Purchasing Land from Private Owner ??

I was told that a Basic account member can purchase land from private owners, such as Island owners, that is, you don't need to be a 9.95/mo Premium member.

Questions:

1) Is this true?
2) If yes, how do you identify such properties?
3) Is there a monthly fee of any type imposed by SL, assuming just a home site?
4) Anything to be aware of or careful about?

In world, I spoke to a member that had a nice house, and said they were not premium mamber and that there was a location on that Island to buy parcels on the Island. Unfortunately, I had my RL get in the way and couldn't go with them to find out more. I would like to have a plot where I can rez one of the free houses just to have a permanent place to Ctrl-Shift-H like many of the posts here have expressed, but I do not want to pay a monthly fee. Not looking for a beautiful place, but clear of signs and commerical stuff preferable.

thanks for answering another one of these Land questions.

Hi Davie,

First of all, you're not actually purchasing the land. You're renting it from the island owner, who is responsible for paying LL the associated fees. You will pay LL nothing to rent this land; instead, you will pay the island owner a specific amount every month, either in L$ or through PayPal.

You do not need to be a Premium member to rent land.

To find land to rent, go into Search/Land and specify that you want to look under estate sales or rentals.

One thing to beware of: YOU DO NOT OWN THIS PARCEL. You are RENTING it from the Island/Sim owner. Please remember that! The ONLY time that you will actually own land is if you buy it on the main continents and pay your monthly fee DIRECTLY to LL.

You will have to pay a fee to someone, no matter what you do. If you buy on the mainlaind, you will have to pay premium fees, and if your parcel is over 512m you will have to pay a tier to LL. If you buy*rent* from a private owner, you pay that owner directly, you don't need a premium membership. If you have a reputable landlord. like i do, it's not a bad arrangement. i can do whayever I want with the land, his only rule is pay your tier, and he leaves us alone. Most private estates have a Covenant, or set of rules that due vary from owner to owner. I personally am quite happy where I am. Do a little research, don't rush into anything and you will find something that suits you.

Davie, these properties may be identified by the terms "private estate", "private island", or simply "island property".

You don't need a Premium membership to "own" land on a private estate.

You may be required to pay a "purchase price" up front (in addition to paying a weekly or monthly rental fee). And very often, you can "re-sell" the land, or subdivide it. However, this does NOT mean that you "own" it.

You DO need to check into the reputation of the estate owner. There are horror stories of people paying thousands for an island estate parcel, and then being kicked off the land for no reason by the owner. If that happens to you, you have no recourse. However, most owners who are in business for the long haul know that reputation is everything, and will treat you fairly.

Read the covenant (it's in the About Land information window). Talk to the neighbors. Do a search on the owner's name on various SL related forums. I live on private island land in the FairChang Isles, and I'm very happy with the owners and the service. Desmond Shang always has a long waiting list for his sims in Caledon. Look for owners like these.

Questions:

Yes

Research them in world from the search menu, TP and vistit the locations, check convenants, ask other residents that rent there.

NO

Yes, if you actually purchase land from a Private owner other than LL then you may/could/might run the risk of losing your money or you could find a really reputable landlord and live happily ever after, alternatively try renting with normal weekly rent first to see if you like it.

]

No, it isn't true. Or at least, not according to the usual definitions of land purchase in SL. You are not the officially recognised owner of the land as far as LL is concerned, and if the original owner decides to throw you off for any reason or none, you're gone. You have absolutely no rights on that score. Similarly, you only have the rights to affect that area of land that the real owner gives you.

This is not necessarily a bad thing - I rent lots of land - but you never "own" land if you are paying another resident a regular fee for it, you should be very aware of that.

Well..

I agree with all stated so far....but my experience with buying land on private islands has been nothing but positive. It's definitely wise to research...talk to other residents if you can.....but the bottom line is if you 'buy' land you're going to have to pay tier....either to LL or the private sim owner. The difference is yes....the sim owner could sell the sim or kick you off if you ignore the covenant....but from a business standpoint...it really doesn't make sense to piss off the people who are paying your rent/tier every month unless you have a lot of $$$ to waste.

If you 'buy' land....you can resell it.....and you get full permissions on the mainland.....on a private island the covenant may specify that you can't build mountains or otherwise interupst the basic feel of the atmosphere they are trying to maintain. It really all depends on what you're looking for....what YOU want out of your land. I've been totally happy with my land from private owners.....I tried mainland once and it was horrible because it was just a sh** fight of odd ball builds. Since mainland has no rules....you may wind up with an add farm as a neighbor or a noisy club.....or a BDSM dungeon....who knows. Again...it all depends on what you want out of it..... once you define that.....you'll know what to look for.

Incidentally....'renting' land can be just as good....same rights.....and all you ever pay is tier.....(disguised as rent) and you don't pay a ridiculous purchase fee up front. Only dif is....you cannot 'sell' when/if you decide to relocate.

