First Land Ideas?

Before I go out and quest for my own little part of the world, what suggestions would you make for selecting and use of your "First land"?

I am very interested in ideas coming from more experienced users, and comments on avoiding pitfalls.

What is the best example you have seen of someone who set off right on this track?

What are the most common mistakes?

I plan to learn before the trial and error part begins.

Welcome to SL Alice!

Your first land can be an exciting adventure.

Don't expect the riviera or anything overly spectacular, most first land is simple and straightforward.

Look at who your neighbors are or whether the Governor owns the land still. Look for neighbors who are "like minded" as yourself.

Mature land has a slightly higher resale value than PG, but good PG land will fetch a premium price (if its nice)

If you decide to resell, be very careful. The land tools can be a bit confusing to a first time owner, so be very cautious and use the dialog confirmations diligently. Before setting a price, check and compare land values closely, so you may get the best returns. Ask around for estimates and compare to other lots you see for sale.


Good luck in your quest for a new home

personally speaking these are what i'd look for even if i had to wait longer-

land on a road or a coast so you can't be boxed in NOT just at edge of a sim). failing that, at least a good steep hill.

no snow or PG if you're very concerned about reselling, altho less true for PG than used to be at one time.

you can't buy the view or the future neighbors, but if the plot you're looking at already has a lot of junk and no-access lines around it, consider moving on. hard to build in a 512 if you bounce around from the boundaries all around you (another reason for land on a road or coast).

and when/if resell time comes, shop around, have an idea how much you can get for it.

have fun 8D

Unfortunately, if you buy your land when the sim is mostly still open land, you have no idea who your neighbors will be, so telling someone to check out whether the neighbors are "like-minded" is a bit inane. Furthermore, most of the newbies will be bought out by either land developers or other newbies who are expanding their own land. So even if you COULD check out the neighbors, they probably won't be neighbors for long.

Basically, First Land is a cr*pshoot -- if you're lucky, you'll get nice neighbors, but chances are (particularly now), you won't.

I've got one real *ssh*le right next door, and a very nice guy a little further away. The guy right in front of my front door is never online, and has nothing but a couple of bushes on his land (unless he finally sold it or let his acct lapse, in which case the lot's been taken by someone else). The guy on the other side has this humongous build, and since the land on 3 sides has been raised several meters by the landowners, my little shop sits in a hole, which is gonna be the first thing I fix when I get back inworld.

Almost all first land goes through a certain turmoil before settling into being a mature (as in aged like fine wine not to be confused with the mature/pg ratings) sim. Every little 512 parcel is subject to the whim and fancy of its owner with no rhythm or general 'style' to adhere to. Most houses designed for a 512 lot barely fit the lot, or take up at least half edge to edge (my own 512 friendly designs included, I'm afraid).

There will be ban lines. There will be folks trying to put in a hot new club on their little lot replete with lagging lights, dance floors and such. The land dealers will be around offering 2-3 times your purchase price to buy you out so they can turn around and resell it for more. Some of your neighbors will be smart and set theirs for sale for 3-5k and wait for a neighbor to be desperate for more prims and buy them out.

Eventually, the sim will settle out into larger parcels owned by fewer people and the dynamic will go from utter chaos to something at least reasonably stable even if it only may or may not be pleasing to look at.

Given all that there are two paths to go down:

1) find a nice plot either edged by Linden water that will stay there or by a road so that you can't be boxed in by ban lines, set up house and hunker down and wait out all the chaos as the sim matures around you;

or

2) find a nice plot either edged by Linden water that will stay there or by a road so you can't be boxed in by ban lines, set up house and set your land for sale (get someone you trust that knows how to do this properly to guide you) for 5-6k and wait for it to sell, then get that trusted someone to help you find a plot of land in a sim that is already all growed up and isn't laggy and so forth (alternatively you could sell it then rent in a private sim, but get recommendations from someone you trust as I gather from listening to folks here that not all private sim owners are cut from the same cloth as the one I rent from).

If you want to see an example of this in action, find a sim with first land that only has 1/2 or less of its plots still for sale and fly about and see what its like. I did that recently and omg had I forgotten what it was like!

Char

I got lucky with my first land.
In the beginning it was utter chaos. But I went on a minor buying spree in the beginning also so I was not tied to it.
Take your time, I had a great time searching for land.
But I like to comparison shop, for land anyway.

