IF I take the plunge and buy some land..

What unexpected charges are going to rain down on me? So, I have to have a premium account costing 6.00 up 9.95 a month depending on how you pay for it. Then I will be able to buy land. I ve found a plot that is 2048 in size, that should run me an additional 15.00 a month,in land use fees, is that correct? This size land supports 468 prim, I can use up to 468 prims and no more correct? There is no additional charges for using the 468 prims that the parcel supports...is that correct? If I understand this right I should be able to purchase this 2048 size parcel using up to 468 prims and my TOTAL monthly cost would be 9.95 plus the 15.00 dollars land use...and nothing else? Thanks in advance...I dont want to get suckered into a bunch of additional charges.

Flack

Hi and welcome.

The short answer is yes. You would pay for premium and you can buy your 2048 sq m and pay tier of $15 per month.

The only thing you didn't add is that you would also have 512 sq m as a premium bonus so you could add an additional 512 if you wished and not pay more tier (2560).

If you can't get that size parcel (they don't often seem to come in sizes that accommodate the 512 bonus), you can buy a 512 in the SAME SIM and it will add to your total prims that you can use on your 2048. A 512 parcel in another sim will not add to your prims.

So the only hidden part is get you get more than what you know about.

Good luck getting your land.

The only factor missing is the up-front one-time cost to obtain the parcel of land. That is whatever the current owner wants for it, that you are willing to pay.

Right... I do understand I have to buy the land...and everything I want to put on it up to 468 prims. Thanks for the info. I just don't want any surprises.

The only other "Surprise" may be if LL changes what the ratings for sims mean. Right now, a PG-rated mainland sim can't have any sex or violence on it, and Mature sime can, but the sex should be "behind closed doors". They are revising that however, and at least forcing the more extreme "publicly accessible" adult content and adult content merchants to move to a designated Adults-only continent, named Ursula.

Where the dividing line will be for who is forced to move is as yet unclear. Some Lindens are atterting that sex beds and stuff in a "residence" won't be forced to move. Others are saying any "sex themed area", ill-defined and probably meaning any room with more than one adult-scripted bed in it or kinky decor, may be forced to move.

If your plans are strictly G or PG rated, you could probably buy now with no problems later. But the price of land may plummet if the Lindens get too harsh on who has to move off the Mature mainland and onto Ursula. So even a G-rated project may suffer some if started now... Since perhaps after the purges you could have got the land cheaper.

Hmmmmmm...... Well I definitely want it to be a 'mature' area. Now I'm hesitating to buy..Thanks for the info...I thought I had this thing figured out... Oh well....maybe I should rent?

If you have your heart set on buying then buy, prices are good right now. However renting is a good way of getting your head around parcel controls and you can rent a 2048 for less than USD$ 24.95 a month.

Don't you also receive a 'stipend' of linden dollars every week? or month? And you are free to cash that out if you really want to.

If you decide to rent, bear in mind that your landlord will not be Linden Lab (as it would be if you bought mainland) and could turn out to be either a better, more reliable landlord or possibly a MUCH worse one, up to and including one who goes out of business making your land go *poof* with no refund and no recourse. So do ask around and try to rent from someone who's been around a while and has a good reputation.

Also bear in mind that you can "buy" on a private estate, but that is really the same as renting with the same potential positives and negatives - your rent will not go to Linden Lab, but to the estate owner, who can do pretty much whatever they want. Look for the presence of a Covenant in "about land", this indicates it's a private estate. On the plus, you don't need to have a $9.99 Premium account to "own" land on a Private Estate, but you also don't have the security of having Linden Lab being your landlord. Many folks recommend always renting (not paying up front for the land itself) if you're shopping on Private Estates, because a) it amounts to the same thing, except you're not out the upfront cash and b) if the worst happens and your landlord skips out or you have an unresolvable conflict, you can just up and leave and only be out a bit of rent.

Me, I'm all old-skool, I own a chunk of mainland in all its turbulent glory.

If is for a business venture in SL then renting is a viable option as has been mentiioned already. Same as it is in RL. Usual story ya. Business land / rent is a cost. To many first time business people in SL buy properties and then get emotionally tied up in the ownership of the property rather than running the business itself. Im not saying that you will get caught up in this. But once you pay for and own a property (specially the first time) it does affect how you think about it. Perceived value and all that.

Just do your homework on landlords is all. Is lots good ones in SL who treat their rental properties as a business and not as a means to enrich themselves although that is the outcome for those who do. Something about not chasing the money and letting it flow to them.

