How This Works, Step by Step

Stage One: You Send an Address

The address is the only thing we genuinely need to begin, because in Los Angeles County the address determines almost everything else. Which of the 88 incorporated cities you are in, or whether you are in unincorporated territory, decides the permitting authority, the transfer tax, the review timeline and what may lawfully be rebuilt.

The rest of the form asks how far the fire got and whether there is an open claim. Both shape the research rather than the price directly, and neither has to be precise.

Stage Two: We Research the Parcel

This is where the days go, and it is the reason a figure from us means something rather than being a percentage of an estimate. Five things get established before any number is discussed.

What Do You Actually Look up Before Making an Offer?

Jurisdiction. City of Los Angeles, one of the other 87 cities, or unincorporated county. This is not a formality and postal addresses mislead constantly.

What the zoning permits. In much of the county the land carries most of the value, which means the question is not what burned but what may replace it. A parcel that permits more than what stood there is worth more than one that permits the same or less. Where an overlay applies — hillside standards, historic status, coastal review — that changes both the timeline and the buildable envelope.

Hazard zone status. Very high fire hazard severity zone designation triggers a disclosure obligation on sale and affects how insurable a completed rebuild will be. Insurability feeds directly into finished value.

Ownership and title. Who is on the deed, whether they are living, whether there is a mortgage, a reverse mortgage, a mechanics lien from a contractor, or an unrecorded family transfer. Title is what lengthens timelines here, not damage.

The structure itself. Photographs, the fire department report if one exists, and any engineering or insurance assessment you already hold. On a total loss this is the shortest part of the work.

Stage Three: A Written Figure, With the Arithmetic

You receive a number and the reasoning that produced it: finished value of what can be built, reconstruction cost, demolition and clearance, carrying cost across a realistic permitting timeline, transfer taxes, and margin. Every one of those lines is arguable and we would rather you argued with them than accepted a bare number.

What If the Arithmetic Says I Should Not Sell?

Stage Four: Your Decision

No deadline, no expiring offer, no pressure. If you want to compare, compare — and use the checks on our page about how to tell local cash buyers apart on us as well as on everybody else.

If you proceed, closing runs through a title and escrow company. Escrow handles the transfer taxes and recording. The timeline from agreement to close depends almost entirely on title condition: clean title closes quickly, an estate that has not been through probate does not.

What We Do Not Do

• We do not charge you anything. No fee for the figure, no commission, no repair contribution.
• We do not ask you to repair or clear anything first. Clearance is a cost we price in. Paying retail for demolition before selling almost never nets you more.
• We do not assign the contract. The entity on the agreement is the entity that takes title.
• We do not require your claim to be settled first. Proceeds and property can be separated, and who keeps the claim is negotiable.
• We do not tell you to conceal anything from a buyer or an insurer. California disclosure obligations survive an as-is sale, as set out on our page covering California disclosure and claim requirements.

Common Questions About the Process