After a month or so most of my neighbors were gone, so I bought a couple more 512's. The the guy next door wanted to expand his casino and I made a nice profit.

So if you can possibly avoid getting too attached to it or dependent on it that is prob good.

I am not ready to teir up yet and I cant decide which parcel to
sell as I have made the mistake of becoming attached to more
land than I can use myself.
Yet I still cant wait to get back on the market to seriously search for more.

Best advice I can give about First Land is to have fun with it.

Buy something you like and, when the time comes, sell it for as much as you can, but don't lose sleep over it.

First Land is almost free and even if you get suckered, you'll still make a profit on it. Don't sweat it, unless you enjoy those kind of details. Do what is fun for you.

On a more practical note, don't forget that you can build in the sky. The normal build tools work up to 768m in the air and you can even set your home position there. If the ground in your sim is too cluttered and chaotic for you, move your home to the sky.

At the moment I only see 12 First Land lots.

I haven't been following it lately, how often does it get restocked these days?

I recently posted a message in another thread about this - In Search don't just hit first land then click search. Change it to all land, then set it to =>512 size at <=512 cost. Then you will see all first land vs. only the first 12 as you mentioned. My girlfriend figured out that trick about a month ago when she was originally shopping.

My theory on land acquisition, including first land: Be patient if needed and for first land try try to look for land on a roadside (rarely if ever will you get waterside first land) so that it is protected. It becomes very frustrating to have your little chunk of paridise then everyone builds huge structures around it or puts their access controls on, forcing you to fly to get out of your own area. If you find land on a roadway that is listed as Protected Land owned by a Linden that will always be your safe exit :^).

-Alan

Very useful for those still eligible for first land. I wonder why it doesn't work like it seems it ought to?

This gives a much much better selection.

I will keep watching you have gave me a lot to think about. I am in no hurry so I will be watching and will only buy when I find a place that suits me!

it looks like most people rush in make a land grab and sell out fast. I dont plan to as I dont need the money and would just like to find a peice of land that will age well.

I don't want to burst your bubble, but First Land almost never ages well. It's a fruity wine that's best served young.

Do your best to find something that will age well, but honestly it's easier emotionally if you don't get too attached to it.

Make sure it's flat. Make sure it's square. Aim for mature, not PG. Although difficult to buy near the coast, it's not so difficult to buy near a road -- so buy near a road. There is no First Land next to a road at the moment? Then wait! What's the rush? Patience pays dividends. Some next to a road will come up shortly.

My friend bought some non-square first land next to a road three days ago. (I advised the road location...she forgot it's best to be square -- without "dog-legs".) This morning, somebody bought it for 6000L. She's delighted. (A land baron had his sign up right next door saying "I'll buy your first land for $2000L!" Pfff to him. ) Two months ago, I bought my first land two rows back from the sea. I got $6500L for it three days later.

$3000L-$4000L is more typical...and I dare say you could easily get $3000L at many locations if you're in a hurry to sell. Always worth putting it up for $6000L for a few days in my opinion...particularly if somebody is desperate to enlarge nearby. (At my coastal first land area...somebody wanted a big natural beach...so bought out lots of my neighbours for a similar price. Yes, people are crazy!)

PS. It is also worth noting that many of the new First Land areas are near the new Welcome Area (not actually in use yet). Assuming much of the surrounding land will be developed by LL...and some of it quite open...and businesses might want to take advantage of the traffic such a location generates...I wonder if it would be a good idea to buy in an adjacent sim...as close to the WA as possible? Any opinions on this from anybody else? Just a theory really.

i disagree with the flat part, hills are more fun, but it may be something to keep in mind. some ppl still have the RL mindset and look for flat land to build on. if you get a hill you may not be able to flatten it fully but you can smooth it out some. (i prefer to leave my land in its natural state but if your neighbors do goofy things smoothing may save your sanity.

A house sunk into the terrain? I would love to sink a house into the side of a hill with decks and terraces down to the flat area. But I dont know enough yet to decide if that is a good Idea.

I agree with what you're both saying. I've actually bought land on a sloped hillside running into water...and very much enjoyed the challenge of building a nice stilted house on it, even though I sold it shortly afterwards. My advice definitely assumes you're looking to resell for considerable profit...maybe so you can buy something nicer at an older, better developed location with more considerate neighbours than those you generally find at first land locations. Of course, given how quickly SL "neighbourhoods" can fluctuate (and consequently, their social dynamic), that's another transient ideal.

