I started a new post asking people's thoughts about insurance costs in your local area and specifically costs to rebuild and other challenges:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/95/topics/1227051-insur...

Their lease is 6 month term with a same rate month to month however, their insurance states the rebuild of their home and fire investigation efforts are going to take 12-18 months. 

I imagine people who've had 2nd or 3rd houses in hollywood hills are not interested in rebuilding or doing the work. 

If you choose not to rebuild/replace your settlement would usually be for actual cash value.It's unlikely you can get a settlement for above the coverage amount you paid for.

@Bruce Woodruff were gonna get a slew of people saying it will be fine, people will rebuild and all will be better than ever.

My experience is that when people can afford to keep their expensive property, (sans a house), they rebuild.

But since I am in the fire area of Altadena I will be very busy rebuilding houses for the next decade for me "day job".

One golden rule I follow,if it takes a long time to fix/replace when it breaks, don't buy a cheap one.Imagine, this thing breaks in the middle of your peak season and the people who can come out to rebuild are 2 weeks out....It takes at least a day or two to build something like this even if you are super skilled.

The timeline for reconstruction is decades, many will choose not to rebuild or re-take the risk.

Focus on rebuilding your credit, saving for a down payment, and learning the local market.