Online platform Pali Builds – the brainchild of real estate developer Kambiz Kamdar and software developer Frank Renfro – seeks to bring transparency and resources to the Pacific Palisades community as residents navigate the arduous task of rebuilding.

Both living in Pacific Palisades at the time of the fires, Kamdar and Renfro became involved in the Palisades Rebuild Council and connected over a shared drive to accurately, and in great detail, report on progress being made in rebuilding homes in the neighborhood. They also wanted to provide resources that may speed up the process. 

The platform reports monthly updates for permits issued for new home rebuilds and the average timeline for approvals, which in August stood at 77 days. August also showed the highest number of new home permits issued at 76, bringing the grand total for the 90272 ZIP code to 179 as of Sept. 1.

Additionally, Pali Builds tracks lot sales – which sit at 238 in total – specifying which areas in Pacific Palisades are seeing the greatest activity and the average and median sale prices in each area. With 63 sales, the area covering the north side of Sunset Boulevard from Temescal Canyon Road to Rivas Canyon Road and parts of Topanga State Park has seen the most activity.

The platform also follows buyer profiles and found that 63% of lots purchased were from entities, while 37% were from individuals. West Hollywood-based 5 Star Discount Homes and Inland Jurupa Valley in Ontario are the top buyers with four lot purchases each.

While the platform covers quite a few bases, the genesis was really to decipher how many individual homes were actually being rebuilt.

Given that what the city reports on its recovery webpage includes a wide range of permits, including for repairs, Kamdar said it wasn’t clear the true number of real homes.

“For us, going through and breaking that down is being a source of truth for people, saying ‘Yes the city might say this amount of permits but it’s actually this many homes,’” Kamdar said.

Behind the data

The city’s tracking platform reports all permits related to structures that the L.A. Department of Building and Safety recorded as damaged or destroyed in the Palisades Fire. This includes permits for homes that needed repairs but do not require a full rebuild, Mayor Karen Bass’s office told the Business Journal. 

Additionally, many homes require multiple types of permits. That means the city can issue several permits for one project, all of which will be included in the final calculation. As of publication, there were 626 permits issued for  358 “unique addresses,” according to the city’s tracking system. The unique addresses count represents the number of individual properties that have obtained permits related to rebuilding.

Even so, this figure still includes addresses that only needed repairs and includes permits for commercial properties; and there isn’t a clear disclosure of entirely new home rebuilds which residents are wanting, said Daniel Berman, an attorney and active community member who lost his home in the Palisades Fire.

In asking around his networks in Pacific Palisades, Berman said that approximately “75% of the people I know are going to (Pali Builds) because they find it to be the most accurate information in their minds, at least for getting information about the city and the permit process.”

While the city’s tracking system may appear “a little misleading” especially to the untrained eye, Berman doesn’t assume malintent, but rather a lack of resources leading to “taking the easy approach.”

“I like the fact that Pali Builds focuses on quantifying it by new construction permits for a property – that’s one permit, and if there’s additional permits for grading or pools or anything like that, it still only counts as one permit,” Berman said. “That’s the way it should be quantified.”

Resources

Renfro and Kamdar aim to not only supply data but supply solutions, too.

“We need to be objective, deliver truth and facts because rumors are rampant, and solve problems together, whether it’s logistical problems for builders or identifying contractors that can perform the service that a homeowner needs,” Renfro said.

Along those lines, Pali Builds compiled a comphrensive database of architects, designers, demolition and electrician companies, land-use consultants, fire resistant product suppliers, pool landscapers, general contractors, soil experts, structural engineers and more. Every company or professional on the list is already active in Palisades rebuilding.

This list was created by analyzing permits in the area with the goal of providing a roster of “who is working here, not who wants to work here,” Kamdar said.

In using this resource, residents can also see more specifically, which builders are involved in their particular neighborhoods and streets. 

“We can tell homeowners if there’s three houses being built on your block, which homes are being built and who’s building them,” Renfro said. “This helps the homeowner say, ‘OK, well maybe this (contractor) can do my home for less money, and also they obviously know my neighborhood and the nuances of the Palisades.’ It’s just one less hurdle or question that the Palisadian has to answer.”

In addition to the convenience this tool can bring homeowners, Berman thinks this list will keep pricing fairer and more transparent. Recalling “some horrible price gauging” that came about after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, Berman said platforms like Pali Builds can “become like a watchdog.”

“If there’s a contractor on that list who isn’t pricing appropriately compared to the other contractors, I guarantee you, we’re all going to know that a lot faster than we would have 20 or 30 years ago,” Berman said. 

Reach and scaling

With the growth of the platform since launching in July, Renfro and Kamdar have been receiving inquiries for contractors who want to be on the list and part of the rebuilding process. Thus, they’re exploring the option of having a second pay for play list, but they remain committed to having the organic list of professionals already involved at no cost to the businesses or consumers. 

In the last two months, Renfro said the site has had about 40,000 visits, gaining traction largely through word of mouth as Pali Builds has not opted for any advertising. He also estimated the team receives about five to 10 inquiries daily from homeowners looking for referrals.

As of now, Pali Builds has been fully self-funded by Renfro and Kamdar and remains a two-man operation with the occasional support from subcontractors. 

To cover costs, Pali Builds works with community members on navigating insurance, using design and property claims software to generate estimates that can range between $5,000 and $6,000. 

“Since we have very low overhead and no sales personnel to compensate, our cost is lower and estimates are more respected by the carriers,” Renfro said. “Being a (general contractor) from the Pacific Palisades goes a long way.”

In refining the platform, Pali Builds has added several features including newsletters outlining solutions for common rebuild problems and an AI-driven matchmaking quiz to pair homeowners with builders based on their lot slope, price and aesthetic goals, and desired expertise. They have also created a marketplace in partnership with the Palisades Builders Coalition for homeowners to rent out their empty lots to builders who need space to store equipment.

Pali Builds is considering scaling its services up to other geographies as well. 

“Coming from a software background, my thought is you take an isolated use case, create a solution for it and prove it up,” Renfro said. Then once the platform has good footing, “we can roll it out to a lot of different communities and replicate what we’re doing,” noting that Altadena would be the first natural progression.

Berman agrees that Pali Builds “absolutely has a scalable opportunity,” he said, referring to Altadena but also as a template for other cities who endure natural disasters in the future.