Reality check
What will it cost, and when do you get home?
Four questions. You get a cost range, an honest read on whether your settlement covers it, and a move-in projection built from what actually happened on 1,153 real Palisades rebuilds — not generic industry averages.
Permit data as of July 28, 2026 · Nothing you enter leaves your browser
About this estimate
How accurate is this estimate?
It is a planning range, not a quote. The cost side uses published 2026 Los Angeles rebuild cost guidance; the timeline side uses durations observed on real Palisades permit records. Neither can see your lot. A geotechnical report and a builder walking your parcel are what turn this range into a number you can budget against.
Where do the timeline figures come from?
From the permit histories of real Palisades rebuild parcels — 1,153 applications for the plan-check figure and 30 completed homes for the construction figure. We show the middle half of outcomes, quartile to quartile, rather than a single average.
Why is the construction estimate based on so few homes?
Only 30 Palisades rebuilds have reached a certificate of occupancy so far, so that is the entire available sample. Those homes are also, by definition, the fastest ones — they finished first. Treat the construction leg as optimistic and weight toward the long end.
What does "our allowance" mean next to some figures?
That the number is our own reasoned adjustment rather than a published figure we can cite. Site and foundation conditions are the main one: nobody publishes a clean per-square-foot cost for caissons and retaining walls because it is entirely parcel-specific. We flag these so you know which parts of the estimate rest on published data and which rest on our judgement.
My insurance settlement is far below this. What do I do?
First, confirm the real number with a builder’s site-specific estimate — that is the document that makes a shortfall arguable rather than anecdotal. Then read your extended replacement cost, code-upgrade and additional living expense coverages separately, since they are distinct limits. If the gap is substantial, consider a public adjuster or an attorney before accepting the settlement.
How the model works
Cost starts from published 2026 Palisades per-square-foot rates — which already include Chapter 7A compliance, since every rebuild here must meet it — then adds a site and foundation allowance set by your neighborhood's terrain, and design, engineering and permits at 15–20%.
Published sources disagree with each other on construction rates, and we use the higher band. For someone budgeting a rebuild, being over-warned is the safer error.
Timeline is projected from durations observed on real Palisades permit records — 1,153 applications for plan check, 985 for mobilisation, and the 30 completed homes for construction. We show the middle half of outcomes rather than an average.
Figures marked our allowance are our judgement rather than a published number we can cite. We separate them because the difference matters when you are deciding what to do with a settlement.
Read the full basis on costs and the insurance gap and permits and timeline.