Fire Rebuild Guides
Before you commit to a rebuild contractor in Altadena or the Palisades, run five checks that take one afternoon. One, the license on the State record at cslb.ca.gov: status, a Class B classification, the bond, the workers' compensation line, the complaints. Two, the permit history under the company name: finished houses with a certificate of occupancy, not remodels. Three, the price form: a disaster rebuild is a home improvement contract and the State's disaster guidance calls for a fixed price, so cost-plus is a warning sign by itself. Four, the money tied to the work: a down payment capped at the lesser of ten percent or a small fixed amount set by state law, nothing ahead of work performed or materials delivered, a schedule in dollars against named stages, and lien releases before each draw. Five, the seven-business-day cancellation notice a disaster-area agreement must carry, and the lien rule that lets an unpaid subcontractor reach your house. Read the agreement with your attorney. I run these checks for owners, and the first call is free.
I build and repaint houses in Los Angeles, and this year I started working on the other side of the table, for owners, checking the builder and the paperwork before they commit. I am Sebastian Moreno Rivera, the owner of Build And Decor Construction, and I wrote this on October 23, 2026. The license, CSLB #1113888 (Class B General Building and C-33 Painting and Decorating), is held by the corporation, Build And Decor Construction, and I am its qualifying individual on the State record.
Look the contractor up at cslb.ca.gov by license number. Read the status, the classification (a house needs a B, General Building), the bond, and the workers' compensation line. A contractor with employees and an exemption on file has a gap you would be paying for. Read the complaint history on the same page.
A builder who says he has done twenty rebuilds has a permit record that shows it. Pull the permits under the company name and read what was finished: a certificate of occupancy on a new single-family house is the proof. A record full of remodels and no finished houses tells you what you are buying.
For a disaster rebuild in California the agreement is a home improvement contract under the Business and Professions Code, and the State's disaster guidance calls for a fixed price. A time-and-materials or cost-plus offer on a fire rebuild is a red flag by itself.
The down payment on a home improvement contract is capped at the lesser of ten percent of the price or a small fixed amount set by state law. After that, no payment may run ahead of work performed or materials delivered on site, and that rule covers money released by your lender or financier. The payment schedule must be written in dollars against named stages of work, and you may ask for an unconditional lien release for everything you have paid before you pay the next draw. Materials and mobilization are invoiced when the materials are on your site, never before.
A contract for repair or restoration after a declared emergency carries a seven-business-day right to cancel, printed on a detachable notice; if it is missing, ask why. Then learn the lien rule: subcontractors and suppliers who send you a twenty-day preliminary notice can lien your house if the builder does not pay them, even after you paid the builder. That is what the lien releases in check four protect you from.
Read the agreement with your attorney before you approve it; I read it for scope, schedule and payment terms, and I am not a lawyer. If you want the five checks run on a builder you are considering, that is the first month of my owner's representative service. Book a free first call (opens in a new tab).