A public auction of the Neverland Valley Ranch in central California (USA) had been scheduled for next week after Michael Jackson went into default on the $24.5 million he owes on the property. However, the auction was postponed until May 14, 2008 by “mutual agreement” of Michael Jackson and his creditors, said Julie Wagner of Financial Title Co. of San Francisco, the firm that filed the default papers.

On Friday, Michael Jackson’s attorney, L. Londell McMillan, told The Associated Press:

“That allows us to refinance or sell the property. We expect to have this matter resolved well before May 14.”

In 1988, Michael Jackson bought the property in the bucolic rolling hills of Los Olivos, 150 miles north of Los Angeles, from real estate baron William Bone. He brought in more than a dozen amusement park rides, including a merry-go-round, Ferris wheel and roller coaster and installed a zoo. He left Neverland after a jury acquitted him of molestation charges in 2005.

Source: Associated Press, MJFC-USA