Jason Oppenheim is doing everything in his power to rally his real estate troops, dig into his pockets and hold bad actors accountable in hopes of helping California wildfire victims and planning rebuilding efforts.
“We’re really doing what we can to help everybody. And it’s amazing how many people have been displaced. I’ve been here in Los Angeles for decades, I’ve seen other fires. I haven’t seen anything on this level,” Oppenheim told Fox News Digital Tuesday.
“We’re all on deck right now,” he continued. “It’s probably the busiest week ever, honestly, that I can think of for us.”
Although better known to sell the ultra-expensive and luxury properties in LA and Orange County to the hit Netflix shows, the Oppenheim Group has refocused on providing free representation to residents who have lost their homes, organizing fundraisers and to Oppenheim himself, giving $100,000. to LAFD and LAPD first responders and asking for red tape.
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“The state and the city have spent tens of billions of dollars on things that really don’t make sense,” said the top agent. “We’re cutting the budgets of the very departments and institutions that are most important on the front lines of keeping us safe, like the fire department and the police department.”
“It’s time to reflect and learn. And there were things we could have done much better.”
Three new wildfires have started in Southern California since Monday dry conditions and destructive winds continued to create a high fire risk in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. At least 24 people have died in the disaster and dozens more are missing.
As of this week, about 12,000 structures have been completely destroyed. A recent Wells Fargo analysis found that total losses could vary between 20 billion and 40 billion dollarswhich could mark the costliest natural disaster in US history.
Oppenheim announced last week that all agents will offer free representation to victims until their homes are resurrected, or residents will receive credit for any commissions made during the transactions. He says more than 50 people have contacted him and “dozens” of customers are offering to rent his safe and empty properties.
Oppenheim also led a formal letter written by more than 45 of the city’s most profitable agents and sent to Governor Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass, asking them to address restrictive laws and building codes that they hamper forest fire recovery and reconstruction efforts.
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“I hope we don’t just add bureaucratic requirements to developers and builders because it’s very impossible to build here. We’ve lost so much development,” Oppenheim said. “People just left Los Angeles because of the red tape. So my hope is that we eliminate some of this stupidity that is required in construction and some of the unnecessary additional costs. And what we do is focus on the things that will actually work and that we really need.”
This includes parenting Fair Plan insurance coverage to $6 million and adding liability insurance, streamlining building permits, exempting fire victims from the mansion tax, eliminating restrictive building codes, environmental ordinances and regulations, as well as pausing the property taxes for victims.
“We haven’t heard back directly from any of them. But in their defense, we honestly just sent those letters,” Oppenheim noted. “There is more to do… Proactive measures are more important than reactive measures. So I hope that in the future we can focus more on proactive measures.”
According to Oppenheim, LA’s rebuilding process will be “complicated” and require the real estate industry to “step up” on behalf of its clients. He’s not sure how much it could cost, but predicted it could take at least four to five years as California’s leadership “can get its act together.”
“They could be taken advantage of by contractors, being asked to answer questions about foundations and retaining walls. Are you kidding me? I’m a licensed contractor and attorney and I don’t want to build a house yet. It’s too complicated,” he warned. “I’m not entirely sure that many people want to take on this project. I hope there is a way for these people to be reimbursed by their insurers.”
“It would be great if people could go back to their homes. However, as a practical matter,” Oppenheim replied, “we’re going to have to figure out how to allow developers to buy land at fair prices because there are people in their 60s. , 70s, 80s and 90s I don’t think they want to take on this project and I don’t think they’re well positioned to do it either.”
But right now, Angelenos and Californians are committed to coming together, prioritizing a sense of “camaraderie” and “compassion” to deliver needed aid and relief supplies as rescue operations continue.
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“It’s easy to focus on the looter or the bad apple or the the lessor with price increases“But I think the city has galvanized itself, and it’s beautiful to see them…Americans in general, I don’t think there’s a country whose citizenry is more resilient and more willing to be torn down and come back more strong,” Oppenheim said.
“We’re not just going to rebuild, we’re going to absolutely rebuild bigger and better. I think if you look at almost anything that happens to an American, they pick themselves up, they brush themselves off and they come back stronger. So that’s what Los Angeles”.
Fox News staff contributed to this report.