Custom Home Purchasing Agent / Estimator Position Summary We are seeking a Custom Home Purchasing Agent / Estimator to manage estimating, purchasing, and project buyout activities for high-end, fully custom residential projects. This role will translate plans, specifications, selections, and budgets into clear scopes, competitive bids, accurate purchase orders, and reliable cost commitments. The ideal candidate has strong residential construction knowledge, excellent attention to detail, the ability to identify scope gaps early, strong negotiation skills, and the ability to build productive relationships with subcontractors and suppliers while protecting project quality, budget, and schedule. Primary Responsibilities Manage the buyout of assigned projects from approved budget through subcontract and purchase-order issuance, procurement tracking, and final buyout reconciliation. Prepare, update, and reconcile conceptual, design-development, and final estimates, including quantity takeoffs, bid leveling, and scope comparisons. Develop complete bid packages and written scopes of work from plans, specifications, design selections, and project requirements, including inclusions, exclusions, alternates, allowances, schedule expectations, and trade responsibilities. Solicit, track, analyze, and negotiate subcontractor and supplier proposals based on value, schedule, quality, and scope coverage. Document bid invitations, clarifications, proposal revisions, negotiations, recommendations, and award decisions within the project management system. Identify exclusions, overlaps, allowances, long-lead items, and potential budget risks before commitments are issued. Compare proposed and awarded costs against current estimates and approved budgets; report variances, savings, unresolved exposure, and recommended corrective actions. Prepare and maintain purchase orders, subcontracts, vendor pricing, budgets, and buyout logs using approved cost codes, contract templates, and document-control procedures. Coordinate with preconstruction, design, operations, superintendents, and accounting teams to ensure accurate project handoffs, complete scope transfer, and proper cost coding. Support change-order pricing and procurement by verifying scope, cost, lead time, and required approvals before work proceeds. Maintain supporting quotations, approvals, and procurement documentation. Develop and maintain strong relationships with trade partners while expanding the qualified subcontractor and vendor network. Coordinate with accounting and operations to ensure vendor onboarding documents, agreements, insurance, tax forms, and licensing are current before awards are issued. Maintain current trade and material cost data, historical pricing, bid templates, and estimating assumptions to improve future estimating accuracy and consistency. Track procurement status and long-lead materials, confirm required-on-site dates, and promptly escalate budget or schedule risks. Participate in estimate reviews, buyout meetings, and preconstruction-to-operations handoffs, clearly communicating outstanding decisions, allowances, procurement risks, and owner-selected items. Role Authority & Boundaries Issue purchase orders, subcontracts, and changes only within approved budgets, delegated authority, and company approval requirements. Promptly escalate exceptions and items requiring additional approval or written direction. Provide project teams with accurate cost and procurement information without directing daily field operations or approving client design changes. Do not authorize uncontracted work outside established company procedures. Provide complete cost documentation to accounting while supporting established invoice, payment, and financial reporting processes. Qualifications 3+ years of experience in residential construction purchasing, estimating, project coordination, or a related field; custom-home experience strongly preferred. Ability to read and interpret architectural and engineering plans, specifications, schedules, and finish-selection documents. Strong knowledge of residential construction scopes, sequencing, materials, trade interfaces, and quantity takeoffs. Strong bid analysis, negotiation, organization, follow-through, and written communication skills. Ability to clearly explain estimating assumptions, pricing differences, and cost variances. Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and construction estimating or project-management software. Experience with Buildertrend, JobTread, or similar construction management systems preferred. Exceptional attention to detail, sound judgment, integrity, and organizational skills. Ability to manage multiple custom residential projects, priorities, and deadlines while maintaining confidentiality of client, vendor, and company pricing information.