Can I have free land rather than a free home as a premium member?

[Jessie Dannitza]

I would prefer to obtain an empty mainland plot than one of the Linden homes.  Is this possible please?

[Rolig Loon]

Land tier (often simply referred to as "tier) is a key concept of Second Life land ownership.  "Tier" refers to the maximum amount of land you can own on the mainland, measured in square meters (m2).  A premium account includes of 512m2 tier, which can be used for a free Linden Home. Thus, the minimum tier that anyone can have is 512m2. 

Note: Tier is not the land itself. It's your potential container to own land.

See http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Buying-land/ta-p/700043#Section_.3

If you have a premium account and you have 512m2 available tier then you qualify for a Linden Home.  For example, if you have a new premium account — you've just joined Second Life as a premium account or upgraded from a basic account — and haven't changed your land usage, then you have exactly 512m2 of available tier. You can also use tier to buy land on the mainland or rent land on a private estate. 

 

Note: You don't have to use your premium account 512m2 land tier for a Linden Home.  You can use it instead towards other mainland purchases or you can contribute it to group tier allocations.  Also, if you abandon your Linden Home, you can use your 512m2 tier to buy other mainland parcels.

[Lindal Kidd]

Yes, you certainly can!

With a Premium membership, you can get a free Linden Home.  But if you don't like that option, you can go find a 512 square meter parcel for sale anywhere else on the Mainland and buy it.  You will not be charged monthly tier for this parcel.

You can buy a larger parcel if you like, and this "free 512 tier" benefit will be applied to it.  For example if you bought a 1024 sq meter parcel, you would pay tier only at the 512 level, $4 per month.