January 03, 2007 @ 3:16 pm

Whitney Houston's Belongings To Be Auctioned Next Week

Mariel Concepcion

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The fire sale of 400-plus items—including designer costumes custom-made for Houston by the likes of Donna Karan, Versace and Dolce & Gababana, music awards, props, stage sets, sound and studio equipment such as speakers and mixers, furniture and tools—will kick off next Tuesday in Irvington, New Jersey. Also on the selling block: a transparent grand piano purchased for between $300,000 and $400,000, various drum kits and keyboards, a chair dubbed "Whitney's throne" and underwear, including a sexy black-velvet bustier with silver beading once worn by the 43-year-old diva. "It's a warehouse full of stuff from her shows," Steve Newmark, owner of A.J. Willner Auctions, told the New York Daily News. "The auction is open to the public, but only for qualified buyers. It's not for a teenage fan hoping to buy one of her trinkets." Attendees will have to pay up $100 to enter the building, and winning bidders must immediately deposit at least 25 percent of the auction price. Jeffrey Campisi, a lawyer for the Speed of Sound--the storage firm that's been holding onto Houston's gear on behalf of her company, Nippy Inc., since her 1999 "My Love Is Your Love" tour--said that the company was forced to take legal action in May, obtaining a court order granting permission for the garage sale after failing to receive about $200,000 in storage payments from Nippy since 2005. Since filing for divorce from Bobby Brown, 37, in October, Houston has been hit by financial woes, including the foreclosure of the Georgia mansion the couple shared. The suburban Atlanta home, which they bought in 2003, was sold off in a court-approved auction in November and is already back on the market, listed for $1.4 million on several real estate Websites. She was also sued in November for allegedly failing to keep up with $1 million in mortgage payments and back taxes for her $6 million estate located in Mendham, New Jersey. Thankfully for her, under New Jersey law, any proceeds above the owed amount will go to Nippy, meaning Houston could still make out pretty well. After a stint in rehab, the entertainer recently reunited with mentor Clive Davis and is crafting a new album slated to be released on Arista Records later this year.

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