Ethics in Bid Seeking: Question for Managers and Owners

[Wesley Sherow]

Hey Bigger Pockets People,

I was thinking about this in the morning today. My property management company is located in Albany, NY with about 350-500 apartments fluctuating. I have a few large clients that make up the majority of my portfolio. In many cases, they are purchasing buildings to fix/flip by apartment, raise the value, and refinance. BRRR in a nutshell.

Here's the question. I have a bunch of in-house labor that I can throw between work-order management and renovations. They're skilled enough to do a majority of a renovation job. For now i've just been billing their time hourly plus materials, regardless of work orders or renovation, however I was considering pivoting to a "Quote" system where I charge a pre-determined rate for a reno project, similar to how most other companies do it. 

If I seek multiple quotes for a renovation job, that makes me inherently biased. I've now seen everyone else's cards, know what they're charging and quoting, and if it works I can theoretically come in under the smallest reputable quote. Is this ethical? Is it even okay? I imagine that it can be viewed as a win-win all around for owners & management alike. Has anyone else considered this possible conflict of interest? 

Very Respectfully,
Wes