Wanting to start a residential project in SL...

I am wanting to start a houseing project in SL,im still un-clear to exactly what i want to do but im debating on one of the two followoing ideas.....A street with Grand Victorian house's or a complex of various modern city type house's.
Im doing this partialy for the money asspect and the fun asspect.I dont know how much land id need,but lets just say a pretty good chunk.So ill need someone with that in hopefully surrounding already nicely designed buildings.
I am also however low in funds.So i might need someone to help fund it.Who ever funds it will recieve all the money they invested in it back plus 25% of that as a bonus (once i make enogh from renting them in order to do it).After i have made enough income from peps renting them to pay off the money we invisted into building it.From then on me and the owner of the land will recieve a flat 50/50 split with the rent.
This is only a idea right now not really yet set in stoned.But would anybody be intrested?

Nathan,

I don't know where to start with you on this.

I think I could sum it up this way: if you are low on funds, don't start rental projects LOL.

They are not money makers.

They take huge amounts of time and investment.



This is just not going to happen.

Hi Nathan. There are a number of in-world property rentals happening at the moment, and most of them are backed by dedicated effort. You might wish to spend some time reviewing what is in place and getting a really good look at what is involved before committing.

The sheer volume of textures, scripting, and building involved is daunting, then you have marketing concerns along with mediating residential disputes, things like zoning issues, etc.

Most of the folks who are making a business of this could give you insight. Of particular interest to you would likely be Anshe Chung. There are others, but she is most approachable and doesn't seem to mind talking about the business aspects (no fear of competition, confidence in her strategy, etc).

I won't say you cannot succeed at it, and to be sure I wish you all the best... just want to make sure you understand that's a heaping big mouthful you're looking to bite off... you might want to make sure you can chew it. ~smile~

Consider buying and Island Sim and then renting out the land.

You currently can advertise your land for sale in the land sale tab. If you sell it cheaply enough (cheaper than mainland) you can make enough money to cover your costs and even profit by renting out the land.

Any way to buy this land without using RL money?

No offense, but 25% upside isn't worth the 100% downside.

Simple Economics.

"...any way to do this without RL money?"

Nope.

It's a business risk. Perhaps one that is ahead of current ideals of society and technology, but still a normal business venture.

I am in the same boat as you. A man of ideas but no investment means. It is our plight, i suppose. If you run into anyone with USD$6,000 to invest in an internet venture, let me know

~Lefty

and they say that the Lindens are anti-business...

Anshe is pretty busy, and if you don't even have $25 of RL money to start out with for tier each month, plus $7-odd for a quarterly subscription, I wouldn't waste her time. It would be unfair. Because Anshe came into this game like anyone else. She started with a premium account and went from there. She did not wait for someone to hand her a $6000 investment. She didn't start with residential communities, she started with land trading, then malls, then clubs, etc. and it is only now, after more than a year I believe, is she doing these complicated, time-consuming, and costly rental communities that will probably end up being a service more than some big profit-making venture.

I, too, just started by buying land in smaller amounts, selling it, gaining the experience. There is no substitute for experience. It's not a matter of "confidence in one's strategy" or being reluctant to talk to new people or help people. It's a question of having to break it down to you: you have to be willing to work hard and not wait for someone to invest, or figure out how you can use "game money instead of RL money" -- this isn't TSO where you can sell your rare Afghan dog on ebay LOL.

Hey, Nathan:
Sure, I'll try it. I am a newbie who just bought 10K m^2 of prime bottom land (bottom of an ocean, that is). How much of the space do you need for a proof-of-concept project? I'm willing to share some of this space with you, for a yet-to-be-determined period, to see what you can do with it.

Lefty (and Nathan),

You know, I don't want to sound unfriendly, but what on earth do you imagine the rest of us are ?
Men of no ideas ?

With time you will come to discover that great ideas are ten a penny, here and in RL.

I would almost go so far as to say that in any successful venture the great idea is the easiest bit.

It's everything ELSE that is difficult. That distinguishes the loser from the winner.

Understanding the exact need and analysing it in detail, to come up with something people will buy if the price is right. Finding out what price is right, and having the self discipline to abandon the project if it can't be made cheaply enough. Having the grinding application and determination and dedication to bring the thing into existence through the sweat of your brow. Realising that when it's almost finished you are only half way through. Its the final polishing and tweaking and debugging that'll nearly break your spirit, and that you'll be tempted to skimp. Understanding the nature of risk, particularly when you ask others to share it with you by putting up hard-earned cash.

