Q&A with Chief Recovery Officer, Steve Soboroff

Excepts from the CAA/UTA/WME Q&A with Steve Soboroff:
1. Focus on rebuilding, not reimaging
2. Costs will be approximately $1,000-$2,000/SF to rebuild. Hopeful the gap between insurance and building costs will be covered by the government.
3. Desires to turn over a buildable city in 90 days.

STEPS TO RECOVERY
STEP 1: REMOVAL OF TOXIC MATERIALS
This is already happening with FEMA and should be finished in 3 weeks.

STEP 2: RUBBISH CLEARANCE
This could take 6 months to a year.
150,000 trucks working around the clock to clear lots so Owners can rebuild.
You can opt-in to have Army core do this for FREE if you do not have insurance.
Insurance will pay Army core directly.
DO NOT sift through rubbish, it’s highly TOXIC. Temperatures were 2200 degrees, so there is nothing left.
When your lot is cleared, they will remove 6 inches of dirt which is 3 inches more than has ever been removed from prior fires.
They can either remove or leave your slab—it is recommended to remove the slab.

STEP 3: REBUILDING
Visit your site ASAP with your Architect and start working on plans for approval.
Once the phase two is over you should be approved to start construction
Have architect work with insurance company to make sure rebuilding is insurable
Everyone will have a gap between coverage and cost to rebuild because cost of materials and labor will be incredibly high given the scale of the rebuild

If you don’t have plans, they might be able to find your existing plans in city planning
If you want to expand the size of your house, you can, the process will be different, but you are not considered a client of the City and it will take a long time
If you rebuild, don’t rebuild with an attic

DON’T SELL NOW
Soboroff biggest concern is people walk away and developers snap up lots
In one year, they will be investing billions of dollars into the Palisades