Bear in mind that your first land is 512m2 with a 117 prim count, and fanciful hillside houses with interesting foundations are difficult to achieve if you require furniture at the end of it all.

Don't except a beautiful sim if it's one that's dedicated entirely to fresh first land. SL is full of possibilites and people like to explore as many of them as possible.

My personal recommendation is to find an 'old' sim if you want to homestead. They're much rarer than the usual sims full of 512 parcels, but they do come up.

117 prims is painfully few. You'll discover that quickly. There are some beautiful, low prim houses to be found, but it's hard to furnish it once you get going.

Have fun with the land! It's yours to do with as you please, so explore the land editing and building tools. At the same time, remember that your neighbors are people too and think about how you'd like to log in and rez next door to your new highly detailed particle spewing laser cannon.

Youve no idea how much its changed Merlyn, myself and another guy bought certain individuals out.
So now, you have me as a western neighbour, and all that land has dropped, so you now overlook a gently sloping wooded hollow.
The fellow who bought the land to your east made another forest parkland, which gently slopes down towards you.
To your north, the land has been bought, and then lapsed again.
Big changes Merlyn

What, did he decide that he might find more congenial neighbors elsewhere, since everyone in the area despised him cordially? (meowr! -- catty, today -- things hurt & I'm cranky, sorry)

Have I told you lately that I love you, Baph? LOL!!!! <HUGS>

It was a nice rectangle and very flat, the whole place was empty as it was a new area just opened up with one side facing linden land. I found a fantastic 12 prim house and put it on last night. Pulled weeds, added a couch love seat and chairs before I got so tired I had to go to bed.

The house has a basic security system. I have gotten 20 messages about people trying to go in and look around just overnight!! Is this normal or were they all just aching to go through my laundry bin? (I knew I shouldnt have left my bra and panties hanging on the arm of the chair)

Anyway lastnight someone added a lovely shouting Lotto ball and I need to find it so I can mute it.. lots of the residents shout too... Makes me glad my main residence is on a island away from that. I changed the sale option to say 10,000L so if someone decided thay MUST have my little peice of first land they can, otherwise I'll hold on to it.

If you need a very pretty low prim house I highly recomment the Damani Ultra-lo prim house it cost 330L but a great value and even a new person like me was able to set it up without a lot of fuss, It intimidated me me at first because of its deep foundation, but it was an unpack, unlink and position item and once I got it squared and every little corner on my land it looks great! with only 12 prims it leaves a lot to spare even on first land.

I think if I ever get a bigger piece of land I may just keep the house!

congrats alice! enjoy your place, and i hope your neighbors are grand.

After I get unbanned for murdering the one that set up the shouting lotto ball I'll let you know how the rest are

Probably would have benefitted from seeing this thread yesterday. Oops.

I just bought whatever I came across, all closed in by other land. Put on a house that takes up a huge part of the property without realizing it's true size. Woke up to find houses going up around me.

But the good news is this. I just wanted to get started, and the important feature to me is just having it. I'll put in a few things and I'll be happy. That to me is most important anyway. It is my first SL house. I teleport in and out so far anyway, so flying wasn't in my thought process. If I'm lucky, somebody some day will develop a business nearby, become desparate for land,and buy me out for enough to buy a nice place elsewhere. Or not. Nothing lost either way in my opinion. Up until now, I was just going to wander around aimlessly.

Beware though. Somebody came by and offered to buy the land shortly after I bought. They offered me way under what it would cost to buy 512 on the regular market. My guess would be land developer looking to get great deals off newbies. I'm a newbie to SL - Not a newbie to life and scams. I checked land prices before responding.

Oh, I did have to put a shouting ball nearby on mute, but everthing else is pretty quiet so far. Good luck to all the other First Land Buyers.

I recently bought my first land too, I had two people come by and offer to buy it but they were both nice about it.

Don't make the same mistake I did and buy the same house as your closest neighbour by accident. I feel pretty stupid now. :x

I have a feeling I will see more of the same house as mine is simply because so many people are looking at it and trying to get inside! use some landscaping and plants to change its looks, if it is modifyable you may also change textures. I recomment new citizens to get some help with that.