I could go on and on. In the case of a land project here. Have you done a spreadsheet yet? Entered in all the details of tier payments ? Average land purchase costs ? Made it auto-adjust to changes in exchange rate ? Built in realistic percentage likelihoods for various good and bad things like occupancy and early default rate to name just two? Incorporated adjustable delays ?

Used this framework to build a plan, predicting cash in and out week by week or month by month ?

Until you have done all this and more, you have nothing to offer any potential investor except ignorant optimism.

If you do it, the light will begin to dawn. You will begin to see why Anshe's land prices are as they are, for instance, and how much a prim or a sq m costs to handle and supply.

You'll be able to try out how any new scheme you may devise might work in practice.

But even then you'll face huge uncertainty. All these numbers can show you with certainty that something can never work, but they can't show it will succeed.

Anshe employed a fine architect to build a beautiful half-timbered medieval village in the snow in Svan. All for rent.

Looked a certain winner to the eye at least. Rents seemed low. It looked lovely. Pub. Beautiful church with stained glass windows.
TOTAL FLOP.
I think she only ever let two properties out of about 60. Those tenants only stayed a few weeks when no-one else came. They felt lonely. I was one.

So those who see land schemes as an easy sphere for their smart ideas, and who think they are the only people who have them - beware.

I'm not saying you cant succeed. You can. But it's preparation, research, slog and sacrifice beyond your imaginings.

Thats why SL is so wonderful. It really is a training ground fo RL.

My advice is, ignore me and have a go. You'll learn loads. But DONT expect to do it on someone elses money, or to use your hitherto unrecognised genius to orchestrate the efforts of others you imagine to be less bright than yourself. Remember, the real thickies just aren't here.

Go it alone or with one friend, and rely upon yourselves only.

Good Luck, and Have fun.

It sounds like Nberg lol.

Why was it a flop? It it that people just don't want cookie-cutter cutesie Alpine? I mean, they do when *they themselves* can make it (like Taber has Tudor).

But when it is put out there on the plate for them, they don't take it.

Bottom of the ocean? Yeesh. Well, you could try terraforming to see if it brings up any land from below to make an island. You can get lucky sometimes. Or do a bunch of platforms or boats. Or use the free atoll kit they have now. Water is hard to move.

You're right Prok about "on a plate" .

Apparently when ready-mix cakes were introduced first years ago (just mix with water and bake) they wouldn't sell at all. Mystery.

Research found that the housewife was doing too little, she felt no sense of ownership and pride. Couldn't look hubby in the eye and say she made it herself.

So they took out some of the powdered egg, made a big deal of the crucial impact of the "fresh egg yolk" the housewife had to mix in.

Solved. Sold like hot cakes. Felt she'd made a cake.

I have concluded some house architects here know this lesson. They make you unnecessarily stick a few bits together, when the whole house could easily be rezzed straight from inventory. Same principle.

I guess it applies right up the scale to a residential area or a sim.

Hmmm well it sounds a little bit like the egg yolk and cake mix thing, but I think some people actually want an infrastructure premade look, like Meins was, and it's new relocation is shaping up to be, and like Chung-protected land on the Ansheland sims is getting to be...but they want their parcel with their house to have more freedom to do their little newb box if they want.

I keep studying this anew. I put out townhouses on the shore all in a row that were identical just because that's how the architect set it up with me to keep integrity of the house. One rented. The others didn't. They might rent, they might not, I'll leave them out to see. It might be that I could put out a completely different line of the same cookie-cutter houses and they might rent...but my thesis is that people just don't want to live in a Levittown kind of arrangement where all the houses look alike.

I think one of the biggest mistakes that people make in starting out their rentals businesses is taking one house and cookie-stamping it out on a sheet. The cookies sit there, and people don't seem to want to fit into that kind of environment because I see the stuff not renting...with some important exceptions. I have found some. And I think where they do work there are important ingredients:

-- owner is on premises always to help moveins and answer questions
-- some details like trees and paths and a commons are added to take away the cookie sameness feel
-- the cookies have balconies and inside private rooms -- people will take cookies under those circumstances ROFL.
-- the price of the cookies was more than right ROFL.