Real estate transactions

Defensible Space
Documentation for
Real Estate
Transactions

You leave with a dated transaction file: photographed conditions from this season, a prioritized list, and a record the listing team can put in escrow while there is still time to ask the local fire authority what it accepts. The fire authority issues its own clearance. This file is the photographed plan you use before that visit. The private file is $249.

Book Your Inspection
The listing is moving, and nobody has a dated defensible-space record.

You get a dated photographed file you can hand the agent, the buyer, or escrow while there is still time to ask questions.

The inspection queue is long, and you do not want to discover the gap in week three of escrow.

Start at listing if you can, so the file exists before the buyer’s clock starts.

The other side asked what has been done, and there is no photographed answer from this season.

Vegetation, storage, and weather change, so last season’s walk is not a record of today.

Scope for a sale file

What this file is,
and how the team uses it.

Civil Code §1102.19 can require defensible-space documentation in specified high and very high fire hazard sales.

What you get

  • The full residential walk: roof, vents, walls, windows, decks, fences, outbuildings, and the ground across the ignition zones
  • A dated photographed action plan the listing team can put in the file
  • A record of observable conditions on the inspection date, not last season
  • The same independence: no contractor sales from the visit

How the team uses it

  • Fix likely problems while there is still time before the official visit
  • Answer “what has been done?” with photos from this season
  • Give the seller a punch list in order, with time left to finish it
  • Bring specific questions to the fire authority, not a blank page

Authority fees for the official real-estate inspection vary by city and district. The private visit is $249 either way. The 14-row adopted-schedule table lives on San Diego County.

Sources

Where the AB 38 rules
come from.

What this inspection covers

What goes into
the transaction
file.

I inspect against Zone 0 requirements, the WUI building code, and recognized best practice. The report tells you which is which.

I visually review observable conditions in these groups, photograph them, and give you a dated file the team can use.

On the same walk I also review visible propane and utility conditions, hose reach, extinguishers, and whether the address is legible from the street. Those sit in fire code and preparedness, not in the Zone 0 draft.

Book this inspection

Find likely problems
before the official visit.

A $249 dated transaction file for listing or escrow.

Christopher Gallego
Christopher Gallego
NFPA training certificate of completion 2144213440 for Christopher Gallego, Reducing Wildfire Risk to Property, 20 September 2026
NFPA Reducing Wildfire Risk to Property · 2144213440
NWCG S-190 Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior certificate awarded to Chris Gallego, 21 September 2026
NWCG S-190 Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior · Sept 2026
Listing and sale

Defensible Space Documentation for Real Estate Transactions

$249 Introductory price through December 31, 2026. $349 starting January 1, 2027.

A dated photographed file the listing team can put in the packet while the clock is still yours.

  • Photographed conditions from this season, not last season
  • A prioritized list the team can hand to the other side
  • No fee contingent on the report or on close of escrow

Cancellations with less than 24 hours’ notice keep 50% of the fee. See Terms.

Book Your Inspection

Questions first? Contact me

Find it before the inspector does

Find the likely problems while there is still time before the official visit.

Same price as the homeowner visit

A sale does not change the scope. I do not charge a close-contingent premium.

Start while the clock is yours

City of San Diego says a real-estate DSI can take days to schedule and more days to walk. A failed first attempt leads to reinspection. I can give you an earlier photographed action plan.

Photos from this season

A photograph behind every recommendation, from this season.

Listing questions

The clock, the stamp,
and who pays.

AB 38, required-on-sale, and escrow questions are also on the Contact FAQ.

If the report names a roof or a fence, do you do that work?

No. I inspect observable conditions, photograph them, and give you a dated file. I do not install, repair, replace, certify, or perform licensed construction work. If something needs correction, you choose and contract directly with the qualified trade for that work.

Does this satisfy AB 38?

Not automatically. AB 38 documentation is controlled by Civil Code §1102.19 and the applicable local program. Ask the responsible fire authority whether it accepts a private report. A report is not labeled AB 38 compliant or official without written confirmation for that jurisdiction.

Will this keep escrow from falling out?

That cannot be promised. Some local programs only accept their own inspection, so ask early, at listing if you can. You get a dated, organized record the transaction team can use to ask the right questions.

Why is the listing price the same $249?

The walk and the report are the residential inspection. A sale does not change the scope, and the fee is not contingent on close of escrow or on what the report concludes. Authority fees, cleanup, and who pays stay local or negotiated.

When should you book?

At listing if you can. Public transaction sources talk about long inspection waits and missing paperwork in week three of escrow. The file is useful when it exists early enough to be discussed.