On land, I'd suggest waiting until you know what you want to do with the land before buying any. Go into the Support Portal (found under the support tab on the main page) and read up on the 'official' tutorials and then look for the.. grr, is it the Land forum group or what? in SL. You'll get the help you need in that.
SL Land Answers Unlimited - Raymond Figtree's group maybe? They really saved me a lot of disappointment and ensured I got good value for my money. But as you say, that's down the road a ways for a new citizen.