Can I exchange my premium house for land?

[October Sands]

I would like to exchange my premium house for land to build my own house. The land is I beleive tha same size as it says it would be 5.00 a month if purchased. It is on the mainland as well. Is it possible to exchange, if so how do I go about this?

Thank You.

[Rolig Loon]

It's extremely easy.  Three steps:

1. Stand in your Linden Home and pick up all your stuff. (One item at a time, not in a big lump that will be hard to rez and sort out later.)

2. Open World >>> About Land >>> General

3. Click Abandon Land.

Now you are free to go out and buy land anywhere in SL.  If you buy land on the Mainland, you can use your Premium land fee waiver to cover the monthly fee for the first 512 sq m of land you own.  It's applied automatically to your bill.

Read more about buying land here >>> http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Buying-land/ta-p/700043

Also, consider taking Lindal Kidd's free class in land ownership and management at Caledon Oxbridge University, offered every Friday evening at 5 SLT.

[Ariel Vuissent]

Be aware of the two downsides to purchasing mainland as opposed to owning a Linden home. 

The first is small. You'll have to buy the land you want. Your Linden home is 100% free with you premium membership, but if you want land, you have ot pay a small fee. It usually is quite small, and it's just a one-time fee, so like I said, it's a very small downside.

The second is a bit more pertinent. When you own a Linden home, the home itself does NOT count against your 117 prims. If you buy a 512 plot of land, any home you rez there will count against your prim limit. That's still not a huge issue, because there are low prim homes available, but it is something to be aware of.

I still would reccomend the plot of mainland, though. It's infinitely more customizable, and more upgradable if you grow out of it.

[Rolig Loon]

Ariel has opened a very large topic with her excellent comments.  The more you learn about land ownership in SL, the more complex the topic gets, and the more opinions you will get on every side of the choices you have to make.  I have many good friends who give strong arguments for owning on the Mainland, and many who are private estate partisans.  Many people praise the advantages of Premium membership; just as many take pride in having always been Basic members.  Lots of people enjoy owning land; many prefer renting.  These are not black/white, up/down choices.  If you keep your eyes open and do your homework, you'll find advantages and disadvantages in all of them, and you will probably change your mind many times about which choices are best for you. The lovely thing about SL, as opposed to RL, is that it doesn't cost you a pile of money and a stack of legal paper to change your mind.