$100 Million: Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch Is Up for Sale

$100 Million: Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch Is Up for Sale

Michael Jackson’s infamous Neverland Ranch is up for sale for a whopping $100 million. The ranch was named after an island in the story Peter Pan, where children never grow up. The property, which is now being called the Sycamore Valley Ranch, was listed by Sotheby’s International Realty last week. The ranch is 40 miles from Santa Barbara, California, and sits on 2,700 acres. Michael Jackson bought the property in 1987.

When Jackson owned the property, he had an amusement park, a petting zoo, a railroad and a train station on the grounds. The amusement park rides, as well as the elephant and orangutans, Bubbles the chimp and the circus animals, have been removed, though the real estate agents listing the property told The Wall Street Journal that a llama is still kept at the premises. The property even comes with its own fire department called the Neverland Valley Fire Department, though it is not currently staffed by full-time firefighters. The railroad tracks and train station created at Michael Jackson’s behest are still there. In total, 22 structures are on the ranch. The Normandy style main house, which sits between the property’s two lakes, is 12,000 square feet, featuring six bedrooms and a housing area for staff, which one would need to maintain such a vast space. In addition to the main house, there are two guesthouses—one with four bedrooms and one with two bedrooms.

If the swimming pool, cabana, basketball court and tennis court don’t provide enough entertainment, there is also a 50-seat movie theater with a private viewing balcony and a stage designed for magic shows that features trapdoors. Trails crisscross the site, and thousands of oak trees dot the landscape.

Though the property has been renamed, the iconic floral clock on the grounds still spells out Neverland. Jackson lived there from 1988 to 2005, and he paid $19.5 million for the property in 1987.

With its current listing value, the number of potential buyers is obviously small. In addition to having their market limited by money, the real estate agents must find someone willing to live with the stigma of Neverland. The many activities designed for children, such as the petting zoo and amusement park, were an integral part of the narrative surrounding Jackson’s 2005 child molestation scandal.

In order to deter Jackson fans from coming to the property, the agents are vetting every interested party for prequalifications. “Our seller is not encouraging a lot of showings. We’re not going to be giving tours,” the Sotheby’s agents said. ’We’ll only show the property to those who are super-qualified and that we know have a definite interest in buying.’

Source: Newsweek, Los Angeles Times

Mi mindent tudtunk meg a birtokról? Válaszolj a kérdésekre magyarul!

1. Honnan kapta a nevét Michael Jackson birtoka?

2. Milyen létesítmények voltak a birtokon?

3. Mi az, amit már eltávolítottak?

4. Milyen természeti környezetben található?

5. Miért nehéz eladni a birtokot?

6. Miért ellenőrzik az érdeklődőket?

Válaszok:

1. A Peter Pan történetben szereplő szigetről, ahol a gyerekek soha nem nőnek fel.

2. Vidámpark, állatsimogató, vonat, vasútállomás és tűzoltóság. Emellett még uszoda, pihenőház, kosárlabdapálya, teniszpálya és mozi.

3. Az állatok – egy láma kivételével – már nincsenek ott és a vidámpark játékai, berendezései sem. A tűzoltók sincsenek már a tűzoltóságon.

4. Két tó és több ezer tölgyfa található ott.

5. Mert drága és a birtokot és gyereknek tervezett létesítményeket megbélyegzi Michael Jackson gyerekmolesztálási botránya.

6. Mert távol akarják tartani a rajongókat, akik csak nézelődni akarnak és csak a komoly érdeklődőknek akarják megmutatni a birtokot.