Owner's representation for custom homes across the Bay Area. Someone from our team on your site every working day, protecting your design, your budget and your schedule.
Builders value engineer. Details get simplified when nobody is watching. We are the ones watching.
Every dollar tracked against the estimate, by phase, in real time. No surprises at the end.
Login to your own project. Daily photos, live schedule, budget, all updates in one place.
That is the job.
Most firms offering owner's representation on the Peninsula are builders. They will happily represent you, and then hand you their own bid. We do not build and we do not subcontract. We are paid a fixed fee, never a percentage of what your house costs, so a bigger budget does nothing for us.
Each of these is something we do for you, not something we promise to care about. Take all of it for the length of the build, or only the part you need.
Lot, zoning, setbacks, slope, utilities and what the town will actually let you build. A written read before you commit money to a property or a design direction.
We track your application through the city or town, keep the architect and engineers answering plan check comments on time, and tell you honestly how long approval will take.
Builders shortlisted, references called, proposals levelled line by line against the drawings. You see what each bid excludes before you see its total.
The construction agreement reviewed before you sign. During the build, every pay application checked against work in place, and a conditional lien release collected before each payment leaves your account.
Budget against actual, by phase, updated every week. Every invoice reviewed before you pay it. Every change order priced and questioned before you approve it, not after.
Deliveries, staging, hillside access, neighbors and inspections planned before work starts, so the job does not stop for a crane that cannot reach the lot.
On site every working day. Framing, openings, waterproofing and finishes checked against what your architect drew, and every wall photographed before it is closed.
Daily photo log, weekly owner update, live budget and schedule in your own login. See a live demonstration of the owner portal
You bring your drawings, your budget and your timeline. No charge.
You getAn honest read of the project: where the risk is, what it will realistically cost, and whether you need full representation or one bounded review.
Permits, builder selection, bids and contract, before anyone breaks ground.
You getLevelled bids, a reviewed contract, a budget with a real contingency and a schedule you can plan your life around.
We are on your site every working day, on your side of the table.
You getYour own login with daily photos and live budget, a weekly update, and a second look at every invoice and change order before your money moves.
Punch list, final inspections, final payments.
You getA punch list closed item by item, unconditional lien releases from everyone who worked on your house, and no open accounts behind you.
The day you move in.
You getYour keys, and your Digital House Manual.
The same procedures on every project, written down before the first shovel.
Most arguments on a custom home start with "I thought we agreed". These procedures exist so that never has to be said.
Every house we represent is handed over with a complete digital record of how it was built and how to look after it. It lives in your owner login, it stays yours after the project ends, and you can download all of it at any time.
When you sell the house, it goes to the next owner as part of the value.
Ten years from now, when something leaks behind the kitchen wall, you will know exactly what runs there before anyone opens it.
Campbell, California
New two story residence · 4.5M build · Preconstruction to handover
Framing at the rear opening was off the drawings. Caught before drywall, fixed in a day, not in a change order. The builder proposed a narrower slider to save cost. The opening stayed exactly as the architect drew it.
Saratoga, California
Hillside estate, pool & grounds · Out of state owner
The owner lived out of state for the entire build. He saw his site every single day, through a daily photo log and a weekly budget against estimate.
“I had the pleasure of working with Branislav as my Owner’s Representative during the construction of my home in Campbell, California. He managed the project with professionalism, strong attention to detail, and excellent communication, coordinating contractors and keeping the construction moving efficiently. I would highly recommend Branislav for construction and project management roles.”
LukaHomeowner, Campbell, California
These are a few of our projects. Ask for references and we will put you in touch with the owners. Request references
Branislav Bubalo
IVART LLC
Twenty five years running construction projects in California and Europe. On-site supervisor for custom homes and villas in Saratoga.
Built the fifteen million euro METRO Cash and Carry facility in Belgrade, recognized as the fastest METRO construction in Europe, coordinating engineers from Germany, Romania and Serbia. Led a thirty five million euro fiber network build as CEO and technical director, two hundred workers.
Alongside construction, twenty years in Silicon Valley technology, including engineering lead at Apple.
Branislav leads every project personally. He understands drawings, contracts, and the systems that keep a project honest.
One lead answers to you. A whole team stands behind that lead.
Branislav Bubalo leads every project personally and is accountable to you, on your site and on your phone. Behind him is a team built over years of work on the Peninsula, so when your project needs someone, we already know who to call.
Independence stays intact. No company on our team ever bids on a project where we represent the owner.
Full representation runs the length of the build. Not every owner needs that, and not every owner is ready for it. These are bounded engagements, each a fixed fee agreed before it starts, each finished in a week or two.
Two or three builder proposals, read line by line and levelled against each other. What is excluded, what is carried as an allowance, and where the low bid stops being the low bid.
The construction agreement before you sign it. Payment terms, change order clauses, schedule and liquidated damages, retention, and what happens when the work is late.
Your drawings against a realistic Peninsula number, phase by phase, with the contingency the project actually needs rather than the one that makes the total look better.
Already under construction and something feels wrong. One site visit, a review of the drawings, the pay applications and the change orders to date, and a written opinion you can act on.
Each is a fixed fee, quoted in the first conversation. If the project later moves to full representation, that fee comes off the first month.
No percentage. No reason to let your budget grow.
San Francisco · Hillsborough · Atherton · Menlo Park · Palo Alto · Los Altos Hills · Woodside · Portola Valley · Los Gatos · Saratoga · Orinda · Lafayette · Danville
Anywhere across the Peninsula, the South Bay and the East Bay. Projects elsewhere in California are considered case by case, and bid reviews and contract reviews can be done anywhere.
We sit on the owner's side of the table, read your drawings as drawn, and challenge substitutions before they become change orders. We don't replace your construction administration. We back it up on the days you are not on site, and we bring questions to you before the builder answers them on his own.