Holy crap..... Batman!!! I thought this was gonna be easy... I'm a noob at this and really appreciate all the info...I think I'm more confused now that I've received all this info!!! LOL.. Well I’ve been looking at the parcels for sale, the 2048 size because I want to have a few prims to play with.... the prices very wildly... and usually the places are ugly sign covered trash heaps...then there are a few nice places also, for instance a beach type property....that cost four times more, and from what I understand they too could be ugly sign covered dumps at any time…because nothing stops anyone from putting whatever huge ugly thing they want to on their property. So… I should just buy one of the cheaper 2048 size parcels I can find…… go up in the air 1500 meters put down a platform…and live happily ever after…???? Does that work?

It can sure.

Before you buy rez a box as close as you can to the parcel (if not on it) Sit on the box then Build Edit the box and adjust the Position Z value so that you can have a look first at what is up there at different altitudes upto 4095m.

Lots other people already do what you are thinking about. So best to have a look up there first and make sure there is a clear space in the sky. So that you and your new neighbours can live happily ever after without get in each others way.

I used a NInja flight fether ..stood on property and flew straight up...saw some structers...but lots of empty space too.

If you're up in the air you're going to miss the lapping of the waves rolling in on the beach.

You're going to have a few more control features as owner instead of renter. There are going to be some annoyances creep in as a renter, and a lack of control over those....that might irritate the heck out of you. Kind of like RL.

I'm thinking the ability to immediately ban someone from your property is a big one. The ability to terraform. The ability to change your land options, music, etc. The ability to change home/landscaping at your own whim, if they have something already in place.

The ability to tell any of your neighbors they can F Off on any given day without ramifications from a landlord monitoring and judging your behavior and every move, based on consistent complaints from neighbors with mental problems....and odds are, there will be several of those.

And just like RL....landlord can kick you out at any time with no reason.

Or you can choose your landlord carefully for a good match.

I think I'm leaning towards the purchase.... I like the idea that it's yours. Micky did bring up some points to think about..... you guys have been alot of help....

You don't actually need to be premium to own land. The reality is there are tons of folks who own private estates who sell land (you're pretty much always renting whether you buy it or rent because you will always have to pay tier.....so, you're gonna save yourself a lot in up front purchase costs if you just rent.....you're still going to be the 'owner' and in most cases have all the rights of any land owner)

My previous landlord was fantastic....I had three 4096 parcels on the same island for nearly two years and never ever had a problem. I only recently decided to go all out and rent my own full homestead island. I pay a tier to the estate owner...which is fine.....but I am 'owner' for all intents and purposes. Mainland is great if you can find an uncluttered lag free area.....but it can be tricky because there are not rules/covenants so your neighbor could potentially raise some kind of offending build and you'd have no say. In private estates....there's some kind of zoning so that if you;re looking for a quiet scenic beach area.....that's what you'll get....or whatever.

Anyway.....do your research.....talk to people who have been in for a while......if you're interested, IM me in-world and I'll put you in touch with my old landlord. As I said...she was fantastic and her islands are all really beautifully done. No hassels....no lag....no problems.

Hi Flack - if you pay your premium quarterly (or even annually), you can make quite a saving on that monthly fee. In addition, if you create an alt and make a group, you'll be entitled to an additional land allowance at no extra tier cost - it's worth reading the land pages and the knowledge base closely.

I'm another mainland fan, and I like owning because of the ability to terraform. However, I've also rented from mainland landlords who permit you to terraform (Ravenglass at Cub springs to mind) at very reasonable rates.

Don't buy land from LL, buy it on a private estate. The reason for that is that if you buy from Linden Lab sooner or later you'll want to get rid of it either because of some disagreement with Linden Lab policies or for financial reasons. Then you'll be stuck with the tier payments until you can sell it or be forced to simply abandon the land to Governor Linden. Getting rid of land on a private estate is a lot easier, most landlords requiring little or no notice.

Buying land on an estate is a bad move, IMHO. The landlord can repossess it on a whim. It's also notoriously hard to resell. Much worse than mainland. Buy on mainland, rent on estate. IMHO.

Don't buy land on a private estate, but onlly buy mainland, as if you buy on estate land, the estate owner can pull the plug or sell your land to someone else with no notice and leave you with NOTHING and no chance to get it back. You can rent estate land ok from other people, because at the worst you may lose a couple of weeks rent, but to put down a lump sum has a possibility to be ripped off. Even if you do get a good estate land, you will be lucky to get your money back when trying to sell it.
If you buy mainland, as long as you keep paing your tier and LL don't go down the tube, you own the land, otherwise you could be trusting a couple of hundres dollars in the hands of someone you will never find.
Also look at it in the away that there's a stong chance you may swap to a different block of land later too, bigger or smaller, look for a sim with as few plots for sale or few owners with bigplots as they will be more stable, sims with roads and water often have a slight edge on performance because around 10% of the server may be alocated to nothing but some road prims or empty water plots, rather than an extra couple of neihbours with lagmaking items.

