British actor Hugh Laurie has purchased a home in Outpost Estates in Los Angeles for $3,840,000, according to the Real Estalker. Best known as Dr. House on the Fox medical drama House M.D., we’ve heard various rumors of trouble with his wife, probably due to the long hours on the set. Oh, and the fact that said wife still lives in England. Details. But this new purchase is 5 bedrooms and 4 baths, which sounds like he might be planning to move the family across the pond.

The listing, which has been removed from MLS, describes the property as follows: MAGICAL GARDEN PARADISE ON OVER 1.2 ACRES. Walled, gated, English Country house with city views, pool, guest house w spectacular gardens in the Hollywood Hills. Mature planting, thrilling trails, lookouts, water features & arcadian delights with magnificent city views. A private paradise, lge motorcourt to accommodate many cars. Lovely public rooms, recently remodeled kitchen, formal dining. Master bedroom w balcony, views. Det. gym. Charming gst hse w bathroom by pool. It was priced at $3,999,000 after a $250,000 reduction sometime earlier this year.

The house definitely has a countryside feel to it, including the kitchen. This makes us weep just a little. A country kitchen doesn’t have to be so inconveniently designed. While the picture isn’t great, it doesn’t seem like a good use of space most people who like to, I don’t know, actually cook in their kitchen.

And we hate to harp, but once again with the neutral colors. Wait, there’s one room with a nice sage paint on the walls. Thank gawd. We are so sick of stagers and real estate agents who feel that a house must be boring to sell. And we don’t understand why buyers can’t get over the fact that they may have to paint when they move in. We’re not asking for blood-red walls that are a bitch to paint over. No, just something more than white, off-white, beige, eggshell, ecru, and white. Please, people! Ahem.

The views from the back of the property are quite stunning. And the pool looks like a delight for those warm July and August days. But this lot is on a hill and there is quite the hike to the pool, children. Even though the previous owners did do a little updating, the house still needs some more. Especially that kitchen and back deck. You can see pictures here.

Younger readers may only know Mr. Laurie as Dr. House or from Stuart Little and 101 Dalmations, but we have some old favorites that we prefer (even though we have been known to watch House when we can remember that it’s on). One of Laurie’s most brilliant roles had to be Bertie Wooster on the series Wooster and Jeeves, based on the novels by PG Wodehouse. Of course, part of his brilliance is his performance opposite Stephen Fry, whether in Wooster and Jeeves or A Bit of Fry and Laurie. Another favorite has to be Blackadder. We’ve heard rumors of the whole Blackadder gang getting back together for an encore, but it appears that Rowan Atkinson is the only holdout. That’s too bad. Maybe Laurie can get Atkinson to join his Band from TV instead.

Image: queenofstoneage on Flickr (creative commons)

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.