Common Questions
Most Popular Questions
If your home was destroyed in the Palisades Fire, your immediate steps should include:
- Contacting Your Insurance Provider – Initiate your claim as soon as possible and request a copy of your policy.
- Consulting a Specialist – Our team at Ingram General can help you assess your options, navigate insurance options, and develop a rebuilding strategy.
- An initial consultation is the first step in understanding your options after a total loss from the Palisades Fire. We offer a free, no-obligation consultation to help homeowners navigate the rebuilding process with clarity and confidence.
- What Does the Initial Consultation Include?
- During this meeting, we will:
- Discuss Your Insurance Policy – We’ll go over your coverage to help you understand your settlement options.
- Discuss Status of Existing Plans and Permits- Best case scenario you or your architect has a digital copy, for those whose homes have not been recently built or remodeled, there is a process to request whatever copies the City, County and County Assessor's office has on file.
- Discuss Your Rebuilding Goals – Whether you want to rebuild, sell, or explore joint ventures, we’ll outline your best options.
- Provide a General Timeline & Budget – Get an estimated timeframe and cost range for your rebuild.
- Answer Your Questions – We’ll address concerns about insurance claims, construction timelines, materials, and city approvals.
Ingram General will assist you by reviewing your insurance policy to ensure you understand your coverage and settlement options. Key steps include:
- Requesting a full copy of your insurance policy, including endorsements and declarations.
- Verifying that you receive the correct amount for your dwelling, other structures, extended replacement cost coverage, code upgrade, landscape, personal property, and additional living expenses. California allows you to combine these coverages, and you likely have more coverage than you realize.
- You will likely need replacement cost budgets and schedules as part of the negotiation process, we can provide these to you early on to facilitate insurance negotiations and payments.
You have several options:
- Rebuild – Use your insurance settlement to rebuild your home.
- Purchase a New Home with Insurance Proceeds – Use your insurance proceeds to buy a move-in-ready home elsewhere.
- Co-Develop Your Lot in a Joint Venture – Partner with us to develop your property and share in profits.
- Sell the Lot – You may sell your property as-is, depending on market conditions.
The timeline varies based on permitting, insurance processing, and construction availability. On average:
- 0-12 Months for Debris Removal. Early signs are promising, and EPA and Army Corp of Engineers are already clearing lots in the Palisades and EPA is actively working in Malibu.
- 6-???? months for design and permitting. This process can run in tandem with Debris Removal, and our suggestion is to start this now to avoid further delay and cost escalations as more projects start construction. Permit Review timelines are unknowable at this juncture, we expect to update this once the City and County have issued further guidance and specific rules for fire rebuilds for City of Los Angeles and City of Malibu. County of Los Angeles has an existing rebuild program, though further clarifications are pending.
- 10-24 months for construction, depending on complexity, size and timing of start of construction. We expect projects that wait to kick off design and permitting will take longer to build, as more projects will be under construction as time goes on, and competition for labor and materials will increase over time.
- Delays may occur due to demand for architects, engineers, contractors, material shortages, or city approvals.
During the preconstruction phase of your project, we will provide the following services.
- Insurance Consulting and Negotiation
- Site Visits
- Debris Removal Coordination including obtaining Private Debris Removal Quotes should this be the best option for your situation.
- Foundation Removal Coordination and identify any site walls, driveways or other structures that can be retained as part of the rebuild.
- Preliminary Budget and Schedule
- Budget and Schedule Updates
- Select and Manage your Project Team (or we will work with your current Protect Team )
- An Architect,
- Structural Engineer, Civil Engineer and additional consultants depending on your property, such as a soils engineer.
- A Survey, we suggest you get a survey of a property before the foundation has been demolished to establish a record of the existing footprint in the event you do not have a copy of your building plans and permits.
- Contractors will be very busy as time passes, and we suggest you arrange for a builder sooner rather than later. Move over, a Contractor is a valuable member of your design and preconstruction team, as we can provide budgeting as the design develops to keep the project consistent with your budget. Ingram General can work as your Contractor, or we can work as a Construction Manager (CM) and manage a 3rd party contractor on your behalf.
- Other approvals, such as environmental or zoning clearances, Title 24 Energy Compliance, utility approvals will be a required on a case by case basis.
- Financing, your insurance company will likely prefund a portion of the cost of construction, but many will not pay full replacement costs, or any extended replacement costs, until the project is complete. Moreover, if you have a mortgage, your lender will likely agree to release only a portion (generally 50%) of your insurance proceeds until the project is complete. As such, you may need to fund progress payments while you wait on insurance funds, and organizing financing, including SBA Loans, lines of credit and or construction loans is imperative.
Ingram General will guide you through the preconstruction process to keep your rebuild on track and on budget. Ask about our turn key service where we hire and manage all these aspects for you, acting as either a construction manager or a general contractor on your behalf
- Insurance disputes over payout amounts.
- Increased construction costs due to high demand.
- Permit delays from city or county agencies.
- Material and labor shortages due to regional rebuilding efforts.
- Code compliance updates that may require additional work and expenses.
Tariffs on building materials that can impact overall construction costs.
