Montelena Home to Be One of the First to Rise from Wildfire Ashes

RANCHO BERNARDO, CALIF. (July 8, 2008) - One of the first homes to rise from the ashes of last October’s wildfires is expected to be completed soon in Rancho Bernardo’s Montelena neighborhood by Poway-based JVB Construction Management, Inc.

The new 3,400-square-foot house, owned by Dale and Eva Lindsey, is nearly identical to the original which was completely destroyed by the fires that swept through this North County community. The home was one of 39 lost in the Montelena subdivision.

JVB managed the entire building process, including developing the cost estimate to support the insurance claim, project budgeting, selection and appointment of various contractors and sub-contractors, debris removal, soil compaction and pouring of a new concrete slab.

“As many residents are discovering, rebuilding your home can be emotionally draining and extremely stressful,” said John van Blerck, president of JVB. “That’s when people are most vulnerable to contractors that overpromise, under-deliver and exceed their budget.”

JVB uses a turnkey project management approach designed to reduce homeowner anxiety throughout the planning and building process. A fixed fee is negotiated at the start of each project, eliminating the need for costly and often unnecessary change-orders and giving owners confidence their home will be completed on time.

“With all the decisions required daily, we knew we’d be overwhelmed navigating the rebuilding effort ourselves,” said Lindsey, a former NFL player and coach. “We put our confidence in JVB and never looked back.”

Completion of the Lindsey home, originally planned for December, is now anticipated for September. The rebuild was started in April.

Van Blerck said challenges in rebuilding the Lindseys’ home included building within the existing height restrictions, per the CC&Rs, and a overcoming a vastly updated building code from when the Montelena subdivision was originally constructed. The building code now requires a significantly improved ability to withstand seismic forces, as well as upgraded fire protection systems.

Van Blerck advised that although the building industry is currently somewhat depressed, there are opportunities to reconstruct homes at prices significantly lower than the levels paid following the Cedar Fire in 2004. He said that reconstruction efforts in 2004 resulted in extremely high prices with many contractors and subcontractors over-committing themselves on projects.

JVB Construction Management, Inc, established in 1998, oversees the planning and building of homes as well as large-scale commercial projects.