Rebuilding After the Fire, Explained Honestly
Practical guides for Pacific Palisades and Malibu homeowners — what it really costs, how the permits actually work, and how to avoid the mistakes that cost families months and fortunes. No hype, no scare tactics, no pressure.
These guides exist because the first months after losing a home are full of confident, contradictory advice — from carriers, from contractors, from neighbors, from the internet. We build in this market every day, and we wrote down what we actually know: where the money goes, what order to do things in, and which decisions are expensive to get wrong. Read them in any order. Nothing here requires talking to us.
What It Really Costs to Rebuild in Pacific Palisades
What drives your number, what most estimates leave out, our own per-square-foot range with its exclusions named, and how to compare builder bids without getting burned twice.
Read the guide → Costs · Fire CodeWhat the New Fire Code Actually Costs You
Every rebuild falls under California's updated Wildland-Urban Interface standards. Where that money goes — glazing, roof, vents, eaves, siding, decks — line by line.
Read the guide → Process · PermitsThe LADBS Rebuild Permit Process, Step by Step
Permits are moving three times faster than before the fire, yet most lots are still empty. The exact sequence, the deadlines that matter, and the mistakes that cost the most months.
Read the guide → Money · InsuranceWhen Insurance Falls Short: Closing the Rebuild Gap
Why settlements land below every real bid, the coverage most homeowners never use, and the practical levers for closing the gap and still rebuilding.
Read the guide → Malibu · Coastal ZoneRebuilding in Malibu: The Coastal Rules, Explained
Malibu is its own city with its own rules, and most Palisades guidance does not apply. The Coastal Act suspension, Ordinance 524, septic, geology, and the one decision that determines whether your project takes months or years.
Read the guide →About these guides
These pages are general information for homeowners, not legal, insurance, or engineering advice. Codes, executive orders, and agency procedures related to the January 2025 wildfires have changed repeatedly and may have changed again since these pages were updated. Confirm anything that affects a decision with LADBS, the City of Malibu, your insurer, or your own licensed professional.