---
id: "framework-pre-construction-phases"
type: "framework"
source_timestamps: ["00:22:00", "00:22:50"]
tags: ["development-process", "architecture", "construction"]
related: ["concept-gmp-contract"]
steps: ["Conceptual Plan", "Schematics", "Construction Drawings", "GMP Bidding"]
sources: ["jayroberts"]
sourceVaultSlug: "jay-roberts-florida-condo-development-2026Jun25"
originDay: 4
---
# Real Estate Pre-Construction Lifecycle

## Framework: Real Estate Pre-Construction Lifecycle

[[entity-jay-roberts]] outlines the **sequential phases** a developer must go through before they can accurately price and begin building a project. **Skipping steps leads to inaccurate bids and cost overruns** — the GC will build massive contingencies to cover unknowns.

### The Four Phases

1. **Conceptual Plan** — High-level massing to determine what size and shape of building physically fits on the zoned site. Often paired with feasibility study and pro-forma underwriting using [[concept-hard-vs-soft-costs]].

2. **Schematics** — Basic architectural layouts defining floor plans, unit mixes, and general building systems. This is where strategic decisions like incorporating office suites (see [[concept-office-suite-condos]]) get embedded.

3. **Construction Drawings** — Highly detailed, engineered blueprints specifying **every material, pipe, and wire** in the building. These are what the city ultimately stamps and approves; their completion also unlocks [[concept-entitlement-value]] for sale-of-paper exits.

4. **GMP Bidding** — Taking the finalized construction drawings to General Contractors to solicit a [[concept-gmp-contract]]. Critically, you cannot get a reliable GMP without finished drawings.

### Why the Sequence Matters

Each phase **resolves a category of uncertainty**:
- Conceptual → site capacity
- Schematics → product mix
- Construction drawings → material/quantity specificity
- GMP → final cost commitment

A developer who tries to sign a GMP at the schematic stage will either overpay (because the GC pads contingency) or sign an unreliable number (and eat the overruns).

See the underlying prerequisite knowledge in [[prereq-development-lifecycle]].