Michael Jackson was known for his quirky sense of style and elaborate homes, so it’s safe to assume that there are many selling features to his former properties. However, according to real estate agent, Mauricio Umansky, said it was MJ’s ghost that helped sell one of his last homes.
Last week, the real estate tycoon appeared on TMZ Live to promote his new book The Dealmaker. During the interview, he discussed his experience selling the Holmby Hills home where Michael died in 2009 which he also opens up about in the book.
He claims there was a spooky presence in the house, and strange things kept occurring. On one occasion, Umansky sealed all the windows and homes in the house, only to come back and find a window was open and music was playing in the room where Michael died.
The real estate agent says that in another instance, a chandelier broke in front of a potential buyer, leaving them too spooked to go through with the purchased.
The home was on the market for several years before Umansky found a buyer it in 2012 for $18.1 million. But that wasn’t before the real estate agent said he prayed to Michael’s spirit to help him out with the transaction – and it allegedly worked.
Michael Jackson never technically owned the Holmby Hills mansion. At the time of his death, he was renting it for $100,000 per month from Ed Hardy owner Hubert Guez and his wife Roxanne Guez.
The couple listed the mansion in 2008 for $38 million, and were renting it to the pop star in the interim while waiting for it to sell.
Umansky eventually helped the Guez family to sell to Steven Mayer, the senior managing director of a private investment firm, though it went for much less than they originally wanted -- $20 million less, to be exact.
Given the impressive features of the home, Mayer appears to have gotten a great deal – so long as he’s okay dealing with an alleged ghost. The mansion comes with 17,000 square feet of living space, including 7 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms. Its other features include 12 working fireplaces, a home theatre, a wine cell, an elevator, a spa, and a gym.
The estate also has plenty of outdoor amenities, too, such as a guest house, a pool, and 1.3 acres of land.
Sources: Curbed, TMZ, Vanity Fair,