Fire Rebuild Guides
Three people can stand on your rebuild, and the question that sorts them is who pays them. The general contractor builds the house and is paid for the build; his interest is the job. A construction manager runs the schedule and the trades, sometimes for the builder, sometimes for you, often paid as a share of the price; his interest follows whoever signs his check. An owner's representative works only for you: he checks the builder before you commit, reads the permit record and walks the site every week, measures every invoice against the work in place before you pay it, and sends you a written report with photos. He takes no fee from any builder, supplier or subcontractor, and he is paid a flat monthly fee for the work done that month. That one line, no fee from any builder, is the test. Build And Decor Construction offers the owner's-side role in Altadena, Pasadena, Pacific Palisades and Malibu, and the first call is free.
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.
He carries the whole house under his license, hires the trades, pulls the permit, and is paid for the build on a schedule of stages. On a fire rebuild in California the State's disaster guidance calls for that agreement to be fixed price. He is the person you most need to check before you commit, and the one person who cannot check himself.
He runs the day: the schedule, the trades, the deliveries, the inspections. On a large job he may work for the builder; on some jobs an owner hires one. Owners' representatives mostly bill by the hour or by monthly retainer, and a fee tied to a percentage of the build raises the question of whose interest grows with the price. Ask how he is paid before you ask what he does.
He works for you and nobody else. Before you commit: the license, bond and workers' compensation on the State record, the permit history, the agreement and its payment schedule. During the build: the permit record read every week, the site walked every week, every invoice measured against the work in place, every change order read before you approve it. At the end: the final inspections, the certificate of occupancy, the warranties and the lien releases. Paid a flat monthly fee for the work done, nothing ahead of it.
No fee from any builder, supplier or subcontractor. Whoever you hire to stand on your side, put that sentence in the agreement. A representative who is paid by the builder, referred by the builder for a fee, or paid a share of the price has a second client on your house.
Before you commit: the builder check, once, in writing. During a slow or stalled build: the weekly permit read, the weekly walk and the invoice check, by someone who is not being paid for the build. From out of state: the same three things, with photos and a written report every week. The service is described on the owner's representative page; the checks before you commit are in Five Checks Before You Commit.