Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Tuesday aimed at cracking down on land speculators who make “aggressive and unsolicited cash offers” to purchase properties affected by the Southland wildfires.
“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,” Newsom said in a statement. “We will not allow greedy developers to rip off these working-class communities at a time when they need more support than ever before.”
It also instructs the state Department of Real Estate and other state agencies to reach out to the public about their legal rights and available resources, and to provide residents with contact information of law enforcement agencies to report any violations of the order.
According to the governor’s office, the order was modeled after a similar step taken by the governor of Hawaii following the devastating wildfires that destroyed Lahaina and other areas on Maui last August.