ADVOCATE - Residential Construction Advisors

I have had the pleasure of working with ADVOCATE on several homes and they have always done an incredible job assembling the right teams for their clients, bringing them top tier quality, design, and service. They provide the upmost organization, feedback and transparency, for all parties, and they have been a true joy to work with.

We had the opportunity to collaborate with Advocate and were thoroughly impressed by their professionalism and level of expertise. Their team was highly organized, communicative, and proactive throughout the entire process, making coordination between all parties seamless. As designers, we especially appreciated their attention to detail, respect for the client’s vision, and ability to keep the project moving efficiently while maintaining a high standard of quality. Advocate truly serves as a strong advocate for homeowners while fostering a collaborative environment for the entire project team. We look forward to working together again in the future.

Scott, and The Advocate organization, saved me! I was having immense problems with my builder, and was more than a year behind schedule and more than 50% over budget. So I enlisted Scott and his team, and they were able to use their knowledge and experience to watch over the builder so he couldn't pull the fleece over me any longer. Once Scott was on the project, things moved along at a great pace, and I wish I'd known about them and enlisted him from the beginning. It was dollars well-spent.

I had an outstanding experience working with Advocate. From start to finish, they made an otherwise overwhelming process seamless and efficient. They helped me secure an excellent general contractor and carefully cost-engineered the entire project to keep everything on budget without sacrificing quality. Their guidance with permitting saved a tremendous amount of time and hassle, and having legal representation included gave me peace of mind throughout the process. Their expertise, professionalism, and attention to detail were invaluable. I truly felt they had my best interests in mind every step of the way. I highly recommend Advocate to any homeowner looking for a trusted partner to manage and protect their investment.

I am so grateful to Advocate for their exceptional advice and support during our home renovation project. My family was dealing with some challenges with our general contractor, and the team at Advocate stepped in with clear, professional, and thorough guidance. They took the time to explain our rights, options, and helped us navigate the situation with confidence. The peace of mind they provided was invaluable. They made a stressful situation much easier to manage, and we truly felt they had our best interests at heart. Looking forward to using them again in the future!

I reached out to Advocate after experiencing an incredibly stressful situation with a general contractor. After I approved the GC's estimate, the GC greatly raised its bid right after demo and created a situation where my family and me felt trapped. Advocate was so responsive, calming, and talked through tailored solutions to help us navigate and reach solutions to mitigate our harm. We are so appreciative of their professionalism, kindness, and support, and would highly recommend their services to anyone going through the home renovation/construction process.

We purchased a half-built home and brought in Advocate to review the completed work and the builder’s forward budget. Advocate ensured that what we paid for was already completed and that the forward budget was realistic for our desired finishes. Their proprietary database of previous projects proved invaluable. Once we purchased the home, Advocate assigned a construction project manager to be our eyes and ears on-site. They ensured that the builder, architect, and designer adhered to the schedule and maintained the expected quality of work. As we made changes, Advocate vetted the builder’s quotes and often recommended more competitive trades. We could never have achieved this outcome without Advocate’s involvement. They earned their compensation and then some, proving to be one of our best investments. They provided total peace of mind by managing all parties, adhering to the schedule, and, most importantly, keeping the project on budget. We have built many homes, but this was our first experience using a firm like Advocate. Moving forward, we wouldn’t do it any other way. If you are building a home, or even remodeling we would highly recommend using Advocate to assist you in overseeing the work to give you total peace of mind.

Engaging Advocate, and more specifically Scott Schroeder, has been a lifesaver/Godsend for us. We were involved in the remodel from hell with a GC that was completely incompetent from both a construction and administration perspective. After reaching a point of complete and utter frustration, we reached out to Advocate and engaged them to help us get the remodel back under control - both the project and the cost/billing administration processes. They stepped in and took control and really helped us get the project and costs/billing better understood and in control, allowing us to make informed decisions leading to termination and onboarding a new GC. Scott has been a rock throughout the entire process. He is unbelievably dedicated and engages with us as if this is his house. Our old GC’s books and records were atrocious and they were uncooperative. Scott really stepped up, engaged directly with subs and vendors and was able to create a financial understanding that the original GC simply could not. He also stepped up as we fired the old GC and hired a new one - he was incredibly helpful in the transition. Last Scott story, our involvement with Advocate has cut back since we have the new GC and the project is advancing nicely. On Saturday, we were out running errands and we received a call from Scott, just checking in to see how things were going. Can’t beat that level of caring and client service. If we ever get over the PTSD of this project and ever undertake a house project - new build or remodel, Advocate will be a part from day 1.

Working with Advocate has been a game changer for us. With a very busy schedule and travel, having "advocates" working for us has made the process of building our dream home more manageable. Having Advocate on our team makes the legal aspects, vetting process, and selection of builders and architects achievable. Over the years, we have heard horror stories about the home building process from friends and colleagues, which can make you apprehensive, however, Advocate has cleared all of those worries and concerns out of the way for us and we sleep well at night knowing that we have a team of residential construction professionals working along our side helping us to make the best decisions about our dream home. We are so happy that we made the decision to work with Advocate.

Collaborating with the ADVOCATE team has enlightened the Ownby team to the fact that they extend their advocacy beyond just the client; they advocate for every member of the team. Their ability to introduce fresh ideas and unconventional approaches is invaluable in keeping the project momentum amidst current challenges. Witnessing their influence in decision-making not only reassures the client but also accelerates the project's progress, particularly in navigating tough choices. Their presence, educating and guiding the entire team, significantly enhances the project's outcome, making it stand out more than it would have otherwise.

The advocate team is outstanding! They communicate very well and listen to our thoughts and concerns. We are both busy and cannot imagine being able to proceed with our new house building project without the advocate. It's the least stressful project I have undertaken. If you are building a house or commercial property, I highly recommend working with them before losing extra money on plan changes, designer changes, etc. It's worth it!!

My husband and I have both been in real estate for well over 20 years, but we had never undertaken any remodeling before that had to be taken down to just the walls and studs. This was completely new to us, and we knew enough to know we didn’t know anything and that we needed serious help, which is where ADVOCATE came in. ADVOCATE gave us an idea of what it could be, and that’s where it got really exciting – we could see what we could do with this house that needed so much help but had these just tremendous views.