Owner's Representative for Fire Rebuilds

You are about to choose a builder. You want the license, the insurance, the permit history and the payment schedule checked before you commit to anyone.

Your builder slowed down or stopped. Inspections stopped, calls go unanswered, or the invoices run ahead of what you can see on site. You need to know where the house stands.

You moved away after the fire. You cannot stand on the site every week, and you want someone who reads framing, permits and invoices to stand there for you.

You own a rental that burned. You want the rebuild run to a schedule and a budget, with a written record every week.

Check the builder. License status, bond and workers' compensation on file with the Contractors State License Board, permit history, and the agreement your builder asks you to approve, for scope, schedule and payment terms.

Hold the payments to the work. I read the payment schedule before you approve it, and I measure every invoice against the work in place, with photos, before you pay it.

Watch the permit record. Every week I read your City or County permit record and flag a failed inspection, an open correction or an expiration date coming up.

Walk the site. Once a week I walk the house and send you a written report with photos: what was built, what passed, what comes next, and what needs your decision.

Read every change order. Before you approve a change, you know what it changes, why, and what it does to the schedule and the budget.

Keep the papers in one place. I keep the plans, approvals, inspection results, invoices, lien releases and warranties in order and share them with you.

Close it out. I track the final inspections and the certificate of occupancy, and I collect the warranties and the lien releases for what you paid.

Plans, framing, inspection notes and invoices are a builder's language. I read them for a living, so I can tell you what a delay, a correction or an invoice means before you pay for it.

1. A free first call. Twenty minutes on the phone. You tell me where the house stands and what worries you, and I tell you what I would check first. Book a first call (opens in a new tab)

2. The fee in writing. If we are a fit, you receive the agreement and the monthly fee in writing. Nothing starts before you approve it.

3. The first month. I read your builder, your permit record and your agreement first. Then the weekly site visits and reports begin. I take a limited number of houses at a time.

A flat monthly fee. I quote it in writing after the first call and bill it at the end of each month for the work done that month. No payment runs ahead of the work.