British Columbia · Projects over $50,000
Stop overpaying on your contractor bids.
Micheal Spence. Twenty years of construction experience, on your side of the table. Send the bids. We read the price and the terms before any work begins. The review is free. Negotiation, if you want it, is paid only when the contractor agrees to a better deal.
Independent advocate for the homeowner. We do not sell construction work. We only protect your money and your interests.
20 yrs
In construction. On your side of the bid.
You only
We do not sell the build or take a contractor's cut.
$0
If the price and the terms do not move.
B.C.
Lower Mainland, Island, Okanagan, Interior.
The bid looks competitive. The contract often is not.
Most homeowners compare the bottom line. The money is in what the bid leaves out. On a home project over $50,000, a 10–20% gap is common — and once the deposit is paid, you are negotiating from the weaker side. Province-wide in British Columbia — Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, the Okanagan, and the Interior.
Allowances priced to win
A low allowance looks generous on paper. It is often the first change order.
Scope written too thin
If the bid does not name the work, you will pay for it later — at their rate, not yours.
Markups inside the unit rates
The total can look competitive while labour and materials are padded line by line.
Terms that pay ahead of the work
Front-loaded deposits and weak holdbacks move the risk onto you before a wall comes down.
Three steps. Then you decide.
Full process01
Send us your contractor bids
Quotes, scope, and any contract draft. If you have more than one, send all of them.
02
We review and negotiate
We mark the savings and the weak terms. You can take that list to the contractor, or have us negotiate it.
03
You decide with stronger numbers
Hire, renegotiate, or walk. You keep the decision. We do not sell the construction.
What the numbers look like before and after.
Anonymized. No client names. These are the kind of gaps a line-level read finds in a British Columbia bid package before anyone signs.
Fraser Valley · renovation
The mid bid was not the safe bid.
Before
Three quotes. The middle number was $214,000, with an $18,000 finish allowance and 35% due at signing.
After
Allowance rewritten to a real scope, deposit cut to 10% and tied to demolition, contract price down $19,400.
$19,400
Off the contract, before anyone signed.
Vancouver Island · addition
The exclusions were the real price.
Before
One bid at $312,000. Roof tie-in and the electrical service upgrade were left off the page.
After
Both written into the contract. Price reset to $290,000, and about $36,000 of likely extras pulled back into the deal.
$22,000
Cut from the price. The bigger save was the scope.
Okanagan · custom home
The cheap bid was the expensive one.
Before
Low number sat $41,000 under the other bid. The envelope was excluded. Finishes were a $15,000 allowance on work closer to $90,000.
After
The client did not hire the low number. The gap was a false saving that would have returned as change orders.
$41,000
Avoided. Not saved — refused.
The bid review is free. If you want us to negotiate, the fee is 10% of the documented savings, due only after the contractor agrees in writing. If the price and the terms do not move, you pay nothing.
What homeowners say once the bids are read.
Anonymized. No surnames. Each note tracks one of the reviews above.
“I thought the middle bid was the safe one. The finish allowance was a trap, and they wanted 35% before a wall came down. We signed $19,400 lower, with the deposit tied to the work.”
Homeowner · Fraser Valley
“The price looked complete. The roof tie-in and the electrical upgrade were not in it. Getting those written into the contract mattered more than the $22,000 off the top.”
Homeowner · Vancouver Island
“The cheap bid sat $41,000 under the other one. It was also missing the envelope. I did not hire it. That was the save.”
Homeowner · Okanagan
Don't sign until the numbers have been challenged.
Send the bids. Get a free review from someone with 20 years in construction — not from the contractor who priced the job.