A celebrity broker in LA is blaming ‘bad’ apples for the wildfires and is urging them to ‘get their act together’.
Oppenheim Group founder, CEO and ‘Selling Sunset’ lead broker Jason Oppenheim told Fox News Digital about his office’s support and advocacy for wildfire victims and their homes, urging California leaders to cut real estate ‘red tape’.
Jason Oppenheim is doing everything he can to rally his real estate troops, dig into his pockets and hold bad actors accountable to help victims of the California wildfires and rebuild efforts.
“Obviously, we’re doing what we can to help everybody. And it’s unbelievable how many people have been displaced. I’ve lived here in Los Angeles for decades, I’ve seen other fires. I’ve never seen anything on this level,” Oppenheim told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
“We’re all hands on deck now,” he continued. “Probably the busiest week I can think of for us.”
Although LA and Orange County are best known for selling the most expensive and most expensive Netflix shows, Oppenheim’s team has refocused on hosting donation drives, providing free representation to residents who have lost their homes. Oppenheim himself, giving $100,000 to LAFD and LAPD first responders and calling out bureaucratic red tape.
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“Tens of billions of dollars have been spent by the government and the city on things that don’t make sense,” said a leading broker. We are cutting budgets for departments and agencies that are on the front lines of keeping us safe, like the fire department and police department.
Jason Oppenheim talks with Fox News Digital about the changes and housing priorities needed to rebuild Southern California “stronger and better.” (FOX Business)
“It’s time to reflect and learn. And there were things we could have done better.”
Three new wildfires have started in Southern California since Monday. Dry conditions and damaging winds continued Los Angeles and Ventura counties to create high fire risk. At least 24 people died and dozens more were injured in the accident.
About 12,000 buildings were completely destroyed this week. A recent Wells Fargo analysis showed total losses could reach $20 billion to $40 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
Realtor Jason Oppenheim explains how he’s trying to help those affected by the California wildfires on “Your World.”
Oppenheim announced last week that all agents will offer free representation to victims until their homes are sold or residents will receive credit for any commissions made during the transaction. He said more than 50 people have already reached out and “dozens” of clients are safe and are coming forward to lease their vacant properties.
Oppenheim also led a formal letter written by more than 45 of the city’s top-grossing agents to Governor Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, asking them to loosen restrictive ordinances and building codes that have hampered wildfire recovery efforts.
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“I hope we don’t simply add bureaucratic requirements to builders and developers because it’s very 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’ll get rid of some of the stupidity and some of the unnecessary overhead in construction. And we’ll focus on the things that actually work. And we really need to.”
This includes increasing Fair Plan insurance coverage to $6 million and adding liability insurance, streamlining building permits, exempting fire victims from housing taxes, eliminating restrictive building codes, ordinances and local ordinances, and ending property taxes for victims.
Mauricio Umansky, the agency’s founder and CEO, has criticized state leadership and high homeowner costs, but offers some ‘optimism’ about rebuilding California after devastating wildfires.
“We haven’t heard back directly from either of them. But we sent those letters in good faith during the defense,” Oppenheim said. “There’s a lot to do… Proactive measures are more important than surveillance measures. So I hope we can focus on more proactive measures in the future.”
L.A.’s rebuilding process will be “complex” and the real estate industry will be asked to “step up” on behalf of their clients, Oppenheim said. While he’s not sure how expensive it will be, he predicts it could take at least four to five years for California leadership to “get its act together.”
“They can be used by contractors, they are asked to answer questions about foundations and walls. Am I kidding? I’m a contractor and a lawyer and I still don’t want to build a house. It’s too complicated,” he warned. “I’m not sure many people want to take on that project. I hope there is a way for these people to be paid by their insurers.”
Smoke is seen as a brush fire burns in California’s Pacific Palisades on January 7, 2025. | Getty Images
“It would be great if people could go back home. But realistically,” Oppenheim countered, “there are people in their 60s, so we have to get developers to buy land at a fair price. I don’t think the 70s, 80s and 90s want to take on this project, and I don’t think they’re in a good position.” .
But now, Angelenos and Californians are determined to come together in the spirit of “friendship” and “compassion” to deliver needed aid and relief supplies as rescue efforts continue.
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“It’s easy to focus on the thief or the bad apple or whatever. Cost effective landlordBut I think the city hangs on, and it’s beautiful to see … Americans in general, I don’t think there’s a country whose citizenship is stronger and more willing to fall and come back stronger,” Oppenheim said.
“We’re not just going to rebuild, but we’re going to rebuild stronger and better. I think if you look at anything that happens to an American, they get up, they destroy themselves and they come back stronger. So Los Angeles is going to do it.”
Fox News staff contributed to this report.
