Newbie Questions about Renting

I'm a newbie who recently went premium in the hopes of getting First Land (thanks LL, but there already enough threads bemoaning THAT situation). Now it seems that won't be happening I've decided to rent to put down some SL roots.

I've spent a couple of days reading this forum & have read a lot of excellent (if sometimes conflicting ;o) ) advice about the pros & cons of rent v. buy & have decided that rental is the way to go for me at least for now. There are a few questions I haven't been able to track down the answers to & I'd be grateful for any help.

1 - I understand there are some potential risks in renting if I get an unscruplous landlord, but how do I go about reducing this risk by finding a reputable one? I don't yet have many friends in SL to ask so are there other things I should be looking for? Ratings on behaviours? Traffic on rental sites?

2 - I am totally at a loss to understand what prim allowance would be enough for me. I just want a small space where I can maybe have a few pieces of furniture, somewhere to 'hang out', maybe invite friends over etc. I've looked at an apartment with a 300 prim allowance (can't recall the rental cost right now) but in your experience is this likely to be enough for my needs? I don't yet know how to build anything so would be using items I buy or pick up free for my new home.

Thanks for reading & would love some help!

Hi,

I have started off renting and happy I did it first before jumping in and buying. The renting time has taught me about how much land and prim allowance I need without having had to invest very much as the rent is paid weekly via a rent machine at the front door. Make sure you only do a week at at time, that way if you decide you aren't happy there, don't like the landlord or it isn't big enough for your needs, you have only spent a small amount and can move on.

Another advantage of renting, you don't have to pay for monthly premium membership so that money saved can be ploughed into the land until you find the perfect place to buy later.

I've only ever rented. Did quite a lot of research before deciding where to stay... for now. That is one good thing about renting. If you decide you don't like the neighbourhood or you want to upgrade your prim limit, you just move on.

With regard to being ripped off, I'd say only pay one week's rent at a time until you're sure you want to stay. This limits your risk. Also find a landlord who runs a string of properties - all done up nicely, with easy to understand terms in the lease. Look at the landlord's profile. How long have they been in game? None of these are guarantees, just things to look out for.

If you are new to the game Ravenglass have some places where the rent is very low for players under 180 days old. I stayed there first for a month. It was an easy introduction to land rental.

One big element of my choice of rental spots was whether the place came with a house. I decided that I preferred an unfurnished spot where I could place my own house. You may prefer otherwise when starting off. Bare rental plots are rarer in my experience then ready built spots. In any case find out whether the prim limit quoted includes any prefabs on the place or is in addition to the prims used up by the house provided. Shop around.

I am very happy with my landlord. I've been given lots of control over the land. Put up my own house, did a bit of planting. Started a small business on the site. Yes the prim limit is a constant problem but no more so then if I owned the plot. My only complaint is the casino that moved in on the other side of the region. But again that could happen anywhere on the mainland.

IM me for landlord's name.... or is okay to name people in a positive light?!

Danni

For the last 3 months or so I have been renting a lovely 3-room house on a 1024 parcel with a deck and private pool. I have an allowance of 250 prims which is (just) enough for my needs (although you can NEVER have enough prims!). My landlord is very helpful and understanding, In fact recently I've rented a shop from him too. Currently these houses are renting for l$250 a week. By the way, it's a mainland sim and the estate is restricted to female tenants.

Hope that gives you something to go on. IM me if you'd like a look round.

Love Suzi

Thank you so much for the quick replies )

Suzy & Chellonia - I'll Im you both in game for the landlords names.

Huh? I thought that estate implied private island, so that mainland and estate are mutually exclusive.

Sorry. I guess I used the wrong term. Estate is a fairly common word where I live. What I meant is the little estate of houses where I live. Maybe I should have said neighbourhood. or village or something.

/me locks herself in the dark cupboard under the stairs.

You should be Ok at 300 prims. I have a nice bed with side lamps, a dresser, a sofa and a loveseat, anda carpet and I'm in at around 90 prims.

"renting" can be one of three different things.

There are houses condos and other buildings where you can "rent" for a certain amount, usually by the week. You don't have control over the land, you just have a little house or something. I think those are kind of dull personally. It gives you a place to call home, but there are so many limits and you really miss out on a lot of the fun of decorating.

Then there are "private islands" where you can hold land. These islands are owned by an individual and you pay them rather than linden. In return they give you control over the land. The issue is that your arrangement is with the owner. If you "buy" land here, Linden still sees the owner of the island as owner and won't back you up if you get cheated. Therefore a lot of people call all private islands "rental" whether you are "buying" or "renting."

In these private islands, some parcels are "sold" You pay a price for the land and then you pay the private island owner roughly the same amount you would pay Linden if you owned on the mainland. It's really similar to owning. Except you take the risk that the private land owner could just cheat you -- so it pays ot go with someone long term and reputable.

