Apples-to-apples bid comparisons

The lowest bid can be the most expensive one

Construction procurement guidance describes the goal of comparing bids as finding the one that covers the full scope of work at the lowest price, not simply picking the lowest number on the page. Every gap between what bidders assumed needs to be written into the scope of work exhibit attached to the contract, not left as an unrecorded verbal understanding.

Before you rank three bids by price, ask each vendor the same question: what exactly is included, and what is excluded? A roofer who priced debris removal separately is not more expensive than one who left it out entirely, the second bidder just moved the cost to a change order you have not seen yet.

Build one comparison, not a stack of PDFs

Put every bid into a single table: price, what is included, what is excluded, insurance status, license status, and timeline. Two items are easy to miss when bids are read one at a time instead of side by side.

First, a vendor's certificate of insurance is a snapshot of coverage on the day it was issued, not proof the association is protected. Being named as Certificate Holder gives the association no rights under that policy; only Additional Insured status, created by a policy endorsement, extends real coverage. Second, a contractor's license should be verified with the state or local licensing authority close to signing, since status, bond, and disciplinary history can change between bidding and the start of work.

Document why, not just what

The board's protection when a vendor decision goes wrong is not the low price, it is evidence that the board actually investigated before deciding.

"The business judgment rule provides a director of a corporation immunity from liability when a plaintiff sues on grounds that the director violated the duty of care to the corporation so long as the director's actions fall within the parameters of the rule."

Source: Wex, "business judgment rule", Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute

A comparison table with no notes on the reasoning is only half the record. Write down why the board chose the vendor it did, not just the price each one quoted, that reasoning is what a court or an angry owner will actually be judging.

How many bids to collect and what documentation format is required before signing is set by your association's governing documents or a board-adopted purchasing policy, not by a general statute. Check your bylaws and any purchasing resolution for the actual threshold.