Asked to run somebody's spec build for a fee, agreeing to what exactly

I've been building out what my own first deal costs and the thing I'd want before saying yes is the budget itself, line by line, with the GC's contract attached. Not the 340k total, the schedule of values. If he won't show you that, you're being asked to police a number you've never seen.

Also 2,500 a month for two site visits a week and draw review isn't crazy on its face, it's roughly 7.4 percent of the build cost annualized, which is in the neighborhood of what owner's rep work goes for. The bonus tied to a sale price he won't disclose is the part I'd push back on. A bonus you can't calculate isn't compensation, it's a story.

Three mechanisms are getting collapsed together in what he described, and separating them is the whole decision.

A general contractor holds a contract to build to a set of plans, carries general liability and usually workers comp, and is licensed in most states to perform that work. An owner's representative works for the owner, monitors the GC, and has no contractual authority over subs unless the GC contract says so. A construction manager can be either depending on how the agreement is written. What he's describing is owner's rep work. If you start directing subcontractors, changing scope, or hiring anyone, you can drift toward performing contracting services, and licensing triggers for that vary by state. Ask a construction attorney in your state before you sign, not after.

On the draw certification: when you sign a draw request you're representing to the lender that the described work is in place. Standard practice ties draws to lien waivers from subs and to a third party inspection. If the lender inspects anyway, your signature is administrative. If they're relying on you instead of an inspector, you're carrying professional liability that a 25k fee doesn't price. Ask the lender directly what their draw process requires and get the answer in writing.

On the numbers: 340k on 2,000 square feet is 170 a foot for hard costs, which is plausible in many markets given residential material prices running above 3 percent annually and persistent labor scarcity. Whether the high 400s exit works depends on his soft costs, carry, and commissions, none of which you've seen. Ask for the full budget and the appraisal the lender ordered. If either is withheld, that answers your question.

Take it. Seriously. You'll learn more in ten months on someone else's balance sheet than in three years of reading, and 25k to watch a house get built is a paid education. Just don't sign anything with the lender.

I do thin-margin deals fast and the single most valuable thing I own is knowing what a framing crew does in a week versus what they say they'll do. You can't get that from a book.

@flint the difference is that on your own deal you own the upside. Here the upside is 25k and the downside is a lender who thinks you certified something. That's not the same trade.

I'd want to know why he wants you rather than a licensed construction manager with errors and omissions coverage. There's usually an answer and it's usually price. That's fine, plenty of people buy the cheaper version knowingly. But it tells you he's underfunded on soft costs or he's the type who shops every line, and if he shops every line he'll shop your invoice too.

Ask him one question: who's paying for the third party inspections the lender requires? If he says "that's what I'm hiring you for," walk. If he says the lender orders them, you're an extra set of eyes and the job is reasonable.

Rural angle since that's my corner. 170 a foot is high for the low price point markets I look at and would be a stretch to sell in the high 400s where I am. But it's completely ordinary in a lot of suburban submarkets. You need to see the appraisal or three closed comps before you can judge whether his exit is real, and if his exit isn't real, the project stalls and your ten month engagement becomes four.

Whether you can read a framing plan and spot when something's built wrong is what'll make or break your usefulness on site. Two site visits a week where you take photos and nod is worth maybe 800 a month. Two site visits where you catch a missing hold-down or a joist hanger nailed with the wrong fasteners is worth what he's offering and more.

If you can't read plans yet, say yes only if you can also spend the first month asking the GC dumb questions on site. Most GCs will teach you if you're not pretending to already know.

@plumb your gut going sideways at the lender signature is the most reliable piece of information in your whole post. Everything else you can research. That reaction you already have.

The version of this I'd say yes to: monthly fee, written scope that says you report and recommend rather than approve or direct, no signature authority with anyone's bank, and the bonus either defined in dollars against a stated price or dropped entirely. If he won't do that version, he wanted something else.