AB 38 Inspection
Preparation
AB 38 Compliance Overview
Your home’s AB 38 requirements.
No guessing. No waiting. No commitment.
You have a compliance problem.
- Your Problem
You are selling your home and just learned you need defensible space documentation. Suddenly, there is an unfamiliar project and another deadline on your calendar that can disrupt escrow.
- The To-Do List
ResearchFigure out exactly what work needs to be done to get defensible space documentation your buyer and escrow will accept.
CoordinateIdentify and call the local fire authority to confirm the inspection logistics and whether it can realistically happen before your scheduled close of escrow.
More ResearchInvestigate what happens if you can’t get acceptable documentation before escrow closes.
CompileBuild a spreadsheet of vendors who may be able to complete all or some of the mitigation work you researched.
ShopCollect disparate quotes from gardeners, landscape contractors and handymen from your spreadsheet.
HireIf there is a written contract, negotiate the scope of work to match what you researched, and coordinate a schedule that fits both your escrow and the fire department’s calendar.
- Common Solutions
Do nothingOrder the AB 38 inspection and hope the home passes as is. If it doesn’t, negotiate with the buyer to complete the corrections after closing, which often means a credit to the buyer.
Do-it-yourselfSpend your weekend with pruners, a rented brush cutter and an overflowing green bin, hoping you have trimmed all the right things to the right height.
Become a Project ManagerCobble together a patchwork crew of your regular gardeners and a local handyman. You may need to spend a day or two managing them, communicating the compliance specifications you researched and double checking their work.
- Common Failures
Negotiation OutcomeThe back-and-forth with the buyer, and the credit that comes out of it, can cost more than you expected.
Opportunity CostHomeowners often undervalue their own time when taking on projects.
Unintentional Non-complianceA homeowner or the hired vendor overlooks one or more of the fire authority’s defensible space requirements.
Your AB 38 inspection. Done.
Bring us your compliance problem and your deadline. Mustard Construction assesses your home, tailors a scope of work, completes that work promptly and leaves you with reliable documentation of the work that was done.
The Mustard Process
Assess
We start with the property and the exact AB 38 inspection standards that apply. We thoroughly document the current condition of your property and assess it using the standards VCFD and LACoFD use.
Scope
We turn the thorough assessment into a scope tailored to your home passing its AB 38 inspection on your escrow timeline. Mustard Construction’s Wildfire Compliance Scope gives you a clear path forward so you know what work, timeline and guarantees you are approving.
Mitigate
We promptly carry out the approved scope to prepare your home for its upcoming inspection before your escrow deadline. We own the project from start to finish. One contract, one point of contact.
Document
We close the project with Mustard Construction’s Done Report, a thorough documentation of the completed mitigation work at your home. It gives real estate agents, escrow officers and fire authorities a reliable record to review.
What homeowners say
“When I was preparing to sell my home, a real estate agent told me about the required AB 38 inspection. Mustard Construction quickly clarified what work my home needed. That made a stressful time much easier to manage.”
Explore your options
You start the consultation with a compliance problem.
You finish the consultation with a clear path forward.
