Lookin' fer a home

I recently sold my sims on mainland and don't like being homeless. I'm looking at "buying" a homestead island from a third party because I don't own a full sim. In a short time tier is going up on homesteads. Is this a bad time to buy? Can I buy a homestead and have it transfered to my name so my tier will go to LL instead of a private person, or does that break the full sim first rule?

I found a place (I guess I shouldn't say the name) that will let me name the estate and the sim, that is very appealing to me... for 79,999 L$ (300 US) purchase price and tier of 31,500 L$, 39,750 after new rates kick in. What do you guys think? TIA

Never pay US$ 300 without becoming the actual owner I would say!

Melody Regent rents out full HS sims and I know there were a few you could name as well since they are brand new. If not, it would cost US$ 50 to rename. Naming the estate is always free. In my opinion a way better option then paying US$ 300 upfront without any security. Melody is an established landlady.

Melody had a lovely sim that didn't need renaming.. I can finally say I've found my Destiny (the name of the sim) Thanks Marcel!

Had I known a few days ago, I could have arranged for you to get Livingtree cove before it left the grid.

What Marcel said. Buy your island direct from LL. Do NOT "buy" from another resident (unless you get great recommendations from lots of people in this forum, I'd venture), because you have NO protection whatsoever if you do.

now i was under the impression that islands are not LL.. very confused now. i thought mainland was LL and private estates or islands where not?

If you're buying a private island from another resident, and you go through the LL process for doing so, it's as safe as buying one directly from LL and can be much cheaper.

Well, they both start as LL land. On the mainland, if you are a premium member, you can buy any size parcel you find and pay your tier directly to LL. There is no middle man.

Private estates are also purchased from LL, but only a single buyer can *own* an island, and you have to buy the whole thing. That owner pays tier to LL and can rent/lease/"sell" that land to residents. Those island residents pay tier to the island owner, who must pay the tier to LL in order to keep the land.

In the case of Homesteads and Openspace sims you must already own (paying tier to LL) a regular island before you can purchase either of these other region types. So, if you want only a Homestead you must rent/lease it from a landlord who owns at least one full estate. Islands never HAVE to be connected, so it can appear as an independent unit, but the tier will be paid to a landlord who is accountable to LL for the tier. That's one of the reasons finding a responsible landlord is so important. You can be up to date paying your tier to your landlord, but if they don't pay LL "your" land will be reclaimed.

Does that help a little?


**edit to add: An island purchased from LL can be fully sold to another resident through a transfer process. LL recognizes the transfer and the new owner takes over the payment of tier to LL. I wanted to add that in case the above posts about "buying an island from another resident" were confusing in terms of my explanation.

yes that helps alot ty Nimue . and can u also buy mainland from LL and then turn around and rent it ? if so i dont see how u could make money off renting it cause if u were making money off it . u would think the renter would not pay u rent but buy the land from LL himself.just curious how u make a profit renting your land out

Awwwww. The cove is gone now? How sad. I liked that area.

Yes, many landlords but Mainland and then rent parcels to other residents.

Their tenants are often people who have no desire to pay for a Premium membership. For example I lived on part of a parcel in the Magenta sim for a while, which was owned by another resident. I was there as their guest, but they could just as easily have set up a rental box for me to pay, or I could have paid them via a PayPal subscription. If I failed to pay my rent, they could return all my prims, since I did not own the parcel in any way.

Yes, many people rent out mainland they own. A few factors allow them to make a profit.

As a renter you do not need to be a premium member, so that saves some money. Also, the tier rates at different levels are more favorable than others, so a landlord who owns more land may be paying less in tier per square meter than what an individual resident will pay at the tier level they need.

Additionally, there is no upfront price for a renter. Land prices are very low right now, so they aren't as much a disincentive as they were when land was selling at L$10-15/ square meter, which was common for long stretches of time in the past.

Renting allows more freedom too, no land to buy, no land to sell, and in many cases a house and even furniture will be provided. Pay the rental box and you are home. If you pay a week at a time then when the rent expires you just pack up your prims and move along.

The last big one I can think of is the VAT tax that European residents have to pay. I believe they pay the tax on their tier, so what it costs out of pocket is higher. If they rent, they can keep their transactions in L$ and avoid the tax. (I am in the US though, so not an expert on that.)

im in the US to . ok i see now . some dont wanna pay the premium to own land . and if u own alot of land u are paying less for prims because u have quanity.. where as the renter is paying more for tier because its a smaller quanity

there for u could make a small profit