First Day of Land Share Sales

After getting off to bit of a late start, we had our first full day of land sales today.

After just one day, we are a co-op of 10 full paid members, (not counting Rudeen and all the alts ). Of course, we have a long way to go to be economically stable. But, at this rate, there'll be people standing in line. And the resale price of shares could skyrocket!

I'll try not to be too exuberant. A lot could happen. But, just perhaps, all that incredible hard work by Ulrika and the others could really pay off.

A special thanks to Eugene. He is THE best host/introducer/guide to our City. Thank you Eugene. But, keep it up. We need lots more.

Sudane

Yay! Welcome to the city everyone and thanks for all your work Sudane!

Eugene is amazing. He took me for a ride in his balloon over the city. It was one of my favorite moments in SL ever.

~Ulrika~

Couple of things. I guess I should formally resign from the representative assembly and the projekt. I've not been involved for a while and not even known about meetings. La La La.

One question - I don't understand how N'berg can claim to be not-for-profit when my private island rent (from a commercial landlord) is considerably less.

I pay 3,600 L$/month for 3,000m2. Land deeded to a group of my choosing - none of the fraudulent "buying" nonsense.

I wish you luck but you're not cheap.

As an elected member, I would say it was your responsibility to keep up with meeting times. However, we're in phase 2 of the project now so the RA has essentially been dissolved. As soon as the sim fills up (were at 40% or so now), we'll hold new elections.

The state of being nonprofit is not conditional on selling price. Because the city has shared land in the form of a Kirche (church), Rathaus (govt building), Warenhaus (city store), Kaufhaus (shopping center), Marktplatz (town square), as well as shared roads, bridges and city walls, the overhead on individual lots is increased.

With that said, the selling point of the city isn't dirt-cheap land rather its a one-of-kind build run by a nonprofit cooperative that provides participants with a formalized method of running a sim collectively with an in-world government.

Land outside the city center costs 33% more than the price you quoted, which is consistent with the overhead associated with the shared space. However, our sim comes with a one-of-kind planned city, shared facilities, city vendors, and a governmental system which has been in development for over seven months. There's just nothing else like it in SL. Period.

If you want Walmart, then live there. If you want Neualtenburg, then live there.

~Ulrika~

Just to help clarify what not-for-profit means. It means that no one gains a profit from the venture. The fees may be higher for any number of reasons, as Ulrika has suggested. But the fundamental issue is what happens to any excess of income over expenses. In a not-for-profut venture such as Neualtenburg, that excess, if any, remains in the City's bank accounts, and is subject to the citizens decision as to what to do with it.

The financial records of the City are kept in standard accounting form, and the statements of those records are publicly viewable via the site www.neualtenburg.org, as every proper not-for-profit should do. Furthermore, the decisions regarding how those funds are collected and spent rests with all the people who own shares in the venture.

The model we have used to create this system is the not-for-profit cooperative housing corporation, a structure common in the US at least, possibly elsewhere. With this system, people do not "buy" the actual land they occupy. Rather, they buy shares in the company equivalent to the m2 of space they wish to use. With those shares comes what in the model is called a "proprietary lease", although we still call it a "deed", restricted by "covenants", since in the verbiage of SL, we are "deeding" the land to your group.

With those shares comes an obligation; that you assume responsibility for how the company is managed, and what the decisions are that affect the whole community. Cooperative housing corporations have a Board of Directors elected by the shareholders, Neualtenburg has the Representative Assembly.

At this very early stage in our history (the sim Neualtenburg was purchased in early May) the organization has perhaps higher expenses than will be the case in the future. For one, the sim had to be purchased. And our budget is based on guesses on how many people will be interested in participating, which naturally affects the monthly fee that each must contribute.

As the purchase price is paid off, as the number of residents stabilizes, and as other sources of revenue are developed (sources which have long been discussed and planned for by Neualtenburg members), it is, I feel, a very realistic expectation that the monthly fees will go down, probably way below the monthly fees for other private sims.

After all, at Neualtenburg, there is no owner eagerly waiting until their investment is re-couped in order to take the profit which was the whole purpose of their effort.

Sudane

That is great news!! I need to talk with someone about getting some land deeded (I really want a *home* in Neualt). I am going to be paying in Lindens. I haven't been able to be in world the last couple of weeks. And I'm still wrapping my head around how fast everything is moving. hehe.. So maybe someone could meet up with me soon and help me figure out where I can get set up!

Hehe, anytime Pendari! IM me, and I'll meet you there!

Sudane

Adequately explained elsewhere in the thread, but you're using the wrong basis for comparison. Neualten works like a New York housing co-op, though the internal administrative details are considerably different.

Claiming the process is "fraudulent" is misleading, since Neualten is designed so you really are buying into it; on your typical private sim arrangement you are ultimately there at the landlord's sufferance, since SL land isn't "real" land, and the protections many jurisdictions have regarding renters don't apply - if Neualten tosses you out in disregard to the covenant, actual civil action against the non-profit corporation (which also has a real legal existance) is a legitimate - if unlikely to be worthwhile - possibility.

Not that I ever want to see that happen, of course - I like it where I am!