Look, let us be very clear as to what exactly the term "buy" means. It means that you are the recognised owner as far as LL is concerned and have full power over that area. That is the meaning built into the client, it is not something which I have just made up.

Anything else, which includes anything that any private landlord says is "buying" is not buying. It is renting, no matter whether the process involves the old-style group ownership or whether it takes a covenant. You cannot buy on a private island. Unless you are paying LL for tier directly, you have not bought, you are renting, and whoever it is you are renting from could throw you out just like that, as well as LL being able to throw you out. You do not have power over that land.

Lots of land sellers would have you believe that paying them is the same as paying LL, but this is absolutely not the case and they are fraudsters if they do not make this clear.

As mentioned, I rent lots of land and am very happy with my landlords and the situations therewith. There are many good reasons to do so. But I do not own that land.

*bump*

There's really no reason to ever pay to "buy" private island land, you're simply throwing your money away. Renting will get you exactly the same experience and you can spend that money on furniture and other things .

I disagree, at least in my case. When I am ready to move , I can sell the plot I have "bought" hopefully at a profit.

If the owner doesn't turn reselling off behind your back once the sim is full, or folds, or kicks you out, or you end up in a situation like /327/01/208882/1.html .

There are far too many horror stories of people who have paid for private island land and then got hurt one way or another.

Land ownership in SL is a loaded word. The only people who own anything are the Lindens. Even the sim owners are really just renting from the Lindens.

Ordinal summed it up pretty well.

Whatever you wish to call it, the sim 'owner' has a Reclaim button for every parcel, and an estate ban list.

So unless your definition of 'owning' includes the ability to lose all control of 'your' land and access thereto, there's no such thing as ownership on a private estate.


Edit: thanks for the vote of confidence Lindal - I'm so full up, I'd like to pass your recommendation on to say, Dirk Talamasca, Serra Anansi, Alliez Mysterio, Charlene Trudeau - they might have openings a lot sooner than I would, and are nicer people than me - really! grin

True, Ya pays Ya money , Ya takes Ya chances. It's a worthwhile gamble for me.

Sorry, I misunderstand your answer No, it isn't true.
The question was quote



And the answer is Yes you do not have to be a Premium Member to purchase land from a Private Estate Owner or Private Island owner.

That's not correct. If you are in for the long run, "buying" on private estate might be very well worth the money, because usually you pay a lower monthly tier/rent to the estate owner. In my case, land "owners" will be better on the financial side compared to "renters" after approx. 20 months.

Yes Brenda, not only that but people who have invested in a buy on an estate tend to have more invested and behave more resposibly towards neighbours as they have potentially more to lose. Renters can pay 1 month and play up/create havoc and just shurug and move on if they choose.

If you're talking about land on a private estate, then the differences between buying and renting are really just differences in upfront cost, ongoing fees and right to re-sell.

Usually, if a parcel is described as being for sale, you will pay a relatively high cost upfront, then a relatively low fee each month, which will usually be described as tier. You would normally have the right to resell this land later on. The estate owner will be attempting to recoup most of his initial purchase costs through the sale price and his fees through the tier paid by you.

If it is described as being for rent, the initial charge will either be low, or will just be your first months rent. Then the ongoing fee will be relatively higher compared to "for sale" land, and will usually be described as rent. You may or may not have the right to resell the land at a later date. The estate owner will be attempting to recoup his ongoing fees through the rent he charges you, as well as eventually pay the cost of buying the region. You are also more likely to have restrictions on what you can build and the style of the property, although there are a many exceptions to this.

In neither case are you actually the owner of the land in the same sense that you can own mainland land, and in neither case do you have any guarantee that the estate owner wont kick you off and keep your money. However, in both cases you can find estates where the owner has much more interest in keeping the area nice than LL do with mainland.

/agreed

I could "sell" my private island land (19 sims now) but God forbid if I end up in the hospital for a few months, everyone would get screwed. I'm not rich, so I cannot afford to sock away tons of money with Linden Lab to forestall a catastrophe. I would not be able to sleep well at night knowing that hundreds of people had been "accidentally" screwed over by me.

If your estate owner is rich and can afford to give LL thousands of dollars to have insurance against such a *possible* occurrence, then be my guest. Bad things happen in life, even to good people. I choose not to sell my land, so I sleep very well at night.

That last sentence is a great point. I'm lucky in I have a good landlord. There are very few restrictions other than paying on time, and don't annoy your neighbors. But the chance something can happen is always there, yes. That's why any money I put into SL is money I can afford tp lose, it's discretionary income. If SL were to Poof tomorrow, it would not be a big deal financially.

And of course, the opposite applies too. If you're renting and your landlord isn't doing what you expect, you can find somewhere else and walk away.