Thinking or Private Island ownership

Hi everyone. I’ve recently been considering purchasing my own Private Island, and I was hoping to obtain some advice….

My goal is to utilize ¼ to ½ half of a sim for my home, and to split off the rest of the sim into 4096 to 8192 parcels for resale as residential lots.

I am not trying to make a profit, or even cut even, and don’t mind paying the equivalent tier wise what I would pay to live on a similar sized parcel on mainland – but like the idea of having the benefit of control over protecting the rest of the sim from ugliness and laginess.

What I was hoping to learn is:

# 1 - What is the going rate for private/covenanted parcels, and is there a price point that would virtually (no pun) guarantee a sale like the mainland “land-bot” price point. I have no desires to undercut myself, but I would like to know if there is a safety net built into the averaging selling price of private island lots to ensure I don’t get stuck with a ridiculous monthly tier and hefty down payment due to lack of parcel sales.

# 2 – As for terraforming. The mainland sim I am in now is absolutely what I want to mimic in any private island I purchase. Is it possible to make any private island look like any mainland sim, and how difficult a job would/could this be? I am somewhat skilled in terraforming but having only owned mainland my experience has been limited. If too difficult, perhaps I could hire someone to do this for me?

You are more likely to guarantee rentals if you do them at just that and not make the tenants purchase their land first. For an island renter it's a gamble if the owner will keep their island long, whether you can sell your parcel when you need to as well as the other dangers of having land reclaimed you paid for if the owner decides to make themselves a bit more money.

You can rent only commercial and residential plots from about 2L per prim (4096 = 8192L per month).

As for terraforming, I gather it's easier on islands with more tools. I have only ever had island plots so don't know much about mainland. If you own the island, you can also upload your own terraform files.

Wow, thats not a bad price at all. You really think I could STEADILY get that for half the sim? I don't know that I could get that on my mainland land, not on a steady basis...

I never really cared about "selling" my potential private island land parcels. I just thought that selling would somewhat ensure a regular tier income.

I agree with Denise... on my island, it is rentals only (the estate is configured so parcels cannot be resold). However, the parcels are 'sold' using the SL land sales tool, but the 'purchase price' is the first month's rent. That way, the parcel is in the tennant's name, they have as much control over the land as is allowed in the covenant, and they can start building immediately (i.e. they don't have to wait for a group invite etc). This means that if you have an available parcel, someone could pay the rent, move in, and start building, without you having to be available to get them set up and all.

Do have a carefully and clearly worded covenant, and I'd also suggest putting the monthly rental amount in the parcel name and/or description, so that when a new / prospective tennant comes looking at the property, there can be no mistake about the rate and the rent.

L$2 / m seems to be the average going rate for 4096 / 8192m parcels. I've seen some for higher and some for lower, but that's a good place to start.

You can also check the classifieds and land sales (estate only) and visit some of your future competitors, to see how they're doing things, what they're charging, and scan their covenants for ideas.

I've done pretty much what you're talking about, and (touch wood) it has so far worked out well for me. I 'wrote off' the purchase price of my island as entertainment for the year, and my target for the monthly island fee is to break even. I have slightly more than half my island set aside as residential residences, and the rest is a combination of 'public' land and a small mall for some commercial activity.

Good luck, have fun!

-Atashi

Thank you both for responding to my thread... I am getting closer to doing this... I have another question though. LOCATION. Aside from potential benefits of being located near some other desirable sim. Is there any other reason I should really care about where my private island is located?

Hi Jake

no not really (imho). You can't see other sims/islands from yours (unless you and the adjoining owner agree to a co-location). Given the way everyone TPs around, there's not much point being in any specific location.

The only caveat I would add is that if you have any plans for expansion in the future, you might want to think about finding a "reasonably" clear spot on the Land Store map.

Enjoy your island - it was the best move I ever made
Inc