JM Construction, Inc. - (805) 472-2400

A fixed contract is a contract where the General Contractor submits one price to the owner and after accepted the contractor builds the project and bill's off of that one base price. This is a popular contract for most people. The majority of our clients have started with this contract with us and then either changed the contract half way through the project or have gone with Cost Plus on future projects with us. From an owners standpoint, this contract seams safe but you do not get the benefit from savings that the General Contractor finds and gets throughout the project. Contractors negotiate price before and during the project. This negation only serves to benefit the contractor. With this contract the AWA's (Additional Work Authorizations) or the CO's (Change Orders) will cost the owner more money 95% of the time.
With the fixed contract the contractor is working for his bottom line and not the owners.
Our preference is the Cost Plus Fee Contract with is the next one to choose from. You will see why when you compare it to this type of contract.

The Cost Plus Fee Contract has many benefits and when applied to the owners project properly it has big advantages for the owner as well. We prefer this contract especially when we are able to work with our clients and the architect/designers from the beginning. We are able to bring to the discussion and knowledge of cost associated with design elements and we are able to steer the ideas towards fitting within the clients budget. Due to the education of the owners we are also able to bring ideas from a structural standpoint that helps the architect and engineer choose structural design elements that drastically save in building costs.
This type of contract the General Contractor is more of a partner with the owner and helps them accomplish theirs goals and stay within budget. The owner also gets all of the savings back from the negotiation the general contractor makes before and during the project.
90% of our clients prefer this type of contract. With a client retention rate of over 95% we have a lot of repeat business from our clients and 99% of that repeat business uses this type of contract.

The Time and Material Contract is when an owner has a contractor complete a project and pays the contractor for his time and whatever it cost him. There are certain circumstance where our clients want this type of contract:

1. There is an emergency that is urgent and there is no time for quoting what it would cost to fix.
2. Where the deadline is more important than the cost.
3. Money is no object.
4. Used as an add-on to Cost Plus Fee Contracts and Fixed Contracts.
5. Used in conjunction with Design-Build Contracts.

There are many ways to shape construction contract to meet the needs of the customer and the project. Here are some types that are also used:

• Design-Build
• Design-Build with a Guaranteed Maximum
• Cost Plus Percentage
• Cost Plus Percentage with a Guaranteed Maximum
• Cost Plus Fee with a Guaranteed Maximum
• Project Management Only Contract
• Supervision Only Contract

Regardless of the arraignment that is desired, we can customize the contract to meet the needs for the owner and the project.