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Rebuild applications
Eighteen months in, the Palisades rebuild has moved from paperwork to construction — and the questions have changed with it. This guide is the walkthrough we give our own neighbors: what your insurance actually provides, where to live while you build, how to decide between rebuilding and moving on, and how to get from a cleared lot to your own front door. No product pitch. Just the steps, in order, with the numbers as they stand today.
Nearly every homeowners policy carries Additional Living Expenses (ALE) coverage — the provision that pays for housing, meals, and daily costs while you cannot live at home. Eighteen months in, the urgent ALE questions are different: how much remains, when it expires, and whether your carrier has extended it. California law entitles wildfire victims to no less than 24 months of ALE, extendable to 36 for delays outside your control — if you ask, in writing. If you have not requested your complete policy file and a written accounting of remaining benefits, do that this week.
Underinsured or uninsured families still have working routes: federal assistance, state housing programs, and the nonprofit networks that have stayed active in the recovery. And if your dwelling coverage falls short of replacement cost — the most common gap we see — read our plain-numbers walkthrough of what a rebuild really costs before accepting any settlement figure.
The right interim housing depends on how long your rebuild will honestly take. Rentals suit multi-year timelines; extended-stay arrangements bridge short gaps. And under the City's emergency orders, temporary dwellings — including an RV or a modular unit on your own lot — remain permitted during reconstruction, which keeps you close to the work and your neighborhood intact.
Two rules regardless of the form: confirm your insurer approves the arrangement in writing before you commit, and keep every receipt — ALE reimbursement runs on documentation.
This is the most personal decision in the whole process, and the honest answer is that both paths are legitimate. Rebuilding keeps your community, your schools, and your lot's long-term value — and California's like-for-like provisions give fire rebuilds an expedited permit lane that ordinary projects never see. It also asks two to three years of your life and real financial engineering. Selling the lot and relocating resolves faster and caps your risk — at the price of leaving the neighborhood that made the house worth having.
What we tell friends: make the decision with numbers, not fatigue. Get a real replacement-cost estimate, a real read on your lot's as-is value, and a real permit-lane assessment before choosing. Our guides to what the rebuild actually requires and the first ninety days lay out the rebuild side in full.
The obligations on a destroyed home do not pause: the mortgage is secured by the land and survives the structure, and your insurance must stay active for claims to keep paying. Missed payments risk foreclosure, credit damage, and lapsed coverage at the worst possible moment. If payments have become hard to carry, call your lender and your carrier before missing one — forbearance programs and premium accommodations exist, but they are negotiated, not automatic.
Fair settlements are built from records: a room-by-room inventory with values, photos and video of the loss, receipts recovered from banks and retailers, professional repair estimates, and a running log of every additional living expense. Organize it, back it up, and follow up in writing — and if the claim stalls or the numbers feel wrong, a licensed public adjuster or the Department of Insurance mediation program exists for exactly that moment.
Pacific Coast Design Group has built in the Palisades and Malibu since 1995. Our office burned in the January 2025 fire alongside our neighbors' homes — some of which we built the first time. We rebuild the way we always have: open books, a guaranteed maximum price, and fire-resistant construction engineered into every assembly, not bolted on.
See how a rebuild actually unfolds on our North Almar work-in-progress story — a like-for-like Palisades rebuild documented from the first cut of the pad — or start with how we work.
Reading about it is a start. Standing on the site with us is better. When you're ready to talk about your project — or just your questions — we're here.
A confidential inquiry — project type, location, and timeline. We respond within one business day.
Start Here →Sit down with our team in the Palisades — or walk an active site with us before any commitment.
Schedule a Visit →Monday–Friday, 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM. After hours, leave a voicemail and we'll return it next morning.
(310) 573-4242 →