Several years ago, land was an "investment".....you could purchase one day, sell a week or a month later, and make a profit. Today, land is basically worth Nothing. There is no investment. If you buy it with the idea that you've made an investment, you're going to be disappointed if your plans change, and you want to sell.

You shouldn't have to pay more than 1L per sqm for any land. With the glut in land values, (value?)....most estate owners simply want you to nest and start paying tier....they no longer expect a profit in the actual sale of it. So if you're looking at a 2048 sqm piece...maximum you should pay is 2048L.

That's like less then Ten Bucks. Less than the cost of going to a movie, and about what a fast food dinner now costs. You will probably get a heck of a lot more pleasure from it than a two hour movie or a double cheeseburger meal. Same thing with your monthly fees, you're looking at about 25 bucks a month....I bet you spend at least 25 hours here during that month....consider the value.

Take it for what it is....pop your ten bucks....and have fun. Don't get stressed about too much stuff in the process, or it's no longer fun, and you've defeated the whole purpose. When your plans change....you probably won't get your ten bucks back, or whatever you paid in tier every week....but even if you got a week of enjoyment out of it....you got your money's worth.

It does help to buy from a reputable estate owner...but consider this venue and the whole concept...."anyone"...no matter how long they've been in the business or how good of a reputation, can be gone tomorrow.....as can LL.

I've had very good luck with several reputable estate owners over the last 2 years. Have bought land over and over again from them....and the rare times I need help with something, they respond within 24 hours and take care of it. I probably will never buy from anyone else, and I won't buy on mainland ever again. There is something to be said for being able to contact a living, breathing human being who appreciates your business and relies on your business, as small as it may be.

But when all is said and done...it's ten bucks....if you got a week of enjoyment, you got your money's worth.....anything past that is gravy. Don't stress....just do it....experiment and enjoy.

I was in the same situation as you not long ago. I ended up finding a very nice rental skybox with a pool, programmable view, TV, Radio, fireplace, all the "toys" you would want to have friends over for a party etc. I love the place and am continuing to rent it. I also bought a 512m on the mainland, which is in not the greatest area but there is enough open space to be comfortable. It could use some terraforming, though, but it's just a sunken grassy lot. I put a free house (a BSD Simple Arch house, very nice) at 500 meters Z altitude and put some nice furniture in it (also free). Only thing I bought was a Psyke security orb so I could keep the riff raff out A good friend here on the Forum helped me build a work deck 15 meters above the house because I'm a dope and actually erased the house a couple of times when practicing construction. I connected the ground, the entrance to the house and the work platform using Terra TP pads, also freebies. No regrets! It's my summer cottage in the sky.

I also have another (previous incarnation) account, also premium, and just bought another 512m in a crappy neighborhood on the Linden auction. Put a different style (BSD Archer House) on it, same TP pad configuration but I used the upgraded Mark V 2.1's there since I put the house at 1024 meters up. Again, the only cash outlay other than for the actual land was another security orb. I have no maintenance charges with this configuration and am forming a group consisting of my two avatars (and any friends who want to join, just for the high privilege of being part of our group .

Good luck with the decision...I'm both an owner and a renter. Each has its advantages. PM me if you need more details. Jackie.

And this is true even if you buy land on the Mainland direct from Linden Lab. Just ask all the adult content merchants and adult content users who are now facing a threat of either forced moves to a new continent, or eviction from their land, for doing activities that were perfectly legal and acceptable on Mature mainland property when they bought their land.

Most Private Island landlords would have handled the re-zoning issues FAR better than Linden Lab is doing right now.

How does this not apply equally to land bought from an estate owner? When LL banned banks and gambling, it didn't matter if you owned mainland or estate.


If you've bought estate land, there's no guarantee the landlord will return any of the fee you paid up front, or put you in touch with a buyer who'll take it off your hands. Mainland prices are extremely low right now. If you buy and have to abandon, any loss is relatively low, and in my experience, there is always some Land Baron prepared to pay a token amount for land. It's not likely to be high, but it will offset any loses. As Mickey points out, the price you pay is like the cost of a meal or a night out or some other treat: you shouldn't expect to get anything back other than enjoyment.

What you aren't accounting for are the risks inherent in renting/purchasing on an estate. This forum frequently has reports of landlords selling up to a new owner who then evicts tenants without notice or recompense. It seems that LL rarely mediate these cases in any effective way.

There are many problems with mainland. I've had issues with neighbours building monstrous, misaligned, full-bright sex clubs and blingy McMansions, or simply losing interest and leaving a parcel with no object-return to become a junkpile. You can always move up, especially now that the 768m ceiling has been raised. Adcutting and huge 'for sale' signs are gone. Adult content (for better or worse) is being moved elsewhere.