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Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch back on market at steep discount
LOS ANGELES, March 1, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch
in California is back on the market for $31 million, a steep cut from the
$100 million asking price four years ago.
The 2,700-acre (1,093 hectare) estate located near Los Olivos and renamed
Sycamore Valley Ranch features a main house with six bedrooms along with
three guest houses, a four-acre lake with a waterfall, tennis courts, several
barns and animal shelter facilities.
The dramatic price cut for the iconic property is partly due to years of
drought in the region that affected the real estate market, Kyle Forsyth, one
of the listing agents, told US media.
He said the compound has been well maintained and “with the drought ending
and the Santa Ynez Valley in full bloom,” now was the best time to sell.
Jackson reportedly paid $19.5 million for the property in the 1980s but a
real estate investment firm bought it in 2008 for $22.5 million after the
singer defaulted on a loan.
The King of Pop died the following year.
News of the sale comes as HBO is set to air on Sunday a damning four-hour
documentary titled “Leaving Neverland,” which includes the testimonies of two
men who claim Jackson sexually abused them as children all over the ranch,
including the attic, the master bedroom and the pool.
Jackson faced multiple allegations of child sex abuse during his lifetime.
His ranch was raided in 2003 as part of a child molestation case against
him and police at the time seized a large collection of pornography and
images of nude children.
Jackson was acquitted in the case in 2005.
BSS/AFP/RY/08:10 hrs