Eliminating the Purchase Price of Land

How would you all feel about a bill that eliminated the purchase price of land and instead recouped that cost in a slightly increased monthly fee for all new residents? I feel it would remove a barrier to bringing in new residents.

~Ulrika~

The bills must still be paid - even if they've been technically paid, we do still owe money. I went for the "higher at first, then down to normal" option - a higher monthly cost in perperuity seems unneeded.

There was no "other" option. But I would vote for a combination of the 2nd and 3rd option. I would rather see:

Create a second set of monthly prices where the person pays an increased price for a few months to pay off the cost.

This would allow a person to have options, not have to pay a higher price than others forever (those who choose to pay the purchase price plus monthly rent would eventually come out paying less), and would also cover our costs. I always like more options!

I know that this sounds unfair, but the reason why we have some extra cash is because of the "upfront payment", not because we have enough citizens to sustain the recurring cost of the sims.

The "upfront payment" is also some sort of "long-term commitment". Psychologically speaking, people take things more seriously if they pay for what it is worth, and the "upfront payment" also means that they'll analyse the state of affairs in Neualtenburg before they join.

This, in return, means that the rest of the citizens will know that, and hopefully act to present a positive view of Neualtenburg -- "oh yes, you have a high upfront payment, but think of it, you're actually participating in the way the sim is run".

Of course, having things written in stone is always bad -- some flexibility should always be part of Neualtenburg. As time changes, and prices of land fluctuate, we should be prepared to think that conditions may not be the same, and adapt to those. So, even if I voted for "let it all be like it is", I mean that this only applies now. In a few months I may very well defend a different opinion and criticize myself for having been so narrow-minded. But I still think it's too early to make a change; at least, let's hope for a point in time where we reach the break-even on the monthly, recurring payments with a slightly enlarged citizen count. Yes, I know -- it's always the "early adopters" that suffer more Let them suffer just a bit more for the time being

Excellent point.

I had forgotten too that the cost can be forfeited in the event of criminal activity, so it also acts as an incentive to obey the law.

~Ulrika~

I think we should explore some sort of mortgage system, where we spread the land purchase cost up over a couple of months. Then if residents want to move out before the mortgage is paid, the city reclaims the land and offers it to the next citizen for full price. Of course if you want to use the mortgage option, there are variable percentege points added to cost of the land depending on the length of the agreement. Seems like a good way to make some revenue from the Bank of Neualtenburg.


Although another idea would be to keep the pricing the way it is, and allow private enterprise to offer mortgages. I've been thinking about mortgage/remortgage systems in SL for a while now, since land ownership historically has been a great way to raise capital. So I'm happy to throw the idea out there, hoping someone will steal it

Bear in mind that as time goes on, and more of the land is sold, there will be less and less of it to which this policy might apply. A citizen selling her/his land to another current or in-coming citizen will be free to charge whatever they wish, on whatever payment terms they wish.

Unless we act otherwise, the only occasion by which land might come back to the city is if it is "Reclaimed" on account of some malfeasance by the citizen-owner, in which the citizen is expelled from the community.

Satchmo's mortgage system, however, would be available to everyone, and it's a great idea. The interesting thing about a mortgage, though, is that technically, the lendor owns the property until the money is paid off. We would need to borrow another page from the New York City coop apartments in order to allow mortgage arrangements which would be in the interest of the city. I would not be in favor of Neualtenburg itself owning the bank.


Sudane