Making offers on properties that just burned

[Mick Harvey]

Trying to take these bad Napa fires as an opportunity. Housing shortage we have already this will make worse; therefore seeing if I can make this a business opp to get more on line Anyone know process for a home/apartment owner after their property has burned down? Can they sell right away? Do they have to settle with insurance prior to selling? Can I do contingent offers? Special loans for reconstruction for fires? Structual engineer needed before rebuild can take place? Things to go after, things to stay away from? All these questions and more, looking for experience to guide and if even worth doing Appreciate the input

[Brian Burke]

This is going to be an interesting scenario.  Over 3,800 homes were lost within the city limits of Santa Rosa alone, and there were tons more outside of the city limits. 

But recovery isn't going to be large-scale production operation, such as would be the case if a developer bought a hundred acre tract and built a new subdivision.  Instead it is going to be a one at a time fractured process.  One at a time homeowners are going to be seeking architects and subsequently permits and contractors.  This will be a labor intensive process for the building department because every house will be a unique design, unlike a large subdivision that has a few floor plans that are repeated multiple times.

Trouble is, this county has been so anti-development for so long that so many contractors and trades people have gone out of business or moved away to run their businesses in a better political climate.  This leaves us tragically short on the resources that we need to rebuild.  I suspect that factor alone will make it problematic enough that many lots won't be built on for a decade or longer. 

Dealing with our building department folks is an exercise in complete futility.  I've had two remodel permits that were tied up in permitting gridlock for multiple years (each took about two).  Hopefully the building department will start to be more proactive, and hopefully they'll hire more people to handle the volume, but there is little incentive to do so.  With new development they get hefty fees for community impacts and they fund their staffing from those fees.  But in this case, all of this building activity will be replacement of existing structures and the impact fees for those structures are credited.  Thus, there is less money in it for the city.  Which means less incentive, and less funding to offset the need for personnel.

So if you are looking for opportunity, be patient.  There will be lots for sale for years.  Or you could become a contractor, trades professional, or architect.  You'll have all the work you can handle for the foreseeable future.