Land Guidelines

I wanting to buy some land for the first time. I would like 2048 at least for commerical use and later to resale. In general terms can some one give me some does and donts, and what to look for in land. The more technial stuff I read the more confused I get.

Things that enhance the value of land include relative flatness, green-ness, beautiful views, nice neighbors, water views, being on the waterfront, being along a Linden-owned roadway or channel, and regularly-shaped plots of land (e.g. rectangular).

Things that depress the value of land include ugliness, exreme slope, the presence in the sim of high-traffic sites such as clubs that may max out the sim's capacity, ban lines that interfere with people's access to your land, and small 16m2 plots of land nearby. There is less demand for PG land, so PG land sometimes costs less than M land.

These are not hard-and-fast rules for each person; some people prefer building on the sides of cliffs, they don't mind billboards, they're targetting clubgoers commercially, etc. Plus, many of these things can change the day after you buy your land; the club next door can disappear or be built, that lovely villa could be replaced with a pollution-spewing factory or vice-versa, your waterview could be blocked by a billboard or condo development, etc. There is no zoning and all landowners have complete control over their own land. The only way to control your surroundings is to buy your surroundings. (This is why Linden-owned roadways and channels are nice--you know nothing ugly will pop up there.)

A good price these days is 13-14 $L/m2. If you find land cheaper, there's a reason for it (even if the reason is simply that they need to sell super-fast). But don't be afraid to spend more if you really fall in love with some parcel that's more like $L20/m2; over time, the initial up-front cost of the land is a small factor in total cost of ownership compared with tier.

1. Click on "search" at the bottom of your screen in the SL client.

2. Click on the "land sales" tab of the Search window.

3. You'll see a drop-down box that may say "All Types" in the upper left. Click this drop-down box and select "For Sale - Mainland" from the list.

4. Make sure the "Area >= sq.m." box is checked, and enter 2048 in the field next to it.

5. (Optional) Make sure the "Price <= L$" box is checked, and enter 32768 in the field next to it, to limit your choices to land going for L$16/sq.m. or less.

6. Click the "Search" button at the top of the search window.

You will get the first page of land for sale that matches your criteria. You can read the description for each parcel you highlight, and see where it is on the map by clicking the "Show on Map" button.

When you find land you want to buy, first confirm that it is only 2048 m2 (your criteria could show you some land that's bigger and will therefore cost more in tier). Then,

7. Highlight the parcel you want to buy and click the "Teleport" button.

8. When you're teleported to the parcel, right-click on the parcel you're standing on. A pie-menu will pop up; click on the "About Land" section. Make sure the price and area matches what you thought you were going to buy. Take a look around and make sure you don't see anything that changes your mind. Make sure there's not a heart in the title bar of the SL window; that means people run around there shooting each other.

9. Click the "Buy Land" button in the About Land window.

10. A Buy Land window will pop up and check your choice against your cash balance, tier allotment, and verify the price and who your payment will go to. Read this information carefully. You can still back out by clicking the "Cancel" button in the Buy Land window if you're unhappy with having to upgrade your account, upgrade your tier level, or the price of the land.

11. Click "Purchase" to finalize your purchase of the land. The price will be deducted from your account, and the land will now be in your name. (If there were any problems--if the price was changed after you pressed any buttons, or if someone else bought the land while you were reading over the information, or if the servers are just too busy to complete your transaction, it will fail and you can try again if you like.)