How to find the right contractor to rebuild your home after devastating LA County fires​on January 31, 2025 at 1:32 am

As people plan to rebuild after the destructive Los Angeles County wildfires, we’ve received a lot of questions from viewers about how to find the right contractor.

As part of our Ask ABC7 initiative, we got answers from an expert about what you should know before hiring a contractor.

“I plan on rebuilding,” said Richard Robeson from Altadena.

However, he worries how long it will take to rebuild and finding the right people for the job.

“I know people in the contracting business, so hopefully everything will be on the up-and-up,” he added.

The rebuilding process will take months and even years. Experts say you have to trust your contractor since it will be a long-term partnership.

“They don’t want to rush into repairs, because if they rush into repairs, that’s when they might encounter an un-licensed contractor, or they might encounter someone who doesn’t have the experience or the skills to do the work that needs to be done,” said Katherine White from the Contractors State Licensing Board.

One of the questions that Eyewitness News received was regarding how many contractors you should get bids from.

According to White, you should get at least three bids to compare what they offer – and always be careful if they ask for a large deposit.

“The down payment can be no more than $1,000 or 10% of the total project cost, whichever is less. And so that’s one of the big things that we want consumers to know… don’t give too much money upfront.”

Catherine Ridder, of Altadena, said she will also rebuild and thankfully has a contractor.

“I just hired a contractor to do some landscaping… I just finished some beautiful landscaping but they are a full construction company so they might be in my corner to help me rebuild. So much uncertainty and so much unknown, you know,” said Ridder.

Another view asked ABC7 for a list of licensed contractors who have built homes in Pacific Palisades, Mandeville Canyon or Brentwood.

White said once you find a contractor, go to the CSLB website to find background information and make sure they are legitimate.

“You can check the license of any contractor or the name of the contractor, or an address of a contractor just to verify that they are who they say they are, that their license is active, that if they have workers, they have workers compensation insurance,” she added. .