Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: RFPs and developers

[James Kacki (jimkacki]

You can and should interview developers to see who you want on a  
short-list, but eventually, everything HAS TO BE  put down on paper  
and specified in detail anyway, for your contract.  And you want  
several competitive bids for due diligence, so as much as  
'interactive interviews' have their place, I wouldn't short-circuit  
the RFP process.  Its a normal part of business and if a developer is  
too busy (or otherwise refuses) to put everything on paper, I would  
see it as a 'red flag'. and it may be  an indication that they may be  
too busy to give you good service, if hired.
On the other hand if you are in a rural area with only one developer  
or contractor in the region who is well know to the community and  
trusted, then you could forego competitive RFP's, but make sure  
everything that would be in the RFP (time, money, schedule,  
insurance, services offered, guarantees, bonding, etc. etc. etc.) is  
on paper and signed as part of your contract.
James

On 19-Feb-08, at 12:37 PM, Sharon Villines wrote:
> And I would add that RFPs are very time consuming to fill out. If I
> were developer who has a lot of business anyway -- and a good person
> does -- i would refuse. Interactive interviews with the developer,
> site visits to other projects, and interviews with references, I
> think, would be sufficient.