The problem there is that the forfeiture hearing is classified as “due process.”
Which is ludicrous on its face. But until a court rules that it isn’t due process, they’ve got a free run.
I had heard of cars and boats being confiscated, but not houses or other real property.
This has shades of Spanish Inquisition to it. You could pay a loser to do a small drug deal in someone's yard. Seize their house as a result. Then drop the charges against the loser after the forfeiture hearing.
I would have no problem with forfeiture if it only applied:
1) To the property of individuals or groups actually found guilty of a crime, and
2) To property that was actually instrumental in the commission of the crime (for example, a vehicle used for smuggling, but not one where the owner is merely caught for possession), or purchased from the proceeds of crime.
Your current asset forfeiture laws are clearly not compatible with a country that claims to believe in freedom, property rights, and the due process of law.