Michael Jackson gives up title to Neverland

This report from Associated Press moved Wednesday evening:

Michael Jackson has given up title to his Neverland ranch, transferring the deed to a company he partly controls.

The singer filed a grant deed on the ranch Monday that makes the new owner an entity called the Sycamore Valley Ranch Co. LLC, Tom Pearson of the Santa Barbara County clerk-recorder’s office said Wednesday.

Sycamore Valley Ranch Co. is a joint venture between Jackson and an affiliate of Colony Capital LLC, according to a person with knowledge of the transaction who was not authorized to speak on the record and requested anonymity. The person could not say what would become of the 2,500-acre property in the bucolic, oak-studded hills of Santa Barbara County’s wine country in Los Olivos, 120 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

A call to an attorney for Jackson, L. Londell McMillan, was not immediately returned Wednesday.

Jackson had gone into default on the $24.5 million he owes on the property and had faced foreclosure before Colony Capital bailed him out earlier this year by purchasing his loan.

--Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: A 1993 photo shows an aerial view of Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch in Santa Ynez, Calif.

Credit: Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press

Comments

[ry]

I visit this blog periodically, but it just isn't the same without Peter Viles at the helm. Where are the almost weekly reports on LA County housing sales prices and listing prices? That should be pretty easy to compile, and would be useful even if done without Peter's panache.

[Paul O]

Wow, people love to bitch about the changes in the blog.

Lots of complaining - I don't think people have to pay for this blog - do they?

[desmo]

What is with all the celebrity posts? Nobody cares, that is why the Real Estate section in the LAT went bust. It failed in the newspaper, you try and bring it here, and based on the number of comments it is another failure. Get back to basics.

[Tim K.]

I agree with Ry. Stories like this are what bugged me about the print version of the LA Times real estate section. Lots of stargazing, and ooh, look at that giant shiny house I'll NEVER OWN.

Peter Vile's constant reports on the median listing prices, reports of of the sales volume, plus analysis, were what made this place a breath of fresh air from the constant NOISE of the one-off stories of housing.

Before, it was the one-off "I got rich! (read: I got lucky!)" stories. Post boom, it's now just nothing but "I got screwed" stories. We KNOW. People are losing houses, even famous people. Big deal. You can report this stuff too, but please also report substantive, meaningful data that is relevant to YOUR READERSHIP.

Many of us, like or not, are TIMING THE MARKET. We're looking for when housing prices are coming down to earth, and getting an altitude reading every now and then helps know whether or not we're close to jumping range.

In case you haven't noticed, the comments have been dropping off. Maybe your page hits are still high, but the comments are a leading indicator your blog might lose your loyal readers that Peter worked so hard to cultivate.

[Jonathan]

Another stupid celebrity who squandered his money. He should have given it to me. I would invest it properly and live off of the interest. Jerk.

[anonymous]

Give Lauren a break. She's had some good posts. BTW I can't stand Michael Jackson, either.

[Juan]

If this sale triggered a new prop 13 status, that is huge.

[MyLessThanPrimeBeef]

I generally agree with Tim K., except I wouldn't mind a story or two about Bernanke's perhaps underwater house in DC, or if Obama will have to do a short sale to move into a bigger house on Pennsylvania Avenue.

[Kay]

You know, plastic surgery is expensive.

[Mark]

What's with the "AP moved" stuff? Jeez, pick up the phone and talk to a couple of people. This isn't Weblogs, Inc. You're being paid to report, not $5 a post to copy something off the wire.

[OldRedJoe]

MJ So? Jeez, is this "Perez Hilton" or the LA Times?

[Bill]

Kay has it right, the plastic surgery cost a lot. It is a total disaster. Just like Elvis, the man has become a caricature of himself. At least he left us the album 'Thriller', one of the most ever sold, made with a lot of help from Quincy Jones.

[DON COOPER]

I remember a time when everyone wanted to be like Michael Jackson. Now it seems like people are putting him down just like they did Elvis. They forget the greatness of artists like Jackson and Elvis. They forget that these two changed our culture and ushered in a new era in music and style. My question to those that make light of these two great artists. What happens when all of our legends are gone? Exactly nothing. Look at the sorry state of our current pop culture. Our current popular culture is boring and stuck in a dung heap. The most exciting thing that has happened in this country in a long while is the election of another great man, Barack Obama. This gives me hope for our popular culture because if a man of African American descent can finanally win the office of president anything is possible.