Articles by Justin Steubs
Keep One Project File
The owner who can find the paperwork usually wins the conversation. Every project creates paper. A contract, a set of drawings, a few revised drawings, change orders, invoices, receipts, photos, product sheets, inspection cards & warranties. Most of it arrives in pieces, from different people, through different apps. None of that matters until someone asks a question. Was that upgrade included? Did we approve this change? Which tile did we pick? When does the roof warranty end?
Ask for the Three-Week Look-Ahead, Not Just the Master Schedule
Ask for the Three-Week Look-Ahead, Not Just the Master Schedule The big schedule tells you where the job is going. The short one tells you what has to happen next & what you owe it. Most owners see the master schedule once, near the start of the project. It is long, it is detailed & it is usually out of date within a few weeks. That is not a failure. A master schedule is a plan for the whole job. Real jobs move.
The Holidays Are on Your Schedule Whether You Planned for Them or Not
The Holidays Are on Your Schedule Whether You Planned for Them or Not The end of the year slows down everyone your project depends on. Plan the gap before it plans you. Most construction schedules are drawn as if every week is a normal week. Then late November arrives & the real calendar shows up. Crews take time off. Suppliers close early. Inspectors’ calendars fill or go dark. Lenders & title offices run on skeleton staff. The office that approves your next draw may not answer until after New Year’s.
The First Meeting Sets the Tone for the Whole Job
The First Meeting Sets the Tone for the Whole Job An hour of clarity before work starts saves weeks of confusion later. Most projects start with a signed contract & a start date. What they often skip is a real conversation about how the job is going to run. Everyone shows up on day one with their own picture of the project & those pictures rarely match. A kickoff meeting is where you line them up before anyone picks up a tool.
The City Inspector Is Not Your Inspector
The City Inspector Is Not Your Inspector A passed inspection means the work meets the code. It does not mean every detail was checked the way an owner would check it. Most owners relax when the city or county stamps a stage of the work. That stamp matters. It does not mean someone walked the job for you. Agency inspectors enforce the building code. They look for the items their checklist requires at that stage.
Give the Designer a Budget on Day One
Give the Designer a Budget on Day One The cheapest time to fit a project to a budget is before anything is drawn. A lot of owners keep their budget to themselves at the start. Some worry that a designer will spend whatever number they hear. Others simply have not settled on a number yet. Either way the design moves forward without a target. Then pricing comes back & the total is well above what the owner hoped for.
Talk to the Neighbors Before Work Starts
Talk to the Neighbors Before Work Starts The people next door will live with your project too. A little notice goes a long way. Every project has an audience. Trucks park on the street, dust drifts over the fence & a saw starts up early on a weekday morning. The neighbors did not sign up for any of it, yet they will hear & see most of it. Owners often focus on the design, the budget & the schedule & forget the people who share the block. That is understandable.
Keep Extra Materials for the Repair You Will Need Later
Keep Extra Materials for the Repair You Will Need Later The tile you picked this year may be gone next year. Plan for that now. Every finished project eventually needs a repair. A cracked tile, a scratched plank of flooring, a water stain on a wall or a broken cabinet door shows up sooner or later. When it does, the owner usually learns that the exact product is no longer made, the dye lot has changed or the color was a custom mix nobody wrote down.
Scope Gaps: The Work Nobody Priced
Scope Gaps: The Work Nobody Priced The most expensive line item on a job is often the one that isn’t on anybody’s bid. Most budget surprises don’t come from bad pricing. They come from work that fell between two bids. The framer assumed the electrician would handle the blocking. The electrician assumed the framer would. The owner assumed somebody had it. Nobody priced it, so nobody owns it. Over the years I’ve learned that the gaps between scopes deserve as much attention as the scopes themselves.
Walk the Job. The Report Can't Tell You Everything.
Walk the Job. The Report Can't Tell You Everything. Status reports tell you what someone thinks is happening. The site tells you what is. Every project produces reports. Schedules get updated, percent-complete numbers get filled in & meeting notes go out on time. All of that matters. None of it replaces standing on the site & looking. After 25+ years in construction, I've learned that the most useful hour of my week is usually the one I spend walking the job.
Surprise Change Orders Are Usually Late Conversations
Surprise Change Orders Are Usually Late Conversations The paper isn’t the problem. The missing talk before the paper is. Change orders get a bad reputation. Owners hear the phrase & brace for an argument. Builders hear it & brace for a delay. Both sides often treat the document like the problem. After 25+ years in construction, I’ve found that the paper is rarely the real issue. A surprise change order is usually a late conversation wearing a form.
Contingency Isn't Padding. It's the Plan for What You Don't Know Yet.
Every project budget has a line that makes people nervous. It sits near the bottom, it doesn't buy any lumber or concrete, and the first time a number gets tight, someone asks whether we really need it. That line is contingency. After 25+ years in construction, I've come to think it's one of the most honest numbers on the page, as long as everyone understands what it's for.
Schedules Slip in the Handoffs, Not the Work
When a project runs late, the first instinct is to look at the work. Was the crew slow? Was the task harder than expected? Did someone underestimate it? Sometimes, sure. But after 25+ years in construction, I've found that most lost days don't disappear while people are working. They disappear in between: the morning nobody showed up because the last trade didn't say they were done, the week a submittal sat in someone's inbox, the decision that waited for a meeting that kept getting moved.
Buy the Problem You Know How to Solve
The best development deals aren't the prettiest properties. They're the ones where you understand exactly what's broken. By Justin Steubs·October 6, 2026 People new to real estate development usually start by looking for a great property. Good location, good bones, good story. After 25+ years in construction, I've come to think that's the wrong first question. The better one is: what's wrong with this deal, and am I the right person to fix it?
Software Won’t Fix a Process Nobody Owns
Software Won’t Fix a Process Nobody Owns New tools make good operations faster. They make unclear ones fail faster, too. Every few years a new app promises to fix how projects run. Scheduling software, field-reporting tools, dashboards, now AI assistants. I like tools. I’ve spent more than twenty years in construction and real estate development, and the right software has saved my teams real hours.
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