About
An Advocacy Built on a Lifetime of Homes
ADVOCATE – Residential Construction Advisors is an independent owner's representation firm for luxury and ultra-luxury residential projects. We sit on one side of the table: yours. From the first look at a property through the final warranty item, we manage the people, the paperwork, and the money so that building a home remains the pleasure it was meant to be.
Why we exist
A custom home is the largest project most families will ever run
Homeowners are asked to make hundreds of technical decisions in a language they have never spoken, against a schedule they did not write, using contracts drafted by the other party. Even the finest builders and architects are, quite properly, representing their own firms.
ADVOCATE fills the seat nobody else occupies. We translate the drawings, test the budget, question the change order, verify the work in place before it is paid for, and keep a complete record of the project as it happens. Owners keep the enjoyable decisions and hand us the difficult ones.
Our advisors come from construction management, estimating, forensic analysis, and development backgrounds. Collectively they have guided hundreds of residences across Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, and select projects nationally.
How we work
Four principles that never bend
01
We work only for the owner
ADVOCATE takes no commissions, no referral fees, and no compensation from builders, architects, or vendors. Our only financial relationship is with the homeowner, so every recommendation is made on the merits.
02
Advice before the first dollar moves
The most expensive decisions on a custom home are made long before construction starts – the site, the team, the contract, the budget. We are involved at that stage, when a change of course still costs nothing.
03
Documentation as protection
Pay applications, lien waivers, change orders, inspections, and photographic records are reviewed and archived throughout the build. That record is what protects an owner when a question or a dispute arrives.
04
One senior advisor, start to finish
Clients are not handed off to a junior coordinator. A senior advocate stays with the project from pre-purchase through closeout and warranty.
Where we stand beside you
Representation across the full life of a project
Before you buy
Site feasibility, cost reality, and a candid view of what a property can and cannot become.
Assembling the team
Architect, interior designer, builder, and consultants selected through a structured, competitive process.
Pre-construction
Drawings, specifications, budgets, and contracts reviewed line by line before anyone signs.
During construction
Site oversight, milestone inspections, payment review, schedule tracking, and weekly reporting.
Completion and beyond
Punch list management, closeout documentation, lien releases, and warranty follow-through.
The people
Senior advisors, not account managers
Every engagement is led by a senior member of our leadership team, supported by specialists in accounting, inspection, and forensic analysis as the project requires.
Keith Galbut
Founder & President
Scott Schroeder
VP of Construction Services
Alex Baum-Stein
Senior Project Advocate
Scott Bernhardt
Senior Project Advocate