I'm a physician (actually a surgeon) and a real estate syndicator.

Plus, for the last decade+ there has been a drastic shortage of doctors, nurses, PTs, surgeons, and others.  

I am reconstructing after near total demo , and was looking at a quartz or replica ish countertop for $40/sq ft. 

You wouldn't pick a cardiac surgeon who is doing his/her first heart surgery on you. 

One in downtown Sunnyvale just started reconstruction after 3 or 4 years of stoppage.

I may have mislead you with my response, this is for demo and reconstruction for the remodel.  

Recently my mother passed away, insurance is covering the bio hazard clean up, reconstruction of the interior of the property.

Do you want the cheapest heart surgeon or a quality heart surgeon?

(Not sure if that's the case in Bakersfield but I could imagine the reconstruction efforts at Paradise is pulling some of that talent away from the area) I do firmly believe if we are ever going to solve the housing shortage homeowners need to be empowered with a pull yourself up by the bootstrap solution--even better with networks to enable such solutions. 

Insurance companies may pay for the re-construction, but you may not get paid for the loss of rental income and sometimes insurance companies tie up your property for a very long time getting bids for re-construction and sometime it takes a very long time for insurance companies to get experts to determine whether or not the fire was started by arson for insurance fraud and then your insurance company may not pay one penny to re-construct the property, you end up going to court and then what do you do?