Michael Jackson's long-troubled estate is one of hundreds of properties listed in a foreclosure report covering California's Santa Barbara County.
The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter, a Website covering the mortgage-lending crisis, posted the document Tuesday.
A call to Jackson spokeswoman Raymone K. Bain, who has routinely declined to discuss the pop star's finances, was not returned Wednesday. The company listed as the contact for the apparently defaulted loan, the San Francisco-based Alliance Default Services, issued a "no comment" through its telephone operator.
The numbers contained in the foreclosure report—Jackson is said to owe $23,212,963 on a $23 million loan—jibe with an earlier FoxNews.com report, which said that the pop star had 90 days to come up with the eight-figure sum, or say goodbye to the 2,500-acre property.
Neverland, its fairytale name befitting its zoo and amusement park, has been more nightmare than dream home for Jackson for several years.
In 2003, police and investigators swarmed the kid-friendly estate as they scoured for evidence in the child-molestation case that would see Jackson eventually acquitted by a jury. In 2006, the state of California essentially shut the joint down until the entertainer made good on his employees' back wages and workers' compensation insurance.
Shortly after his 2003 arrest, Jackson vowed he'd never again call Neverland home, saying the police raid ruined the place for him.
Following his acquittal, Jackson took up residence in the Middle East. According to FoxNews.com, the 49-year-old is currently living in an "expensive" rental in Washington, D.C.
Jackson bought Neverland in 1988 for $17 million. He was rumored to have put it for sale in 2005 as money woes reportedly mounted for the lavish spender and lawsuit magnet.
An interview in the December issue of Ebony magazine, due out Nov. 12, must have come as a welcome change of pace for Jackson. It focuses not on the now-usual Jackson topics—litigation, finances, molestation allegations—but that now-rarest of Jackson topics: music.
The sit-down, billed as Jackson's first magazine confab in a decade, was timed to the 25th anniversary of Thriller, the album, released Nov. 30, 1982, that went on to become the second-biggest-selling album in U.S. history, per the Recording Industry Association of America.
In the interview, Jackson reveals he was called "Smelly" by Thriller producer Quincy Jones (as in, "Smelly, let it talk to you.") and was inspired by P.I. Tchaikovsky.
"If you take an album like Nutcracker Suite, every song is a killer, every one," Jackson tells Ebony. "So, I said to myself, 'Why can't there be a pop album where every…' "
Thriller, home to the likes of "Beat It" and "Billie Jean," scored seven Top 10 hits. It only had 10 total tracks.
For those keeping tabs on Jackson's whereabouts and living arrangements, the magazine notes its interview took place in a New York City hotel suite.
Jackson Ordered to Pay Attorneys’ Legal Bills Michael Still a Single Jacko Jacksons to Drug Rumors: Beat It
E! Online
Post a Comment