Exquisite location! Exotic heritage! Surprising infrastructure! Pending confirmation that the current owner will default on his loan, we are proud to offer this preview of California's only private ranch-zoo-funfair.

Nestled in the rainshadow of the Santa Ynez mountains, this is the country estate Randolph Hearst would have built if he'd never grown up. Benefiting from its own lake, narrow-gauge railway, merry-go-round, crypto-colonial mansion and extensive llama enclosures, it bears the taint of past scandals lightly and would make the perfect corporate retreat, teen-star crash pad or millenarian sect headquarters. Just 40 minutes from the major studios by helicopter, it would also suit executives in the tear-down market.

Our clients expect full disclosure. In that spirit we note that the current owner, Michael J. Jackson, is a well-known musician whose fame has drawn four-season tourist traffic and a near-permanent paparazzo presence to the ranch gates. Now on his second attempted comeback after being acquitted of molestation charges in 2005, he is also, for the first time in years, earning serious money. Whether he can make his next payment of $212,963 on a $23 million loan secured on the property remains doubtful, however.

Mr Jackson's anxiety is the shrewd investor's opportunity. He has put nearby Los Olivos firmly on the map, guaranteeing any buyer a warm welcome from the area's thriving winegrowers and many boutique hoteliers - but most especially from local district attorney Tom Sneddon. Thwarted by Mr Jackson's lawyers in court, he will regard foreclosure as sweet revenge.