Our roofing contractor just notified the board of directors that the company was recently sold to a larger organization and has decided to focus only on residential roofing. We will begin the process of locating a new roofing contractor. I asked Claude to help organize this process, and here is a guideline prepared for our Florida-based condominium association. This will help with the original request for proposals and also with evaluating the bids we receive.

[ASSOCIATION NAME] CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

Project: [Describe project — e.g., Roof Replacement, Landscaping Services, Painting]

RFP Issue Date	[Date]
Association Address	[Property Address]
Bid Submission Deadline	[Date and Time]
Submit Bids To	[Name, Title, Email/Mailing Address]
Site Visit (if offered)	[Date/Time or “By appointment — contact ___”]
Questions Deadline	[Date — all questions in writing, answers shared with all bidders]

1. Purpose

The Board of Directors of [Association Name] Condominium Association, Inc. (“Association”) is soliciting competitive, sealed bids for the following work: [one-sentence project description]. This RFP is issued pursuant to the Association’s obligations under Florida Statute §718.3026 and the Association’s governing documents.

2. Scope of Work

Bidders must price the following scope in full. Bids that omit any line item, substitute materials, or qualify the scope must clearly flag each deviation in a separate section labeled “Exceptions to Scope.”

• [Task/area 1 — location, quantity, specification]
• [Task/area 2 — location, quantity, specification]
• [Task/area 3 — location, quantity, specification]
• [Materials/brand/grade required, if the Board has a preference]
• [Site access, working hours, noise restrictions, parking/staging constraints]
• [Cleanup and debris removal requirements]

3. Required Bid Contents

A bid will be considered non-responsive and set aside if it omits any of the following:

• Itemized pricing — separate line items for materials, labor, permits/fees, and any allowances. Lump-sum-only bids will not be accepted.
• Proof of active Florida license (and any required specialty license) for the work proposed, with license number.
• Certificate of insurance showing general liability and workers’ compensation coverage, naming the Association as additional insured.
• Performance/payment bond, if the contract value warrants one (see Board threshold, if applicable).
• Minimum three (3) references from associations or commercial properties of comparable size, completed within the last three years, with contact information.
• Proposed timeline, including start date, milestones, and substantial completion date.
• Warranty terms — duration and scope, for both materials and labor.
• Payment schedule requested (e.g., deposit, progress payments, retainage, final payment on completion).
• Disclosure of any pending litigation, liens, or license disciplinary actions within the last five years.
• W-9 and, if applicable, corporate/LLC documentation confirming authority to bind the bidding entity.

4. Submission Instructions

• Submit one (1) original and [one/two] copies, or a single PDF if electronic submission is permitted, no later than the deadline above.
• Bids received after the deadline will not be considered.
• All bidders will receive identical answers to any questions submitted before the questions deadline.
• The Association will not reimburse any cost of bid preparation.

5. Evaluation Criteria

The Board will evaluate responsive bids using the following criteria. The Board is not required to accept the lowest bid and may reject any or all bids.

Criterion	Weight
Total price / itemized cost reasonableness	[30%]
Compliance with full scope of work	[20%]
License, insurance, and bonding status	[15%]
References and past performance	[15%]
Proposed timeline	[10%]
Warranty terms	[10%]

5. Evaluation Criteria

The Board will evaluate responsive bids using the following criteria. The Board is not required to accept the lowest bid and may reject any or all bids.

Criterion	Weight
Total price / itemized cost reasonableness	[30%]
Compliance with full scope of work	[20%]
License, insurance, and bonding status	[15%]
References and past performance	[15%]
Proposed timeline	[10%]
Warranty terms	[10%]

Bidder Acknowledgment

By signing below, the undersigned confirms that the enclosed bid reflects the full scope of work described in Section 2, that all required submissions in Section 3 are included, and that pricing is valid for at least [60/90] days from the bid deadline.

Company Name:  ________________________________________

Authorized Signature:  ________________________________________

Printed Name / Title:  ________________________________________

Date:  ________________________________________

License Number:  ________________________________________

Bid Comparison Matrix

[Association Name] Condominium Association, Inc.

How to Use This Document

1. Send every bidder the same Request for Proposal (RFP) with an identical scope of work, so bids can be compared on this document apples-to-apples.
2. Confirm or adjust the weight (%) given to each evaluation criterion in the Criteria Weights table below. Weights must total 100%.
3. Fill in one row per vendor in a Bid Comparison table.
4. Score each qualitative criterion from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent): Insurance/License, Scope Compliance, References, and Warranty. For Price and Timeline, give the lowest price and shortest realistic timeline a 5, and score the others relative to it.
5. Calculate each vendor’s Weighted Score by multiplying each score by its criterion weight and summing the results (Weighted Score = Price Score × Price Weight + Insurance Score × Insurance Weight + …). The highest Weighted Score is the top-ranked bid.
6. Florida Statute §718.3026 requires competitive bids for contracts exceeding 5% of the Association’s total annual budget (including reserves), with exceptions for attorney, accountant, architect, engineer, landscape architect, and CAM contracts. The Board is not required to accept the lowest bid, but should document its reasoning in the meeting minutes.

Evaluation Criteria & Weights

Criterion	Weight	Notes
Total Price	30%	Lowest itemized total price scores highest
Insurance / License / Bonding	15%	Active FL license, insurance naming Association as additional insured, bonding if required
Scope of Work Compliance	20%	Full compliance with RFP scope vs. partial or exceptions taken
References / Past Performance	15%	Verified references from comparable associations/properties
Timeline	10%	Shortest realistic completion time scores highest
Warranty Terms	10%	Length and scope of materials/labor warranty
Total	100%

Recommended vendor (highest Weighted Score): __________________________________________________

Note: this recommendation is a decision-support tool only. The Board makes the final award by vote; document the rationale in the meeting minutes, especially if the Board selects a bid other than the lowest price.