserve Studies | Property Inspections | Construction Estimating | Real Estate Development

Clovis, CA | Full Time | In-Person

Have you been in construction or estimating long enough to know you like the work, but maybe not everything that comes with it?

Maybe you’re ready to trade some of the 5:00 a.m. starts, jobsite chaos, constant fire drills, and living out of your truck for something a little different.

You’ll still use your construction experience.

You’ll still get out in the field.

You’ll still look at buildings, materials, costs, useful life, repairs, and replacement projects.

But you’ll also spend most nights at home, typically travel about one day a week from spring to fall, have significant control over your own schedule, and work on a wide variety of properties throughout California.

Never heard of a reserve study?

That’s okay. Most people haven’t.

At its core, this job combines construction estimating, property inspections, building systems, replacement-cost analysis, capital planning, financial analysis, and client consulting.

If you understand buildings, construction costs, estimating, and how to solve problems, we can teach you the reserve-study side.

What exactly is a reserve study?

Our clients need to know what their properties are going to require over the next 20 to 30 years.

When will the roof be replaced?

How long will the asphalt last?

What will it cost to repaint the buildings?

When will the pool equipment, fencing, mechanical systems, streets, landscaping, or other major components need repair or replacement?

And most importantly:

How much money should the property be setting aside today to pay for all of it?

That’s where you come in.

California Builder Services works with new home developers, homeowners associations, property managers, and communities throughout California.

You’ll inspect properties, evaluate major building and site components, research replacement costs, develop long-term capital plans, and help clients understand what they should be preparing for financially.

It’s part construction estimator, part property inspector, part analyst, and part consultant.

Which is admittedly a strange combination.

We happen to think that’s what makes it interesting.

What you’ll actually do

You’ll manage your own portfolio of reserve study projects from start to finish.

That includes:

· Performing property inspections and site assessments throughout California.

· Evaluating roofs, asphalt, concrete, exterior paint, fencing, pools, recreation facilities, landscaping, mechanical equipment, building components, and other common-area improvements.

· Preparing construction cost estimates and replacement-cost estimates.

· Researching construction pricing, materials, repair costs, and replacement costs.

· Estimating useful life, remaining useful life, repair cycles, and replacement schedules.

· Developing long-term capital plans and reserve funding projections.

· Reviewing HOA financial statements, reserve balances, budgets, and funding information.

· Preparing professional reserve study reports.

· Managing your own project schedules, inspections, deadlines, and client commitments.

· Working directly with developers, builders, property managers, HOA boards, community associations, and other real estate professionals.

· Explaining technical and financial conclusions to people who may not spend their days thinking about roofs and asphalt.

· Using Excel, Bluebeam, reserve study software, cost data, and other estimating tools to support your work.

· Working closely with our HOA Budget, DRE, and administrative teams on projects involving new real estate development.

· Serving as a senior technical resource when a project requires more experience or judgment.

We’re looking for someone who wants to be very good at the work, not someone who necessarily wants to spend their day holding staff meetings.

About the travel

You will travel, but you won’t live on the road.

On average, inspections require travel about one day per week.

In most cases, you’ll have significant control over which day you schedule your inspections and how you organize your travel.

Most trips are same-day travel within California.

There may occasionally be an overnight trip, early departure, or evening meeting, but you should expect to be home almost every night.

For someone who likes getting out from behind a desk but doesn’t want to spend five days a week on a jobsite, it’s a pretty good balance.

A company vehicle may be available for the right candidate, depending on experience and travel requirements.

Who we’re looking for

We’re looking for someone with real-world experience.

We’re looking for someone with proven growth and a history of responsibility.

In fact, it probably doesn’t.

You might currently be a:

· Construction Estimator

· Senior Estimator

· Construction Project Manager

· Facilities Manager

· Capital Planning or Facilities Planning professional

· Property Inspector

· Building Inspector

· Maintenance Manager

· Property Manager

· Community Association Manager

· Developer or Builder representative

· Construction or real estate professional with strong estimating experience

What matters is whether you understand buildings, construction materials, costs, projects, and numbers.

You should be able to walk a property and notice things.

Not just the obvious things.

You should wonder why something is deteriorating, how long it has left, what it’s going to cost to replace, whether the estimate makes sense, and whether someone may have missed something.

That kind of curiosity matters here.

What we need

This is not an entry-level job.

We’re looking for someone who has already been trusted to work independently and make decisions. Who has a history of getting things right and growing within their knowledge.

You should bring:

· Strong construction estimating, cost estimating, analytical, mathematical, or financial skills.

· A working knowledge of construction materials, building components, maintenance, repairs, and replacement costs.

· Experience managing your own projects, deadlines, clients, estimates, budgets, or field work.

· Strong attention to detail.

· The ability to work independently without needing someone to manage your calendar for you.

· Confidence using Excel, Word, Outlook, and other business software.

· The ability to write clearly and professionally.

· The ability to speak comfortably with developers, property managers, homeowners association boards, and other professionals.

· Enough experience to recognize when something doesn’t look right and enough confidence to dig into it.

We don’t expect perfection.

We do expect you to care whether the answer is right.

Even better if you have experience with:

· Construction estimating

· Replacement-cost estimating

· Property condition assessments

· Facility condition assessments

· Capital improvement planning

· Capital expenditure planning

· Property inspections

· Building inspections

· HOA financials

· Community associations

· Reserve studies or reserve analysis

· Bluebeam

· Construction estimating software

We can teach someone how reserve studies work.

It’s much harder to teach someone ten or twenty years of construction judgment, estimating experience, common sense, and the ability to look at a property and understand what they’re seeing.

What the job offers

This is a full-time, Monday-through-Friday position based in our Clovis, California office.

Compensation is $85,000–$125,000 annually depending on experience.

Sick, Vacation, and Paid Holidays. Company sponsored health, dental, and vision plans.

401K with up to a 6.5% company match.

Company car or car allowance provided, along with a full benefits package.

You’ll have substantial independence managing your projects, inspections, and schedule.

You’ll work both in the office and in the field.

You’ll travel throughout California without spending your life away from home.

You’ll work on everything from established homeowners associations to new communities being developed throughout the state.

And you’ll use the construction and estimating experience you’ve already spent years developing without having to spend every day standing on a construction site.

One last thing

We’re probably not looking for someone who wants to be told exactly what to do every hour of the day.

We’re looking for someone who has been doing this long enough to have some judgment.

Someone who sees a number that doesn’t make sense and checks it.

Someone who notices the roof looks older than the records say it is.

Someone who asks another question before signing off on an assumption.

Someone who can manage their own workload, deal professionally with clients, and take pride in producing work they’re comfortable putting their name on.

If that sounds like you, this may be a career you’ve never considered before.

And that might be exactly why it’s worth a look.