35_Questions_Asked_By_Potential_Contractors_1.docx

Contractor Questions for Solicitation # GS-07P-16-UD-D-7000 (Part 1)

1. How the scope of work is different from my previous experience and how the bidding process works.

The scope of work is actually called the “Statement of Work (SOW)”. The statement of work is a document which describes the scope of work required to complete the specific project. It has nothing to do with your previous experience.

The bidding process is driven from the requirements requested by the organization. (All required documents listed in the solicitation) Within the solicitation there are evaluation factors you are graded on. Those evaluation factors will be graded by a board. Once the board convenes than those results will be given to the contracting department to select the proposed qualified appraiser(s).

2. Is this solicitation to you on the federal list of appraisers (and you’d bid on actual jobs later) or is it for specific valuation assignment?

Not sure what you are asking. The solicitation documents requested within the solicitation are sent directly to me.

3. What is the definition of a small business by the GSA?

To be a small business, you must adhere to industry size standards established by the U.S. Small Business Administration. As you register as a government contractor in the System for Award Management (SAM), you will also self-certify your business as small. The SBA, for most industries, defines a "small business" either in terms of the average number of employees over the past 12 months, or average annual receipts over the past three years. In addition, SBA defines a U.S. small business as a concern that:

· Is organized for profit

· Has a place of business in the US

· Operates primarily within the U.S. or makes a significant contribution to the U.S. economy through payment of taxes or use of American products, materials or labor

· Is independently owned and operated

· Is not dominant in its field on a national basis The business may be a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or any other legal form. In determining what constitutes a small business, the definition will vary to reflect industry differences, such as size standards.

https://www.sba.gov/tools/size-standards-tool?ms=nid4060

4. Are small business concerns only considered for this RFP?

Similar to question #3.

5. Has a contractor performed similar work to this for the government in the past?

If available, please provide the incumbent contract number.

The previous contract number is GS-07P-12-UD-D-0004.

6. Can you provide an example of how a fee is determined on a specific job?

This proposed rate will be evaluated to determine whether it is fair and reasonable. If found acceptable, the rate(s) will be incorporated into a potential base award and they will be the recognized fixed rate(s) that will exist throughout the contracts duration.

7. Does GSA set the # of days for a specific job and the contractor is paid whatever their daily rate is x the days?

GSA does not set the number of days. As each specific appraisal (task order) is proposed, it will be incumbent upon the contractor to determine how many days the project will require and apply those days against the approved contractual prices. Contractors will determine what their daily rate will be and submit it in their proposal.

9. Can the past work experience consists of 25 recent assignments, say over the past two years, which show the range of appraisals we have performed or do you require that the assignments listed be spread over the preceding 5 years?

The assignments need to show 5 years of experience. It is suggested to choose the best examples of work that fit the criteria (General or Special Purpose) and list maybe 2 for each of the "out years", Years 3, 4 and 5; then use the remainder of the line items for the most recent years.

10. Also, should the appraisals listed on each sheet be limited to assignments completed in each proposal area or can they be from a variety of areas?

They can be from a variety of areas; however, please keep in mind, that at least one of those on the list, which is provided as a sample, must

- have been located in the proposal area

- completed in the past 24 months

11. In other words, should past experience of Texas Area 3 be appraisals of properties only in Texas Area 3 and past experience for Texas Area 5 is limited to properties in the counties for that area?

No, that isn't necessary; however, we do request that the experience not represent GSA assignments. This is so that GSA can insure that the offeror's have other experience than what GSA is sending them. For instance, if one of our contractors lives in Houston and has done work in El Paso, but the only work they did in El Paso was work for our office, this does not show they meet the Standards competency requirement because if it were not for GSA, they would not have the work. I hope this make sense, with that being said, GSA "request" that you do not send us a sample of GSA work, if that's the only work you have, then it would affect your overall rating, because you did not send in what was requested.

12. Can I use the same list of properties for both areas?

Yes, but you need to be able to provide the samples as requested in Exhibit 2, Section J.

13. The solicitation mentions MS word documents comprised in the solicitation. The only documents found with the solicitation were in pdf format, what am I missing?

No. All documents are in PDF format.

14. On page 95 in item E you are to submit two of sample reports whether its multi-tenant office or special purpose properties, but on page 62 the offeror must be able to provide at least one of the two sample reports requested from a property in the area of proposal completed in the last 24 months. This saying "least one of the two reports could be multi-tenant or special purpose properties.

Both reports must be either Multi-tenant Office or Special Purpose, only one of the reports has to be of a property located in the area of proposal.

15. Does GSA likely intend to have these OWNED properties appraised?

We have 12 Owned properties in OK that are appraised periodically. Buildings are Courthouses, Post Offices, Office Buildings, Warehouses, surface and structured parking, and land. That being said, the bulk of our work is for market rent analyzes (aka Fair Annual Rent or FAR reports). We request one, overall rental rate that best reflects the average quality and condition of the space. We don't appraise individual spaces.

Task awards include extensive information on the assignment conditions, and templates for the contractor to use are provided, and required for consistency within our portfolio. We also provide training (which is mandatory) for each FAR cycle.

16. Does, or will, GSA provide a copy of "actual leases" on these property types?, And can several of these "post office" leases be used as "rental comps" in an assigned appraisal for a post office?

No we don't provide copies of our Occupancy Agreements, aka leases, because the assignment is to develop a market rent for the space. In other words, assuming the space was vacant, how much could a LL charge.

Even with the Courthouses and post office buildings, our contractors appraise this as office space. For CH, there are usually 2 or 3 courtrooms, but the majority of the space is either common area or office space. Since we are seeking a single rate that best represents the majority of the space, the contractors will develop an opinion of the quality of the building, i.e. Class A, Class B, Class C, Trophy, etc... and find office comps of similar quality (or make adjustments if needed, or sometimes use comps from other markets if limited data). HBU is somewhat assumed for these FAR reports.

17. Does, or will, GSA provide a copy of "actual leases" on these property types?, And can several of these "federally lease office" leases be used as "rental comps" in an assigned appraisal for a post office?

Only in very rare instances will we order an appraisal of a leased property. When we do, it will typically be for the condemnation of a Leasehold estate, in which case there wouldn't be a lease because one hasn't been negotiated, or it's an expired lease and the LL is trying to kick us out or we don't agree to the new rate they're asking for. Regardless, the contractor would be provided with legal instruction pertaining to the subject leases, if any exist.

The assignment conditions in the task award will usually address the use of Government leases as comparable. Yellow Book, which would be required for a condemnation action, states that the use of Government leases should be highly scrutinized and extraordinary efforts should be used to confirm the conditions of sale/lease so that the appraiser can properly determine if the transaction represents a market transaction. Whenever in doubt, we always encourage the contractor to reach out to their Regional appraiser and discuss the assignment conditions, the challenges in the market place etc... If the appraiser is struggling with an internal debate as to if a comparable or methodology should be used we encourage the contractor to have that conversation with their reviewer during the appraisal process so that the reviewer knows what the issues and complexities of the assignment were. We find that this greatly helps in the review process; and relieves the stress of the contractor since we've worked out those details during the process, rather than after they've already written the report. Please note, all GSA review appraisers are licensed appraisers.

18. Does one submit all data needed for this RFP form in a single PDF that includes such things as resume, explanation of education, two sample appraisals in the addendum?

Please refer to the RFP on sending documents. PDF format will be fine for each document requested by RFP. Again please refer to the RFP on individual documents to be sent.