What's the catch you ask?
There isn't one, buy the land for 1 Linden Dollar and pay your first weeks tier and the land is yours. You may resell your land to whom ever you wish at any point as long as your tier is not in arrears. Tier boxes are usually located on one of the outside corners of each parcel and display the weekly tier rate and amount of prims for that individual parcel.
Is it true that all land on private estates is actually just rental land?
No, some land is rental only on private estates and other land is strictly for sale depending on how the owner of each estate has them set. All lands in the Unknown Isles are for sale. The general rule that seems to apply best here is if you can sell the land then you own it, if not it’s only rental land.
Can't the sim owner just take my land anytime they want for any reason and LL won't do anything about it to help?
Yes and no. A sim owner has the same tools basically that the Lindens have on the mainland to control most aspects of the sim so that they can provide a great place to live. Just like in RL there are good people and bad people here in Second Life. It is important to choose a reputable sim owner that has been around for awhile and that has a proven track record like we and many other SL estate owners do. If you don't pay your tier we have the power to reclaim your land just like you would expect from LL if you didn't pay your tier to them. Other than that we don't go around reclaiming land for the heck of it. Unless you are such an antisocial misfit that has managed to disrupt all of your neighbors and they now want you removed you don't have much to worry about. We strive to make your life less stressful and we have the reputation to prove it.
Aren't tier rates on private estates higher than the mainland’s rates?
Yes, most private estate tiers are higher than mainland. For starters most estate owners pay $295 a month for each sim they own compared to only $195 a month for mainland sim owners. So with estate owners paying 50% more per month to LL for tier that obviously makes their average tier rates 50% higher than on the mainland for residents.
Is the extra expense worth it?
Well, what is your privacy worth? What is your peace of mind worth? Look at the mainland sometime and all the ugly ads, horrible builds, and sim after sim all bordering one another and blocking each others views. Nothing like watching a mainland sunset through the beautiful red glow of ban lines from all your unfriendly neighbors. Now picture a gorgeous waterfront parcel that sits on the sims edge and no one is in front of your view to block it. There's no purple spinning pyramids and rotating ad boards filling your horizons view with smut. A place where you can leisurely relax with your special someone while watching the reflections off the water change colors from the sunlight. How much is that worth? How much would that actually cost you on the mainland? It's only 1 Linden Dollar in the Unknown Isles!! Why pay more?? Also, on a private estate you don’t need to have a premium membership so that’s an extra savings for you each month compared to the mainland.
I have heard that estates owners can just sell their sims at any point and kick out all of their residents?
This is always a possibility if you live on estates run by fly by night type owners that come and go everyday. We at the Unknown Isles have been in the Second Life land business since late 2005 and have earned a reputation as fair and honest owners. We have 1000's of satisfied customers in that time and over 200 current happy residents that call one of our 26 Unknown Isles their home. We are here for the long haul and look forward to serving all of your Second Life land needs for many years to come. You are welcome to check out our website anytime at : http://www.jrunknown.com
I have heard private estates are bad because they have covenants, what's the deal?
A covenant is a set of rules and guidelines established by the sims owner to help organize and manage the activities and standards that occur in the sim. Covenants can vary from very restrictive to very light depending on the sim and the owner. In the Unknown Isles we strive to offer covenants that keep the natural order of each sim to allow for a beautiful, peaceful, and well managed environment without limiting the creativity of our residents. Each of our sims covenants are a bit different. Some allow residential building and others allow commercial so that there is a place and a covenant that is acceptable for everyone. If you take a few minutes and look across the mainland and see all the clutter and ugliness you will see why covenants are very important and may come to find you don't want to live anywhere without one.
Don't I have to have a premium account to own land?
No, not on a private estate you don't only on the mainland. That's one of the great benefits of living in the Unknown Isles.
What are low prim sims or Openspace sims?
For starters they are both the exact same thing it's just different terms for them. They have 3750 prims each which is exactly 1/4 of the normal full prim sim amount. From the LL and the official knowledgebase itself here are the descriptions of an Openspace sim : Light use regions called Openspaces are a fantastic way to provide oceans for sailing, forests, park land or other light use landscapes. For those estate owners wishing to provide empty areas such as water, hills and forest -- we offer Openspaces, light use regions sometimes referred to as voids. Normal regions run on their own dedicated CPU, but the Openspace regions run four per CPU; as you would expect, this limits their performance. Openspaces only ever share with other Openspaces on a server. It is therefore important to understand what these regions are. They are provided for light use only, not for building, living in, renting as homes or use for events. As a stretch of open water for boating or a scenic wooded area they are fine, but we do not advise more serious use than this and will not respond to performance issues reported should you not use them in this way.
So what does all of this mean?
It basically means that LL won't respond to any issues in low prim sims so we are all on are own and use them with no support from LL. Estate owners must use the sims tools to manage the sims overall performance themselves and respond to any issues. It is sometimes necessary to restart a low prim sim more often than a normal sim to optimize it's performance. We take it as a mixed message because LL has really pushed this product as of late and is fully aware that the majority of users of Openspace sims are selling both commercial and residential parcels and using them for everything but what they advise. More than 40% of all private estates in Second Life are now Openspaces so there are thousands in use. We let you decide for yourself by posting all of this information.
Why do you now sell them for residential living?
After sitting on the fence watching everyone else and turning down request after request from buyers wanting them I started experimenting with them as my own personal sim over in Unknown Creations and have been very happy with its performance. I then filled a couple of requests from long time residents to get them Openspace sims and have monitored their use and success for the past few months or so. I have seen them used for everything from shopping areas, clubs, events, sand boxes, to personal retreats and almost all the experiences have been positive. I have also consulted with several other successful estate owners that I know and have utilized their knowledge and uses to help benefit all residents of the Unknown Isles by offering well managed residential Openspace sims. We have now created a new 10 sim island area of full and low prim sims all connected by water for residents use, pleasure, and enjoyment. We feel they have added great entertainment value for our residents and will continue to develop them for more creative uses in the future.
Why are many other estate companies pushing Openspaces like they are the greatest thing since sliced bread yet they aren't telling us all of the things you are about them or what they are intended for?
That is the million Linden dollar question. It would seem some just flat out don't care what LL suggests while others may not even know as they just haven't been in game very long and are following the pack. I have seen a couple of long standing companies explaining what they are supposed to be used for and for those few I highly commend you. Many just see dollar signs and are pumping Openspaces out as fast as possible to capitalize on the opportunity. We let you decide for yourself based upon all the facts and just wish everyone selling or renting them would get on board with doing the same. Just keep in mind that private estate companies are a dime a dozen these days and they come and go all of the time. Please just do your homework and be selective so you can find a good one that has been around the block a few times and has a strong reputation for honesty and great service. We suggest us, but then again we are slightly biased
What about VAT? Don't I have to pay that since I live in a VAT country?
No, not to us you don't only if you are paying LL directly. Since you pay your tier to us and we live in the US you don't get charged any VAT. Just another great benefit of living in the Unknown Isles.
Are the Unknown Isles the place for me?
Only you can answer that so we invite you to come visit and see for yourself. Some people only want to live on the mainland and others will only live on private estates so it truly is a personal decision. We wish you the best of luck in your search for what is the optimal choice for you.
If you have any questions feel free to IM JR Unknown in game or drop him a note card with all your questions as offline IM”s often get capped.
Thank you for taking the time to read all of this and have a great SL day
JR Unknown
Unknown Isles
www.jrunknown.com