How can they afford to do it?

[Jennifer Boyle]

There is a beautiful 1/2 sim parcel in an adult sim that ha been for sale for at least six months for L$27.5 psm.  The owner is a real estate professional.  Obviously, it is costing him at least $97.50 per month to hold it.  How can he afford to hold land for so long?  I would think he would reduce the asking price in order to move it.

 

[Frawmusl]

"Real Estate Professional" Well if he has a lot of other real estate he is getting income from all of them, so when that amount is lost he barely notices it leaving. It could also be an honest mistake.Though hes not making any money hes not losing any ether, but just hasn't gotten around to changing the price.

[Curious Hazelnut]

It is worth contacting the seller and making an offer. I did so to get land in SL and we came to a reasonable price.

[Jennifer Boyle]

I don't want it.  I'm just curious.

[jwenting]

seeing a lot like that. People not really wanting to sell but thinking "well, if a sucker wants to pay that much I'm game".

[Curious Hazelnut]

If there is a business on the parcel (mall, dance club, rentals), it might be an advertising technique.

[Jennifer Boyle]

The land is entirely vacant, except for a sign advertising it for sale.

[Cerise Sorbet]

Is the land owned by a group? There has long been a loophole/bug in the tier system that lets such land remain unfunded for a long, long time.

[jwenting]

---

Jennifer Boyle wrote:

The land is entirely vacant, except for a sign advertising it for sale.

---

no skyboxes overhead? Maybe some big mall in a box, or rental apartments?

[Jer Straaf]

You guys/gals are kidding, right?

Have you ever seen a con man or magician work using a "shill" from the audience?  Ahhh, and I bet you never even suspected it.  I just wrote a whole essay here and then deleted it, I don't want to be poofed. You get the idea...

[Melita Magic]

Well I don't know. I think some of the larger 'land barons' are getting major breaks on tier. A parcel here and there is nothing to some of those people.

I wonder why most of the former teen grid is still being sat on by barons who keep rent and purchase price so high no one will ever buy it. They insist it will sell. I"ve been staring at the same clock tower for years now.  

(And no, that doesn't mean I'm going to climb it.)

 

[Jadeclaw Denfu]

Clocktower you say?

I guess, I know that one. Rented from that one some time ago, absolutely reliable and good friendly service.
But, the pricing is seriously off. Takes usually 1.9 to 2 L$ per prim per week for land, that usually would  go
with other landlords for 1.1 to 1.3 L$ per prim per week. The result is evident, you see the clock towers and circular
logos all over the place. At nearly 2 L$ the land just isn't moving. Some parcels are real good, but similar parcels
are cheaper elsewhere too.

 

[Yingzi Xue]

If you look at land on Zindra (the adult continent), most of it is owned by one "realtor".  The tier for the amount of land this person owns must be ungodly.  I can't imagine they're making even a fraction of the profit to pay for it all.  Which begs the question... is this really a "realtor" or something more sinister?  You decide.  One only has to look.  You can only have so much tier per avatar, which means they must have a long line of avatars to pay for their tier.  I just don't see how it's possible, unless... (like I said, you be the judge).

I recently wanted to purchase a 12k parcel on Zindra.  It was newly abandoned.  I sent in a ticket requesting to purchase the land since I owned half the region.  Guy Linden shows up a day later and says, "Oh we can't do that..." then puts it on auction, of course a realtor wins over us at the last second and puts it on sale 2 1/2 times the price it's worth (and it still hasn't sold).  I can point you to parcels of equal size on the non-adult mainland that have been abandoned since 2010, yet they haven't been auctioned off.

A might bit fishy if you ask me; that one realtor owns most of Zindra, which is the most populated continent in SL and was to be the savior of LL a few years ago, just happens to be monopolized by one "realtor", which has a name that has an uncanny resemblance to (well, you decide).  I don't see how one person can dominate the whole continent, paying tier and making money on rentals to break even.  But hey, I'm just a lowly peon.

[Qie Niangao]

I have no idea how Zindra land dealers make money. (There are several quite large ones still active  on Zindra, although I can confirm that all but one of them seem to have gotten out of the Kama City area, so that's interesting.)

What does "[y]ou can only have so much tier per avatar" mean?

Also, I don't understand what the complaint is about auctions. That's how it's always worked, LL never just sold such large abandoned parcels without an auction, especially not on Zindra -- and especially not freshly abandoned: that would be completely unfair compared to an auction, where everybody can bid.  So, if a dealer won the auction, they bid more than everybody else did. I don't see a problem with that. It doesn't cost any more to bid what one is willing to pay, right up front; trying to "play" the auction game by timing bids for the last minute is fine for entertainment, but no way to buy land.

[Yingzi Xue]

Having never owned more than a mainland region, I was under the assumption that tier capped at $195, since that's all it shows on the Land Use Fees page, until such a time you go over.  A quick search found the answers that eluded me.  Land tier does indeed increase beyond $195/65536.  Learn something every day.

It's not a complaint about the auctions, it's about giving a person/group that owns half a region first dibs if they're first to ask, since they are so invested in the region already. 

(Knowledge Base excerpt)

How to request purchase of abandoned land

There are cases in which Linden Lab sells abandoned land directly to a Resident who has a solid claim on it.  We attempt to give priority to those who already have land in the region.  If two neighboring parcels both have a reasonable claim on the parcel, it will likely not qualify for direct sale.  In some cases, we can assist with subdividing larger parcels for those with a strong claim.

A strong claim for a direct sale includes but is not limited to the following:

• Land you own borders three sides of an abandoned parcel.
• Land you own completely encircles the abandoned parcel.
• The requested land is awkward or irregularly shaped.
• The requested land does not neighbor yours, but you are an established resident of the same region.

Per above, we had a strong claim.  In the end, profit won over community, that's how I see it.  That parcel I wanted?  It sold on auction for 70k, went on sale by the realtor for 180k.  It's now down to 160k.  The realtor will be lucky to make any profit.  Karma wins out after all. :matte-motes-big-grin:

As for auction strategies, I appreciate you trying to teach me the finer points of how to play/win auctions (albeit snide and condescending), but I've been using E-bay since the mid 90's, I think I know a thing or two about auctions.

Back to the thread topic:  

The OP asked the question... how can they afford it?  I am wondering the same thing and the question is still not answered.  My personal opinion, there's an inside deal or the largest realtor(s) are actually <insert virtual world company name of choice here>.  Take a look at Zindra and think about it.  Mind blown yet?