Gavin Newsom Prohibits Offering To Buy People’s Property
Wildfires continue raging across southern California, so far killing more than two dozen people, displacing untold numbers of residents, and causing billions of dollars in damage. Gov. Gavin Newsom is contending with the fires as well as criticism over the state’s preparedness. This week, Newsom took aim at the real villain of the story: opportunistic real estate investors.
On January 7, Newsom issued a state of emergency as fires spread in Los Angeles County. On Tuesday, Newsom signed Executive Order N-7-25, prohibiting buyers for three months from “making any unsolicited offer to an owner of real property” in fire-affected areas “for an amount less than the fair market value of the property or interest in the property on January 6, 2025.”
“As families mourn, the last thing they need is greedy speculators taking advantage of their pain,” Newsom said in a statement. “I have heard first-hand from community members and victims who have received unsolicited and predatory offers from speculators offering cash far below market value—some while their homes were burning. We will not allow greedy developers to rip off these working-class communities at a time when they need more support than ever before.”
“Today’s executive order gives homeowners breathing room and protection by prohibiting unsolicited, low-ball offers for their property in fire-affected areas,” added California Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Let me be crystal clear: if you target vulnerable Californians who have not said they want to sell, we will investigate you and we will hold you accountable.”
Newsom issued the order during a state of emergency, which under California law allows him to craft orders and regulations that take effect immediately; failure to comply with a governor’s order constitutes a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $5,000 fine, up to a year in prison, or both. Newsom used the same authority in March 2020 to issue the country’s first stay-at-home orders at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
To that end, developers would jump at the chance to scoop up parcels of land from owners suddenly willing to sell. And if owners sudd
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