Is Your Electrical Panel a Fire Risk?

The stock market has been on a wild ride, and your 401K might be looking more like a 201K. But if you've been investing for a while, you've probably seen this before. Personally, I'm staying the course—retirement is still a ways off for me.

The silver lining? If you've already set aside your down payment and have been waiting on the sidelines, now might be your moment. Rates are coming down fast—just yesterday, one of my preferred lenders quoted 5.375% on a 7/6 jumbo ARM! I predict loan officers will be busy soon with a wave of refinances. If you need a lender referral, let me know—I've got great connections.

Back to regular programming, we wanted to talk about eletrical safety in your home.

As we all know, Bay Area housing stock is old. While building codes have evolved, many homes haven't kept up. And while you don't need to bring everything up to the latest code, it's important to stay on top of key safety issues—especially electrical.

One big concern? Outdated electrical panels. Brands like Federal Pacific, Zinsco, and Sylvania were commonly used in the '60s and '70s but have since been deemed unsafe. Faulty breakers in these panels can fail to trip during overloads or short circuits, which increases fire risk.

If you're buying or selling a home, these panels can also be deal-breakers. Insurance companies are cracking down and often require inspections—or will outright deny coverage if your home has one.

I recently saw a listing with a Federal Pacific panel. The seller provided a quote for a replacement, but since I had just done one myself, the price seemed suspiciously low. Turns out, the quote didn't include key components needed to pass inspection. Just a reminder—if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

For reference, I spent about $5,000 on a like-for-like upgrade from a Zinsco panel, permits included. The whole process took about a month—mostly because of PG&E delays. If you're upgrading capacity, expect to pay more.

Oh, and one more thing—knob-and-tube wiring is another issue that can cause insurance headaches... but we'll save that for another day.

I also made a quick video on this topic—check it out below!