Jackson Faces Losing Neverland to Public Auction

It is the sort of legal notice that has become distressingly familiar to thousands of Americans in the grip of the mortgage foreclosure crisis.

"You are in default under a deed of trust," it blandly declares. "Unless you take action to protect your property, it may be sold at a public sale."

But this no ordinary eviction. The property in question is Neverland, the opulent ranch and playground owned by pop star Michael Jackson. Unless the singer can come up with more than $24m (£12m) that he owes on the property it will go to the highest bidder at a public auction to be held on the steps of the courthouse in Santa Barbara on March 19.

The new owner is likely to get more than just one of the prime pieces of real estate set in some of the most beautiful scenery in the heart of California's wine country.

Behind the gates of the 2,800-acre [1,100-hectare] estate lie many of the playthings that Jackson installed to entertain children and himself. As the notice of sale makes clear, anything that is still there will be included in the sale. That includes "all ferris wheels, carousels, merry-go-round type devices ... and all amusement ride equipment and facilities of every kind or nature". It is thought that many personal items belonging to Jackson may still be inside the property.

Jackson himself hasn't lived at Neverland, which he bought in 1987 for a reported £11.3m, since June 2005, shortly after his acquittal on charges of child molestation.

In early 2006 the remaining staff at the property were let go and Jackson was fined for not paying their insurance. The animals in the Neverland zoo - which at times had hosted elephants, giraffes, snakes, orangutans, tigers and a crocodile - were removed at the same time.

Lawyers for Jackson are trying to refinance the property, but with the singer producing no new work and sales of his back catalog falling it appears that he may have exhausted his credit.