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by Wayne Chan
Home for sale – Three bedroom, two bath, located in Ocala, Florida, in a great school district, with parks and walking trails nearby. A wonderful home for a new family, in a neighborhood close to everything you’d ever need. If interested, please inquire!
Oh, one thing – Chinese citizens are not welcome.
For those of you who haven’t heard, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law last year, Senate Bill 264, which makes it a crime for Chinese nationals to purchase property in the state.
As for the real estate listing noted above, I didn’t make that up. I’m actually selling a home there. I own a couple of homes in Florida. When I’m not writing columns, I spend my time building and investing in real estate all over the country.
I decided to sell this home for a number of reasons, some financial (there are other areas that I think would be a better fit), but partly because of this law and some of the apparent consequences that have come from it.
There are plenty of examples of how this law has affected buyers and sellers of real estate in Florida. Many Chinese nationals have given up even the thought of buying a home there because of the stiff penalties – a felony charge and possible prison time.
As for sellers, which would include homeowners and their realtors, face penalties and up to a year in jail as well. Many have complained that the law forces them to racially profile potential clients, which makes all potential Asian homebuyers subject to scrutiny.
As much as I find this law abhorrent and against everything that I believe in, what really sets me back is the unavoidable realization of what was behind the creation of this law.
In a statement last year, Governor DeSantis said, “Florida is taking action to stand against the United States’ greatest geopolitical threat – the Chinese Communist Party.”
From what I’ve gleaned from the lawmakers who put this bill together, this initiative aims to prevent China from acquiring U.S. computer chips and other technology.
I had no idea how brilliant these lawmakers were in crafting this bill. Their solution to keep U.S. technology out of the hands of the Chinese government is to keep any Chinese citizen or national from owning a home in the state of Florida. How they figured out that the Chinese government would never rent a home or stay in a hotel to accomplish their dastardly deeds is simply a leap of genius deduction.
Alright, I admit it. I’m being a tad facetious.
Many of the complaints regarding this bill have to do with the “fuzziness” of its directives. The bill restricts “any person who is domiciled in the People’s Republic of China and who is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States.” What does “domiciled” really mean? What does it mean if you’re a green card holder? Who is responsible for verifying these things? Border patrol? The realtor?
It all leads me to wonder – why would anyone put together a poorly crafted bill that doesn’t effectively address the problem they’re trying to solve? What other reason could there be to create a rule that keeps Chinese citizens and practically threatens all Asians from Florida?
I can only think of one answer, and that’s why I’m selling my home in Florida.
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