COUNTYWIDE : Drug Sellers’ Houses to Be Auctioned

Two houses, seized by authorities after the owners were charged with selling drugs, will be auctioned Tuesday at the Ventura County Board of Supervisors meeting.

At 10 a.m., sealed bids for the houses will be opened in the board’s hearing room, and Chairwoman Maggie Erickson Kildee will call for oral bids.

The minimum bid for the house located at 1424 Hartley Ave. in Simi Valley is $160,000. Bids on the house at 142 Santa Maria St. in Santa Paula must be at least $60,000.

The Simi Valley house is 1,596 square feet, with five bedrooms and two baths, and sits on a 7,000-square-foot lot. It is in poor condition, according to the county Public Works Agency.

The Santa Paula house is 608 square feet, with two bedrooms and one bath, on a 6,000-square-foot lot. It is considered to be in substandard condition.

The successful bidders must deposit a $5,000 cashier’s or certified check, which is non-refundable. Remaining balances are to be deposited in escrow within 60 days.

Profits from the auction will be split between state and local law enforcement agencies, with 10% going to the state and 13.5% to the county district attorney’s office.

The remainder will go to the Ventura and Santa Paula police departments, the two agencies involved in the arrest of the property owners.