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Jacko won't lose Neverland
12/11/2007 09:43 - (SA)
Los Angeles - Michael Jackson is
refinancing his Neverland ranch in California and is not in
danger of losing it to foreclosure as media reports have
suggested, his spokesperson said on Friday.
Spokesperson Raymone Bain denied the pop superstar had
defaulted on a $23m loan on the central California ranch
and said he was in the final stages of refinancing.
The Neverland Valley Ranch, named after the Peter Pan story
of the boy who would not grow up, has amusement park rides and
a zoo and was where Jackson hosted young boys for sleepovers.
Records from Santa Barbara County this week showed that
Neverland was listed on its monthly foreclosure report,
prompting media reports he was about to lose the property.
The foreclosure detail and default information said Jackson
owed $23.2m on a $23m loan on the property, which
he abandoned after his 2005 trial and acquittal on child sex
abuse charges.
'Refinancing again'
"Contrary to published reports, Mr Jackson was never in
default of the loan. Mr Jackson is in the final stages of
refinance and will not lose Neverland Valley Ranch," Bain said
in a statement.
Bain said Jackson refinanced Neverland in 2006 and that the
loan had matured in October 2007. He is now refinancing
again.
Jackson, 49, shuttered Neverland after his trial and lived
in Ireland, Dubai, Bahrain and Las Vegas.
He gave his first
US magazine interview in a decade this month to the
African-American monthly "Ebony," which said he was now living
on the East Coast.
Jackson flew to Los Angeles on Thursday to attend the 66th
birthday celebrations of civil rights leader Rev Jesse
Jackson.
Jesse Jackson became the pop singer's "spiritual
adviser" during the 2005 trial.
- Reuters
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South Africa
