Owner's representative · Vermont

The owner's advocate for home additions, renovations, and new builds.

Adding on, renovating, or building new. We're not contractors and we're not vendors. We're the people whose only job is making sure your money goes where you intended — from scope and contracts through closeout.

Book a free consult See how it works

Free 30-minute project consult. No obligation.

Based in Grand Isle. Serving the Champlain Islands, Burlington, Shelburne, and Stowe.

Projects we cover

Three kinds of residential work, one job: representing the owner. A ranch, a lake cottage, or a hundred-year-old house — the questions are the same.

Additions

An addition ties new work into a house you may still be living in. We make sure the scope covers where old meets new — structure, roof, and systems — so the bids are comparable and the change orders stay honest.

Renovations

From a kitchen to a whole house, including older homes with surprises behind the walls. We define the scope, vet the trades, and track pay applications so the budget you set is the one you finish with.

New builds

A custom home is a long run of decisions and payments. We help you select the builder, review the contract, check each draw against the work in place, keep inspections on track, and run closeout.

What an owner's rep does

Whether you are adding on, renovating, or building new: the architect represents the design. The contractor represents the build. Granite & Lake represents you.

Scope and contracts

Define the work before anyone is hired, then write the contract that protects you — not the vendor.

Contractor selection

Find the right trades, check references, and compare bids that are actually for the same job.

Project oversight

Site visits, vendor meetings, and the hard conversations you should not have to have with your own contractor.

Budget control

Pay applications, change orders, and a running picture of cost before the surprise invoice.

Closeout

Punch list, final walkthrough, and a job that ends when it is finished.

Ongoing advisory

A monthly retainer when you want one person as the point of contact — including the jargon.

Five steps

Every engagement starts with a conversation. No obligation.

1. Understand the project
What you want, what the house or the lot can take, and what the budget can actually support.
2. Define the scope
A written scope before bids, so every vendor prices the same job.
3. Select the team
Architects, engineers, builders, and trades chosen for the work, not whoever called back first.
4. Manage the work
Oversight and change orders. You stay the decision-maker.
5. Complete the project
Punch list, documentation, and a house you can live in.

Who we are

Granite & Lake is a team of experienced owner's representatives. We work for homeowners — not for the contractor, the architect, or the supplier.

Our work spans additions, renovations, and new custom homes: ranches, lake cottages, and hundred-year-old houses alike. Different systems, different contractor dynamics, the same job — keeping the project on scope, on budget, and on your side.

Based in Grand Isle, we work first on the Champlain Islands, with select projects in Burlington, Shelburne, and Stowe.

Why Granite & Lake

The gap

The owner's representatives in Vermont are built for towns and public buildings. Nobody in Burlington, Shelburne, or Stowe is focused on homeowners — the people adding on, renovating, or building new. An old house is one kind of project, not the whole market.

An aligned fee

On a large project the fee is capped. We make the same whether the work costs eight hundred thousand or one point two million. We're not rewarded for overruns.

Close enough to show up

Based on Grand Isle. Four minutes from an island job. Select projects in greater Burlington, Shelburne, and Stowe — quoted for the travel, and only when being on site is still real.

How an engagement works

Most homeowners don't want to be the point of contact. Vendors will bury you in jargon until you give up. The product is being that person.

Retainer

A monthly fee to be the main contact — meetings, email, and the call when a vendor says the part won't fit. This is the usual way to start, including on the islands.

Defined project

A flat fee for a written scope and a set number of weeks. Add site visits only if you want them. The scope is the guardrail.

Full oversight

A larger addition, a whole-house renovation, or a new build — often a year or more. Monthly oversight or a capped percentage. The cap is so a higher construction cost does not raise our fee.

Questions

Do I need an owner's rep for a small project?

On the islands, work often starts around $50,000. Those are a flat fee for a defined stretch of weeks, not a percentage. A percentage starts to make sense as the project grows.

How much does it cost?

A small, defined project is typically a flat fee of $2,500 to $5,000. Larger work is a monthly retainer, or 3 to 5 percent of construction cost capped at a fixed dollar amount. Every engagement starts with a conversation, not an invoice.

Why a retainer instead of a percentage?

A larger project — an addition, a renovation, or a new home — can run a year or more. A monthly fee means someone is on your side the whole way, and the fee does not grow because the project got more expensive.

Are you a contractor?

No. Granite & Lake does not build. The architect represents the design. The contractor represents the build. We represent you.

What if I'm already mid-project?

We can step in at any stage. The most value is before contracts are signed.

Where do you work?

Based in Grand Isle. The islands first, then select projects in Burlington, Shelburne, and Stowe. Being on site matters, so travel is for the right project.

What we do, and what we don't

The architect represents the design. The contractor represents the build. We represent you. Here's where that line sits.

What we do

Write the scope before anyone is hiredEvery vendor prices the same job.
Find and vet the tradesWe check references.
Compare bidsSide by side, for the same job.
Help select the teamArchitects, engineers, builders and trades chosen for the work.
Review the contract before you signIt should protect you, not the vendor.
Visit the site and sit in on vendor meetingsWe have the hard conversations for you.
Check each pay application and drawEvery payment is checked against the work in place.
Keep change orders honestYou get a running picture of cost.
Keep inspections on trackWe track them through the build.
Run closeoutPunch list, final walkthrough and documentation.

What we don't do

BuildWe're not contractors.
Design or draw your plansThe architect represents the design.
Sell materials or productsWe're not vendors.
Work for the contractor, architect or supplierWe work for homeowners.
Get rewarded for overrunsOur fee is flat, monthly, or capped.
Take referral fees from vendorsOur only fee comes from you.
Make your decisions for youYou stay the decision-maker.
Bury you in jargonWe're the one point of contact who translates it.
Send an invoice before a conversationEvery engagement starts with a conversation.
Take projects we can't show up forTravel only when being on site is still real.