Risk Alert: AnsheChung.com, DreamLand, et al

I have heared about AnsheChung.com some time ago, but never took closer look as it did not seem relevant for my business. They are neither competitor nor have I been in need of any land / merchant renting services in SL.

I would also like to say that all people at AnsheChung.com I ever dealt with were always polite, prompt and friendly.

This week I did take closer look at AnsheChung.com. And what I learned surprised me. Let me list some of what I learned and, please, if I am wrong correct me:

1. AnsheChung.com is fully owned by Anshe Chung, Anshee Chung, and other Alts.
2. Only Anshe takes responsibility and guarantees for the land deeded to people and held by AnsheChung.com and Dreamland
3. Anshe has sofar collected millions of Linden$ from people
4. Anshe currently owns more than 11 million L$
5. This money Anshe uses for "investments" and "Land Buying" and "Development"
7. Her biggest investments are in "land"
8. Anshe tells people that Dreamland will deed land to them and will never sell the land out from under the purchasor and flee secondlife.
9. Anshe essentially rents real estate, aquires rent payments and tier, gives the illusion that she will never sell the deeded land even though the purchasor has ABSOLUTELY no right to it
10. We have no information whatsoever about revenue generated by any "investments" Anshe used the money for that she took from people
11. We have no information that Anshe ever made any profit with any serious scale investment in the past.
12. There is no government agency in SL regulating or controling "land barons"
13. Rent you deposit with Anshe is not insured
14. There is no government securing your security deposits
15. Linden Lab explicitly stated that they will not step in if AnsheChung.com goes bankrupt
16. Anshe refuses to publish certified income statements for the general public - and her customers to view.

As you know I am one person who only needed 9,95 US$ investment to be successful in SL and to build a decent business. If economy would just be as easy as "money makes more money" then I would never have received my chance. Others, with more money, would have beaten me.

I have talked to number of people I know: business consultants, RL business owners, people working for real estate companies. I did research on the Web. So far I have come to one preliminary conclusion. Please note that this is simply one working thesis or what I currently consider the most probable explanation. However, it would be unethical if I would keep this to myself. I really do hope that Anshe or somebody else can proove this wrong.

But currently the only explanation that I can possibly think of and what my real estate expert friends have pointed out to me is that Anshe Chung could sell all the land she rents out and take flight from SL at any time at the drop of a hat.

I, and almost all people I consulted on this, based on information we have about AnsheChung.com believe that you, the renter and customer, are exposed to serious risk.

I would be very happy if somebody could proof me wrong and provide some information that allow me to come to one different conclusion.

Jamie, I think I have just fallen in love with you. Brilliant!

Class!

Now, I wonder how the pros and cons stack up this time?

excellent!!!!

Oh my lordy, deja vu!

And as blaze mentioned in another similar thread, "For all you we know this money could be used as laundered money for trafficking children as sex slaves."

I have to say, I love these posts now.

I love you all.

Although this made me laugh.. I see one major difference..

The money Anshe collects, is hers, for renting land to people. It belongs to hers and its hers to do with as she wishes.. Where as with Ginko, the money is not theres, it still belongs to whoever deposited it, as is the role of a bank.

But all the same, well done

Except that the land is not rental in most cases, people have purchased these plots, although they are really leases so the money doesnt really belong to her, as like a bank its an investment by the people involved in virtual realestate in which they should be expected to sell that land, and although they still own the lease, anshe still owns the sim.

All very true but I have one question;

Who would she sell to

So.. If I lease a RL apartment to someone, the money isn't mine to do with what I want?

Of course, but unlike a rent which you said you have to live upto your side of the lease as its contracted length in this case they are forever, and maintain that apartment for that period of time using that money, you also have to acknowledge that i may transfer that lease to someone else if i wish to do so, which in a rental you wouldnt do as there are no upfront costs usually

Outside of making fun of Anshe's writing - which I find charming - what is the point of this?

coco

I see your point.. I also don't know why anyone would choose buying over renting.. I rent all my land from Hiro Queso, and I'd say its just as stable as buying from Anshe. Without an up front cost, or the headache of selling the land if you want to move out..

Lol 1 and only point from what I can see, and you found it..

I'm thinking its a little play on Anshe for when she tried to give a certain buisness a bad name.

Yes im not sure either it gives you exactly the same benefits without the risk, im not taking sides as i down own any land on a private estate, but friends have owned land on dreamland and found it very unpleasant trying to sell, when they did find a seller without mentioning names the person needed to transfer the deed would be extremely slow, so they pulled out and then the person involved offered to buy the land but said it was only worth half the value what they paid, obviously a very good business person there, but customer service doesnt half well... other posters have spoken for that. Those friends now live on hiros sims as well as alliez's sims renting more than happy with the customer support and facilities.

I'm a concerned resident! I want to prevent people from being defrauded. Somebody needs to be asking these questions!!!!

Does Anshe still offer "Private Entertainment 19:00 - 24:00 CET, 10 am - 3 pm PST"?...She's forgotten to remove it from her profile, from back in the days when she operated another kind of business in SL...

Read the Ginko thread, that is the point of it. It is a reiteration of everything she stated about Nicholas Portocarrero, and is relevant to her business. She repeated it in exactly the same language Anshe used.

OK. But I'm getting out of this thread, cause it looks like another, "You're not buying, you're renting!"/"No, I'm buying!" thread.

coco <---- runs screaming

Wrong. If I lease land the money I receive is mine. If you accept deposits in a bank, the money is not yours. Even if the person I lease to wants to make a profit by selling the right to lease at a higher price, the money I received for the lease orginally is still mine. It is not held in trust for some one. It is not invested with the stated intention to repay the investor. It is mine.

Yes, Anshe could sell the sims and run. Linden could close its doors the day after you spend a million $L on their land. That's the way it goes. I'm so glad that not a single question asked about Ginko's investments was answered and instead a new thread attacking AnsheChung.com was started. Makes me feel confident in investing in Ginko!

Actually, we answered every question besides what we invested in, and Ginko didn't start this thread.

You answered the question about how to give Ginko your money, but insisted your "right" not to disclose any other information. I don't need to go on with this, as this seems to be a "Lets demonize Anshe thread" but any one who is interested can go read the Ginko thread.

This is as much "Lets demonize Anshe thread" as the other thread was an attempt for anshe to demonize Ginko. And do give the thread another read. Every question was answered besides what we invest in. And at no point did any of us answer "how to put your money into Ginko". If we did, feel free to point it out. I would give you a hug and a kiss if you can.