Will Michael Jackson Keep Neverland After All?
Whatever Michael Jackson is paying his lawyers must be worth it, because it's coming out that he might be able to keep kiddie-bait Neverland Ranch after all:
"Michael Jackson's ranch is not going to be auctioned off at the courthouse," the Jackson insider said. "The financing is all being worked out.""There are plenty of lenders willing to work with him. The real estate market is very bad right now and Jackson is being affected just like many other Americans," the source said. [...]
The real estate source said other options are available to Jackson, including selling the ranch directly to another party or making a payment on his $24.5 million Neverland debt that would satisfy the trustee.
The recorder's Web site also reveals there was a release of lien on Jackson on February 4, showing he paid off all or part of delinquent taxes to the state of California.
"It seems unlikely that someone would pay off back taxes, only to let the ranch go up for auction a few weeks later," said the real estate source.
Jackson has not lived at Neverland since June 2005, after a Santa Barbara County jury found him not guilty of child molestation charges.
News is that he is also missing payments on his family's Los Angeles home:
Public documents show Michael Jackson has repeatedly failed to make mortgage payments on a Los Angeles home that has been used for years by his family. Documents filed with the Los Angeles County Recorder's Office indicate the reclusive pop star was most recently in default last month on the property in Encino, an area in the San Fernando Valley.
The singer had $153,910 in missed payments as of Jan. 17 on a $4 million loan serviced by Pasadena-based mortgage lender IndyMac Bancorp. Documents dated Feb. 7 show the notice of default was withdrawn.
Documents also show Jackson previously faced possible default over missed payments on the home in April and August.
And even if he does find a way out of this, he's still in deep doody:
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