Compare
Us vs. the Landlord’s Preferred Contractor
Most South Florida landlords have a contractor they suggest, and some leases require one for specific scopes. That is not a scam — it exists for real reasons — but it is worth understanding whose interests the arrangement is built around.
Send a floor plan, a lease exhibit, or a landlord work letter. We come back with a real number and the assumptions behind it.
Side by side
| Category | Romco Commercial | The Landlord’s Preferred Contractor |
|---|---|---|
| Who they answer to | You. We have no ongoing relationship to protect with your landlord | The landlord, who is a repeat client — you are a one-off |
| Building knowledge | We learn the base building during preconstruction | They already know it, which is a real and immediate advantage |
| Landlord approvals | We submit and work through them like any other contractor | Often faster, because the property manager already trusts them |
| Pricing pressure | Trades bought out competitively, with the bids open to you | Frequently no competitive comparison at all |
| Allowance negotiation | We price before your lease is final so you negotiate on a real number | Usually priced after the lease is executed, when your leverage is gone |
| Restoration at surrender | We flag what the lease makes you remove before you build it | Rarely raised, since it is the landlord’s benefit, not yours |
Our view
The honest verdict
The landlord’s contractor genuinely wins on speed through approvals and on knowing the base building from day one — that can be worth real money on a small, simple, fast job in a complicated tower. Where it costs you is leverage: nobody is negotiating your allowance for you, nobody is comparing subcontractor bids on your behalf, and nobody is warning you about restoration obligations you are about to build into the space. On anything sizeable, get an independent number even if you ultimately choose them. And note that some scopes — roof penetrations, fire alarm tie-ins, sprinkler modifications — are genuinely reserved to the landlord’s contractor for warranty and life-safety reasons. We do not fight those. We just price around them honestly.
Other comparisons
Design-Build vs. Design-Bid-Build
Design-bid-build finishes the drawings, then puts them out to competitive bid. Design-build brings the contractor in during design. Both are legitimate. They fail in different ways, and the right choice depends on how firm your scope already is.
Read more →
Local GC vs. a National Rollout Contractor
If you are a brand opening locations in several states, a national rollout firm is a reasonable answer. If your locations are in Florida, the calculation changes — because the thing that actually delays a build-out here is jurisdictional, and jurisdictions are local.
Read more →
Hiring a GC vs. Managing the Subs Yourself
Contracting the trades directly removes the general contractor’s fee, and on a small, simple job that can be the right decision. What it does not remove is the work the general contractor was doing — it transfers that work, and the risk attached to it, to you.
Read more →
A Licensed GC vs. an Unlicensed Crew
There is always a crew that will do it cheaper and start on Monday. On residential handyman work that is often fine. On permitted commercial work in a leased building, the exposure sits with you, not with them — and that is the part worth being clear about.
Read more →
Renovating vs. Renewing the Lease As-Is
The alternative most owners actually choose is to do nothing — renew the lease, keep the space as it is, and spend the money elsewhere. Sometimes that is exactly right. It is worth being honest about when it is not.
Read more →
Next step
Ready to price your project?
Send a floor plan, a lease exhibit, or a landlord work letter. We come back with a real number and the assumptions behind it.