'Sailing Sunset' star warns of 'pure greed' from landlords charging California wildfire victims
The founder of the Oppenheim Group and lead broker for Selling Sunset talks to Fox News Digital about how California is cracking down on homeowners who are taking advantage of price gouging during the devastating wildfires.
“Selling Sunset's” lead broker and founder of the Oppenheim Group cites evidence that California's alleged price-gouging landlords acted not only unethically but illegally after the devastating wildfires.
“It's absolutely greed,” Oppenheim told Fox News Digital earlier this week. “It's a lack of sensitivity and community, and it's a desire for personal gain.”
“We are a capitalist society and I completely understand taking advantage of the supply-demand imbalance under normal circumstances,” he said. “But surge pricing laws exist for a reason and people need to be warned.”
Oppenheim is part of a larger group of realtors in the LA area noticed and called out the predatory behavior of landlords in the housing and rental market, who demand higher prices in the wake of property destruction caused by wildfires.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: KEY PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM
Flames It started 12 days agoFOX Weather reports when strong Santa Ana winds carried the flames that started in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Tens of thousands of people remain displaced in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, where a state of emergency is still in place. Forest fires, which have killed at least 25 people and destroyed nearly 12,000 homes, businesses and schools, continue to wreak havoc.
Jason Oppenheim is warning California residents about homeowners trying to get top-dollar property prices during wildfires. (FOX Business)
“I was up late a few nights ago or last week and I was looking for rentals and I was seeing the (multiple listing service) 'up' arrows, you rarely see people raising rents, especially when we're in a soft rental market,” Oppenheim explained. .
“So I drew a map around the area around Altadena and the area around the Palisades and I sorted by price increase and dozens and dozens of price increases. And I was just amazed,” he said. “I imagine it must be illegal.”
Using his legal expertise, the broker found Section 396 of the California Penal Code, an anti-price gouging statute that limits how much prices can be raised during an emergency.
Jason Oppenheim, founder, CEO and principal broker of Selling Sunset, Oppenheim Group, talks to Fox News Digital about his office's outreach and support to wildfire victims and their homes, and urges California leaders to cut real estate “red tape.”
More specifically, the law states that “landlords may not increase rent by more than 10% during an emergency unless the increase is due to additional costs or a pre-existing agreement.”
“These people lost their property and now they're going through a price hike,” Oppenheim said. “And even my own clients, honestly, there's been one thing that's set me off…I sent a client to look at a house on the MLS that was asking $13,000. He offered the homeowner $20,000 and six months in advance, and the homeowner. My client I was paying $23,000 a month, almost double the value of the house, and I was just in shock.
“It's pure greed. It's insensitivity and a lack of community and a desire for personal gain.”
“It is not appropriate to take advantage of someone who is harmed,” he said. “I'd be surprised if landlords who have done this and are at above-market rents don't hear from the district attorney or attorney general or at least get a letter from their tenants after a few months. , they will have to pay back all monies and fines and potential criminal liability once their tenant becomes aware of the situation.”
Also weighs home owners insurance discussionOppenheim pointed the finger at finding bureaucratic solutions rather than blaming providers for their actions.
Jason Oppenheim, owner of Oppenheim Real Estate Group, discusses the impact of the California wildfires on local real estate markets on The Big Money Show.
“It frustrates me when I see these celebrities superficially attacking insurance companies. It's just like click-bait virtue signaling,” he said. “Does anyone love insurance companies? No, probably not. But to sit there and superficially blame the insurance companies, you know why the insurance companies left California? Because our politicians, in all their infinite wisdom, ordered that they weren't allowed to. Raised rates and (insurance companies) were losing billions of dollars due to previous fires.”
“What do you expect from them? Come in here and insure us at ridiculously low rates while they're paying out billions of dollars in claims?” announced the broker. “It's stupidity piled on stupidity. What we need to do is figure out why they left.”
One of the Golden State's top-grossing real estate leaders — along with an official letter signed by more than 45 others — is arguing California Exposition Plan To properly insure homes in the Palisades and Malibu, it must increase its liability from the current $3 million to $6 million.
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Romer Debbas managing partner Pierre Debbas says the economic consequences of the California wildfires will continue to be a “sad story.”
“Most of the homes in Malibu couldn't get any insurance because California wouldn't offer them insurance. So it seems pretty dubious that California doesn't want to cover them, but then they kind of blame the insurance companies,” Oppenheim said.
“Let's get some more insurance companies involved. Let's create an efficient market. Let's get California into the insurance market. It's not rocket science. There's so much incompetence. It's disappointing.”
