Well, here we go again, kiddies. Once again Michael Jackson is reporting that his Neverland Ranch has been saved from foreclosure. The loan was bought by Colony Capital, a real estate investment firm.

The $23-24 million loan was previously held by Fortress Investment Group. And we all remember the drama involved in that deal, don’t we? They were ready to foreclose and the property was slated for the auction block on May 14.

But Jackson was in negotiations with Colony. Reuters reports that Colony is “very comfortable” holding the loan and negotiating payment. Really? With whom? Jacko certainly isn’t bringing in the bucks like he used to. So where is he going to get money for this?

We have no idea, darlings. Just no idea. But we do still wonder if someone will restore Neverland to its former glory, or just redevelop it within an inch of its life.

We had last heard that Michael Jackson had made a deal to save his neglected Neverland, but the newest dish is that he didn’t exactly refinance his $24+ million loan.

Fox 411 reports that a foreclosure is still scheduled for the declining property. In fact, the public auction is set for May 14 in Santa Barbara.

Looks like one of Jacko’s lawyers made a teensy-tiny error with the statement that a deal was made. Instead, there’s only a two-month extension on the auction. So developers can go back to salivating over this prime property. Oh, the greedy development dreams they must be having!

Apparently a group in LA has funded an escrow account with $46 million to make a refinance deal with MJ on Neverland. But while they thought they were working with Jacko’s people, it’s rumored that it was Jackson’s former manager Raymone Bain behind the chaos — and MJ knew nothing about it!

It’s a confusing mess over there, with new reports coming in all the time. Jackson’s going to sell Neverland. No, he’ll never let it go. He’s going to refinance. No, he can’t. Wait, there’s a deal in line! Never mind, that was a crazy scheme by someone else!

So is the LA group going to make a deal? We’re not sure, but the escrow account is apparently still funded. The Real Estalker reports yet another rumor that MJ managed to get his loan at Fortress restructured. We’re just as skeptical about the rumored deals as RE is, though, considering such a large sum of money is at stake. It’s doubtful that a big old finance company would want to keep giving breaks to MJ when there’s so much money to be had in the deal.

Will Jackson sell the property before the auction? Oh darlings, it’s anyone’s guess at this point. The behind-the-scenes shenanigans are enough to give us a headache. Jacko just continues to attract the drama, doesn’t he?

Photo by robstephaustralia licensed under Creative Commons.

Neverland

In the height of Michael Jackson’s popularity his 2800 acre estate was an amazing example of celebrity excess. It had a zoo, an amusement park, a train, tennis courts, and many other hallmarks of a luxury celebrity property. Little children everywhere dreamed of being invited to Jacko’s Neverland.

When Jacko fell on hard times, so did his beloved Neverland. Recent pictures from an article in The Sun show the sprawling ranch in a sad state of disrepair. The big-top tent is ripped and falling, teepees are torn down, and windows broken in the buildings. So much for a fairytale kingdom.

But a couple of wealthy Brits intend to buy the home before it hits auction, just so Jackson can rent it back from them. And how, pray tell, will he rent the property back from them? He’s up to his eyeballs in debts and has abandoned his ranch. Now who’s living in a fairytale land? The Brit boys are fans of Michael Jackson, saying they might not be where they are today if it weren’t for his music and dance moves. The Real Estalker doesn’t believe that, and we’re not sure we do either. If these boys are tycoons, they should know better than to try and lease it back to the destitute celebrity who abandoned it. Either they really are young and silly, or they’re covering for their real plans for the property.

We can hear the smacking lips of drooling developers as they wait, hoping that the property will hit the auction block on March 19. Imagine how many luxury homes they could squeeze onto 2800 prime acres near Santa Barbara. Almost makes you want to scrape together the money, doesn’t it?

Photo: celebrity-gossip.net

Update: Looks like Jacko may have made a last-minute deal to save his beloved.