Thinking of buying an Island.

Will the landlord part be fun for you? Will you always be there to resolve tenant issues? Will you have a bunch of rules that are hard to interpret, or difficult to enforce?

I'd advise you to aim a little higher than breaking even and then if, for whatever reason, you're not full of renters, it doesn't squeeze you so much.

Just do it for fun, not if you want to make money. Renters can come and go in one week and can be a huge pain. If you are a good builder that will be very helpful to you, if not, plan on spending a few bucks hiring one. Good luck and have fun

Thank you all for the kind words and helpful advice. I was on a bit of a high last night thinking about this and was well aware I was overlooking a few things. Many of the things mentioned in this thread have already been thought about and accounted for (I could reasonably afford paying tier for 2 to 3 months with zero renters at the moment), but there are quite a few things mentioned here in this thread I hadn't thought about. So again...thank you all for your time and advise.

Do you have someone you TRUST that can run the estate in your absence? RL emergencies do come up. And I've heard a rumor that some people go away from SL and take something called a "vacation" but I don't know what that is. You need someone to run things in your absence.

And I was told by someone (maybe it was Desmond Shang?) that you should really only count on about 65% occupancy, and keep three full months tier in reserve.

There is no wrong answer to this. One fun thing about the rental business is that you are free to cater to different types of customers.

My customers get zero flat land, and a fully completed house or apartment in themed lands. They are not do-it-yourselvers. So do-it-yourselfers won't live in my places, but are sure to find plenty of rental land elsewhere that suits them.

Sorry Ricardo, but this is a very bizarre comment from someone who rents land in SL! Or is this plot that you protect so fiercely with banlines something you get for free?

Contact me inworld John and I will be pleased to share views with you.

Rock

You give some great advice!

But since when did a sim low on prims prevent high prim avatars from entering? This is not how it works. Since May 04, my avatar has had a minimum of 500 prims in permanent jewelry and never have I not been able to enter a sim. Heck, I have been in a sim with less than 1000 prims and had over 800 prims of jewelry on without any problem and other avatars in attendance.

I think having a couple thousand prims reserved is a good idea no matter what.

ok i am going to remind you about this

Say what? "Who rents land?" And how would you even remotely know if I rent or own my lands? You don't. You're getting way ahead of yourself, so don't. You don't want to look the fool commenting without knowing what you're talking about, right? Which is exactly what you''ve done. You're too busy trying to get to me that you've actually stuck your foot in your mouth. Because you don't even know where I live, much less if I rent or own.

You want the landmarks for inspections to see if I own or rent? But you better make it quick cause you won't have much time to hang around as my security will send you packing quicker then you can react. Or do it from afar, you're probably good at doing this. This is if I don't choose to lock it up with ban lines which is also my prerogative and no one can say shit about it.

I guess you are sorry after all.

Anything else you wish to comment on? After you pull your foot out your mouth, of course.

Are you a Linden? You may think you own your land but you are really only a renter (as are the rest of us non-Lindens).

To the OP ... if you can afford to carry the island all by yourself month after month when times get tough, then you are in a good position to purchase that Island you speak of. Just know that renting out your land isn't always going to be easy (that is not to say you can not succeed). But there are an aweful lot of sims out there that get little to no traffic. It is a dog eat dog world out there and with the exception of a few establish land barons, pretty much the only people making money here are the Lindens.

Save it. I say this same thing myself. NO one owns a damn thing. It's just the expression I'm using. Not even those who pony up thousands own anything.

Well let's keep on topic then.

This thread is about someone asking whether they should be purchasing and operating their own estate island. I say if they can afford to pay the tiers all by themselves month after month after month, then they are in a position to start up the island. But if they are going to need help to keep the island a float, then it is a mistake to venture into it.

There are far too many islands out there with little to no traffic.

We should be able to discuss things without you acting like an escaped mental patient, Ricardo. Could you be any more paranoid or self-absorbed? You missed the point, and instead started foaming at the mouth over the word "rents," which is utterly irrelevant.

And you illustrate once again, with your bullying and your threats, how fiercely you protect your territory, and how much value you place on it. So explain how it is ridiculous to shell out high prices for a commodity that you yourself place such a high value on. By renting OR owning land yourself, you are nothing but a hypocrite to say that it's ridiculous to buy it.

Either that, or just admit that you'll post any nonsense that pops into your head, no matter how illogical, as long as it's negative and unhelpful.

Uhm...i meant saving a couple thousand prims would be a good idea for HIM...a horrible idea for us.

We need more space already and things are not even rezzed!

I found a 563 prim chandelier!

Oh, now we should be able to discuss? Whereas, before you spoke out of turn and without any provocation and without any knowledge of me or anything pertaining to me.

Do you feel bullied? Buy a dog.

What I do with my lands is none of your business nor was it being discussed. You were the one who brought it up.

I don't need to explain myself to you. What I previously wrote I stand behind. Yes, it is more then ridiculous to put up money in the thousands for land. And it will continued to go up in price because Lindens themselves can see the bidding wars over these places as well as people paying these amounts in other places and it shouldn't be like this. This is what I first wrote and this is what I'm saying again. So what?

I myself have shelled out lots of money for land so I'm also part of the system. But although I have I won't ever spend the crazy amounts being asked for islands or entire sims. This is what I also mentioned before. This is my choice and my right as a resident and if what I said bothers you in any way, well, too bad. Don't read it.

Let me give you tip. Whenever you decide to step to anyone, to try to mock them with anything pertaining to them. First, get your facts straight before you do because if you don't you'll wind up looking very foolish and very stupid. Then you'll have no choice but to tuck your tail between your legs, bowing your head as you retreat to come up with a different approach as you already have. This is exactly why now you're changing your tune with a very humbled, "We should be able to discuss.." as you have also shown above.
Trust me, you can't hang.

Hope I've been helpful.

Happy reading.

Chaos makes chandeliers?