Manage a commercial rehab for an owner as a non-GC

[Jose Guevarra]

Hi BP,

I have recently come to a verbal agreement with a commercial property owner to help him rehab his property and place a tenant into the space.  I plan on representing the owner during the rehab process however, I will not be the GC.  I'll be in charge of making up the overall rehab plan, finding a tenant, finding the right GC to work with, scheduling, budgeting, some permits, overseeing the timeline, working with the architects, etc. I believe the rehab shouldn't take more than 3-4 months mainly because working the the city and holiday seasons may drag things out a little.

In terms of payment, we've agreed to a commission based on the lease.  Also, he's agreed to pay me for my time and efforts as the owner representative.  There are several ways of structuring this but, I think an hourly rate would be best as the time/effort needed to complete the project is not entire certain.  I'd set a bonus if I can complete the project and get a tenant in there early next year.  What do you guys think?

The property is in California. I'd like to hear from anyone that's done something like this and perhaps share their experiences, regrets, tips, etc.