There are also "pure rental" arrangements on private islands where you pay nothing down for the land, but you pay a bit more a month than you would if you had. If you aren't sure land is for you, this can be a good deal. You might pay $12 a month instead of $10, but you don't need to spend $50 to buy the land in the first place. The downside is obviously that you pay more per month. But in most of the deals I've seen, you have to go 6-12 months before it evens out.

For example, we own 4096 in a private sim. We don't actually own it. Ansche Chung does. If she wanted she could just boot us out, but she hasn't and I'm pretty sure she won't.

We paid another user L33,000 for our property, she bought it from someone else, who originally bought it from Asnche Chung. (As far as Linden is concerned, Ansche owns the whole thing and we have no rights.) So we paid about US$125 in Lindens for it. In return, we can sell it to someone else. We pay $24 a month to Ansche (Lindens fees for the same land would be a 9.95 premium membrship plus 25 dollars in tier fees). If we wanted the same parcel we could have paid nothing, but rented it. Then we'd pay $28 a month.

I know Ansche Chung has a few sims that are set aside as small 1024 parcels meant for new residents. I don't know the status of the program though.

the best Rental community I was ad still am in is Called SKYE Condos in Tamarack.

I now own my own land but I'm sure you're going to love it there. Take a look. Prices are so damn cheap and the community is like a big faily. Also condos are in the sky which reduces lag.....

Roby

I totally agree that renting is the way to go at the moment. I bought land a few months ago and just sold up recently, losing all the money I'd spent on a premium account, tier payments and most of the money I'd spent on the land. My main reason for selling? Two casinos moved onto the sim and the lag went through the roof! I wish I'd never bought land in the first place.

With regards to renting my favourite places are those that have a little box outside that you pay L$'s to directly. These are usually 'rent for a week at a time' places and you don't need Payment Info on File or Pay Pal. There's also no big up front downpayment. So nice and easy and very little danger of being done over by an evil landlord (at most you'd just lose a week's rent).

The best rented properties like these, in my opinion, are the estates which take up an entire privately owned island. This means that there aren't any casinos or clubs on the land to create lag or attract griefers. The island I live on has rarely more than 2 or 3 people on it at a time. Also the buildings and landscaping are all in keeping with the estate, thus making most of these islands very beautiful places to live.

A downside? Most properties like these have limitations on what you can put on the land (no big adverts or skyboxes for example) and what you can do with your house (residential only). For me this is a good thing though as it means a better neighbourhood overall.

With regards to prims. I currently pay L$900 a week for 400 prims plus the 3 story beach house. This includes a security system, tinting windows, and a radio. This is far bigger than I really need At a guess I'd say 300 prims is plenty for a comfy home.

My landland is fantastic and I highly recommend her rentals. Whenever I've had an issue or a question she gets it sorted straight away. If you'd like her name then please send me an IM.

Good luck finding a home!

I live on a private sim. I paid roughly $150 US ($39,200L) for my 4096sm plot, and I pay about $28 a month. The sim is one of 4 already built, and 9 planned. It's a neighborhood for water enthusiasts. Most of the plots of land are about 1/2 land 1/2 water, so your neighbors are pretty much across water from you.

I did own mainland at one time. I owned about 1500sm, and paid approx. $75 US. So I'm now about 3.5x's as much land and prims, for only 2 times the price, and less in month land use fees.

It's not crowded, no ugly signs, no huge clubs or casinos. It's pretty and serene, and nice to go to after working for hours at a very busy club.

IM me in world if you want to look at it.

I rent private island parcels. Feel free to IM me and ask questions, no pressure, I promise.

That's a start. I'd ask the residents if they like their landlord, how long they've been there, etc. I have been fortunate to have some tenants that are really happy and will be there for the long haul. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a landlord like me

This is a tough one. 300 is plenty, but could not be enough if you own lots of pretty but high prim items. Pets are a devil - those things must be 30 prims as a rule or something... A few objects could still mean a lot of prims. It's a shame, because some of them are really nice. The super-romantic beds with lots of poseballs are also problematic. 80 prims for a bed? That's almost 1/4 of the allowance right there.

Go shopping and see what you absolutely must have, count the prims, add a few more and go from there.

Just wanted to say thanks again to everybody who has replied.

I've taken the plunge with a tiny apartment at L$150/week just so I have somewhere to call home for now. This is allowing me to look at the items I own, change clothes, shapes, skins etc in peace.

I only have 150 prims, but as I only have freebie furniture & am still learning about placement, editing etc that is working fine for now. I'll probably stay here for a week or so & then see if I want to commit to something bigger/nicer.

I've saved this thread so when the time comes to dip my toe further in I'll still have all this great advice to hand!

Well done Danni, congratulations.