Buying land with a basic account

Ok I've tried looking through the forums and could not find much that was useful, maybe some one can help me. As of now I have a basic account. Im interested in buying some land, nothing really special. I just do not know what Im getting myself into financially(in USD). From my understanding, If i buy lets say 512m^2 of land, it will upgrade my account to the $9.95 a month and I will have to pay a $5.00 a month land use fee. Do I have the wrong idea about this? Could someone please help me figure out the most financially efficient way to buy some land please?
Thanks a lot!
-Tom

First Land


The demand for land is very high but "First Land" ensures all residents can find an affordable plot. Parcels are 512 square meters and sell for L$1 per meter to those who have never owned land. A snapshot of the land can be viewed by:



Go into SL and click on the Find button
Select the Land Sales tab
Select "First Land" from the pull-down menu and hit "Search"
When you find a plot you like, teleport to it and buy it on the spot

Incorrect.

If you buy 512m of Land, you will be asked to make sure, then confirm, and then from that point on you pay $5/mo in land tier.

-OR-

You buy a premium account (9/95/mo or whatever), and that -includes- 512m of land tier, so you do not have to pay any additional land fees for 512m.

Yeah if you are going for the 9.95 account you'll have the 512 sq meter allocation without having to pay an extra $5. You will have to purchase the land out of your own money since the 512 sq meters isn't given to you at that point.

Do they still have the land for the landless program?

OK, let's see...

* you're on a basic $9.95 for life account.
* you want 512m2 of land.

OK... the costs you will incur are as follows.

1. You need to upgrade to premium - $9.95 a month, though this comes down the more you pay in advance. About $6 a month if you pay annually.
2. You need to purchase the land, as a one-off cost... probably between L$512 and L$1024

er... that's it.

More information can be found here

Sio

It's called First Land now, but yes, it's still there.

Chage... it's not possible to own land now on a basic account for more than 24 hours. People who did so when it was allowed get to keep it, but new accounts can't.

If I rent a piece of land, will I have to pay monthly?

depends who you rent it from.

Thanks for the info. The only exception is that residents who got a Basic account before July 1, 2004 actually can buy land without becoming Premium members - so they could own 512 meters for US$5 a month.

Ah ok, I wasnt aware of the change is the conditions. Cheers

I see it's called "First Land" on the auctions but the description often calls it "Land for the Landless" which means using that first 512 allocation you are given when you sign up for $9.95 -- but chose wisely because once you use it up, you can't get that kind of deal again, i.e. first land for only $512, a dollar an acre. After that, you will pay a lot more usually.

It might be a good idea to rent until you can find what you really like. Days go by without anything good on the "first land" auctions and then sometimes they'll surprise you with a wildcard prime waterfront first land, who knows. It does happen.

What I did was just take that 512 I originally had as free tier -- tier I didn't have to pay for because it was included in the $9.95 account -- and put it into group land with friends. That way I got the use of a bigger parcel but didn't have to make up my mind.

So often newbies do not take the opportunity to put in their fee 512 tier -- which is everywhere desperately needed by older players who are paying those monthly fees -- which they could do for no cost or commitment to themselves, as they take 30 days or longer to find what they'd like in terms of a purchase commitment.