Los Angeles celebrity broker holds ‘bad’ apples responsible for wildfires, urges them to ‘work together’

Jason Oppenheim is doing everything he can to rally his real estate forces, dig into his own pocket 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 everyone. It’s unbelievable how many people have been displaced. I’ve been here for decades in Los Angeles, and I’ve seen other fires. I’ve never seen anything like this.” level,” Oppenheim told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

“We’re all on board now,” he continued. “This is probably the busiest week ever, honestly, that I can think of for us.”

Nevertheless Most popular To sell off the expensive, ultra-luxury Los Angeles and Orange County properties featured in the hit Netflix shows, the Oppenheim Group refocused on providing pro bono representation to residents who lost their homes, hosting donation drives — and for Oppenheim himself, giving $100,000 to the LAFD and LAPD first responders and calling out bureaucratic red tape.

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“The state and city have spent tens of billions of dollars on things that really don’t make sense,” the lead broker said. “We are cutting budgets for the most important departments and organizations on the front lines of keeping us safe, like the fire department and police department.”

“It was time to reflect and learn. There were things we could have done much better.”

Three new wildfires have burned in Southern California since Monday Dry conditions and damaging winds persisted To create a significant fire risk in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. At least 24 people died in the disaster and dozens are missing.

As of this week, about 12,000 buildings have been completely destroyed. A recent analysis by Wells Fargo found that total losses can range Between $20 billion to $40 billionWhich may represent the costliest natural disaster in US history.

Oppenheim announced last week that all agents will provide free representation to victims until their homes are revived, or residents will receive a credit for any commission made during the transactions. He says more than 50 people have contacted them, and “dozens” of clients are offering to rent out their safe, vacant properties.

Oppenheim also co-led a formal letter written by more than 45 of the city’s top agents and sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, asking them to address restrictive codes and building codes that are hindering wildfire recovery and rebuilding efforts.

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“I hope we’re not simply adding bureaucratic requirements on developers and builders because it’s impossible to build here. We’ve lost a lot of development,” Oppenheim said. “People are leaving Los Angeles because of the bureaucracy. So my hope is that we eliminate some of that stupidity required in construction and some of the additional costs that are unfounded. And what we’re doing is we’re focusing on the things that are actually going to work and that’s what we really need.”

This includes lifting Fair Plan Insurance Coverage to $6 million and add liability insurance, simplify building permits, exempt fire victims from the mansion tax, remove restrictive building codes, environmental ordinances and regulations, as well as temporarily halt property taxes on victims.

“We didn’t hear back directly from either of them,” Oppenheim noted. “But in their defense, we just sent those letters outright.” “There is a lot to be done… Proactive measures are more important than reactive measures. So I hope that in the future we can focus more on proactive measures.”

The process of rebuilding Los Angeles will be “complex” and will require the real estate industry to “step up its efforts” on behalf of its clients, according to Oppenheim. He’s not sure how much it could cost, but he predicted it could take at least four to five years where California leadership can “get its act together.”

“It could be exploited by contractors, who are asked to answer questions about foundations and retaining walls. Are you kidding me? I’m a licensed contractor and an attorney and I still wouldn’t want to build a house. It’s too complicated,” he warned. “I’m not entirely sure many people would want to In participating in this project. “I hope there is a way for these people to be compensated by their insurance companies.”

“It would be great if people could return to their homes,” Oppenheim responded. “But in practice, we will need to figure out how to allow developers to buy land at fair prices because there are people in their 60s.” And the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, I don’t think they would want to take on that project, and I don’t think they’re in a good position to do it either.”

But for now, Angelenos and Californians alike are committed to working together, prioritizing a sense of “camaraderie” and “compassion” to provide critical aid and relief supplies as rescue operations continue.

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“It’s easy to focus on the thief or the bad apple or the… Owner price gouging“But I think the city has galvanized, and it’s fun to watch… Americans in general, I don’t think there’s a country whose citizens are more resilient and more willing to take defeat and come back stronger,” Oppenheim said.

“Not only are we going to rebuild, we’re definitely going to rebuild stronger and better. I think if you look at anything that happens to an American, he gets up and erases himself and comes back stronger and that’s what Los Angeles is going to do.”

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Fox News employees contributed to this report.