Prospective Bidders Tour Houses Caltrans Will Sell

Jeremy Byrnes did a quick tour through an Anaheim neighborhood on Saturday where Caltrans is selling five homes and liked what he saw.

“Neighborhood’s nice, and so far the homes look good,” said Byrnes, who joined dozens of other prospective buyers who examined the agency’s properties.

On Saturday, Caltrans will hold a public auction of surplus property that it bought but didn’t use. The five homes and 15 others are listed at prices up to 30% below market value and were originally purchased as part of a plan to expand the Riverside Freeway.

“We’ve had a lot of people coming by and looking at the houses,” said Daniel Dunn, who manages excess land for Caltrans. “Rather than developers, many of those coming to look were families and they wanted to buy to live in them.”

Minimum bids ranged from $134,300 for a home with three bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms to a six-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath house with a minimum bid of $159,375.

Based on the public’s responses on Saturday, the six-bedroom home at 2401 E. Briarvale Ave. was clearly the favorite among the five properties in Anaheim.

Victoria Ochoa and Victor Sotelo of La Puente said they were intrigued after reading of the agency’s sale and came to look at the homes.

They’re thinking of moving and were impressed with the six-bedroom home. Sotelo said he wanted to bid $165,000, but he and Ochoa also discussed the downside: living near freeway noise, exhaust fumes, and contending with a tall concrete sound wall Caltrans plans to build in the backyard.

“We have a lot of things to think about,” Ochoa said.

The homes had been up for sale a year ago but bidding was unsuccessful, Dunn said. In an effort to attract sales, Caltrans officials decided to showcase the homes on a Saturday, instead of during the week. They also eliminated the requirement that those who wish to bid must deposit 10% of the value of the home. Bidders must deposit only $1,000 to qualify to bid, Dunn said.

Dusan Jocic, 61, a homeowner in the neighborhood, said he paid $225,000 for his home seven years ago when real estate prices were high. One Caltrans home nearby started at a $142,800 minimum bid.

After Jocic examined the Caltrans house, he said that although it needed upgrading and landscaping, it still represented “a bargain.”

Velear Heiser of Garden Grove and her mother, Connie Wesling of Cypress, inspected the homes after hearing that the properties represented a good real estate investment. But after their inspection, they had second thoughts.

“We expected them to be more fixed up,” Heiser said. “The first ones that we saw on Earl Circle were really trashed up. There wasn’t anything done with them and they had old tiles, water damage and other problems.”

Heiser, who brought Michael, her 18-month-old son, said that despite the affordability of the homes, she was worried about living so close to a freeway.

“With the sound and all, and so many cars moving so close to you . . . that’s scary,” she said.

Those wanting to bid must appear at Caltrans’ district office at 2501 Pullman St. in Santa Ana at 9 a.m. Saturday and bids will be taken at 10 a.m. Prospective bidders must also bring a $1,000 cashier’s check or money order made out to the California Department of Transportation. Bidders may also bring $1,000 in cash.

For more information, call Caltrans at (714) 724-2000.