Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Thursday his administration has opened several investigations into people who have allegedly made unsolicited offers for property in the fire-stricken Maui town of Lahaina in violation of a new emergency order.
Green prohibited such offers by signing an emergency proclamation on Aug. 19 aimed at preventing land in the historic coastal community from flowing into the hands of outside buyers. The order aims to give residents some “breathing room” as they decide what to do next, Green said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Even before the Aug. 8 fire, Lahaina was a rapidly gentrifying town and there’s been widespread concern since that Native Hawaiians and local-born residents who have owned properties in their families for generations might feel pressured to sell.
There aren’t many people more scummy than real estate investors
I agree with the sentiment, but if they are just offering to buy (no one is forcing the owners to sell), I don’t see a problem.
You don’t see an issue with speculators preying on traumatized people before the bodies of their loved ones and neighbors are even cold yet?
I guess i don’t consider it “preying on” someone to offer to buy their property. As long as there isn’t coercion, I don’t see a problem.
Normally I wouldn’t either but I think that timing is everything and asking them now is pretty tasteless
Honestly, now is probably their only chance to get any of that property for anything approaching a reasonable amount.
So if your community burns down, and your house and all possessions were part of that, you’d be fine having a bunch of rich people bothering you within days of your loss, to take advantage of your misfortune - just lost literally everything, sentimental or financial - to sell for a fraction of the normal actual value to a company hoping to make massive profits on your land, and thus on your misfortune?
Where do you live so I can keep that in mind…? I’m not rich, but if that’s your mindset I’d definitely be willing to bother you.
They can ask if they want, but they can’t make me sell. I can ignore them them.
You say that, but what happens is they but from whoever is willing to sell, them muscle out the rest, the act of selling also diminishes the community to a point where it can no longer sustain itself. Then when they develop the property taxes go up for those who didn’t sell to the point where they may as well sell since they can’t afford to live in their home. Real estate firms are a racket.
That’s just called economics. Every time someone sells, the prices are adjusted up or down depending on supply and demand. As long as there isn’t fraud or theft, It happens every day of the year, all around the world.
Glad to see the state is making that a priority.
