How does BUYING land work? And why would anyone want to BUY?

[DjWhiteBoi]

Buying land seems soooo confusing!  And they say you don't even need a premium account to do so.

 

Well how exactly does that work?   Im at a place right now and it says its $4,400L.   I'm guessing that is to ''buy'' it?   Well then how much is that per week?    That sounds like a terrible deal unless I'm missing something?   

Most places you can rent the exact same thing for $5,600L per month and have full owner rights to the land.     In my example above (If I am right on this) you are spending $4,400L to ''buy it''  and probably $1,500L+ per week to still ''own'' it?  That's $10,400L !  When if you just rent it, its a lot cheaper.

 

And if you do ''buy'' it,  you still have to follow the covenant correct?  So whats the point in ''buying''?  And how come when you ''buy'' you still have to pay weekly on top of that?

 

Am I getting this correctly or do I have it all wrong? Please clear this up for me it's really giving me a headache as I'm trying to look for land and get the best deal.

[DjWhiteBoi]

Buying land seems soooo confusing!  And they say you don't even need a premium account to do so.

 

Well how exactly does that work?   Im at a place right now and it says its $4,400L.   I'm guessing that is to ''buy'' it?   Well then how much is that per week?    That sounds like a terrible deal unless I'm missing something?   

Most places you can rent the exact same thing for $5,600L per month and have full owner rights to the land.     In my example above (If I am right on this) you are spending $4,400L to ''buy it''  and probably $1,500L+ per week to still ''own'' it?  That's $10,400L !  When if you just rent it, its a lot cheaper.

 

And if you do ''buy'' it,  you still have to follow the covenant correct?  So whats the point in ''buying''?  And how come when you ''buy'' you still have to pay weekly on top of that?

 

Am I getting this correctly or do I have it all wrong? Please clear this up for me it's really giving me a headache as I'm trying to look for land and get the best deal.

[Mei Avril]

You might find this link very useful about it: http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Buying-Private-Regions/ta-p/700045

 

Otherwise, simply put, most people will never need to rent land directly from LL.

 

"Buying" land in the RL sense of the term is not possible because there is server costs for LL associated with hosting your sim.

 

If you just want a land to build yourself a household or a club, you should contact an estate manager and rent from an that person instead.

 

If you run a business, or want to be an estate manager and rent land, well then you have to rent directly from linden labs.

 

I don't hang out on the mainland myself, I know I have heard of LL owned parcels if you're premium, but I'm not sure about that Someone else might be able to answer that more appropriately.

 

(A parcel is a piece of a sim that the estate manager divided to rent to other people. What you're renting right now is moooooost likely a parcel.)

[Rolig Loon]

Start reading in the Knowledge Base

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

http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Renting-land-from-other-Residents/ta-p/1420695

http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Selling-and-renting-land-to-others/ta-p/700135

And then plan on taking Lindal Kidd's free class in land ownership and management this Friday evening at Caledon Oxbridge University.

ETA:  

How to Buy and Rent Land in SL
Time: Friday, 17:00 SLT
Instructor: Lindal Kidd

You do not have to have land in Second Life to have fun but it sure helps! Introduction to Land will teach you the basics of how to find, buy or rent, and sell land in Second Life. There is also an introduction to land controls, and a discussion of the risks and rewards of land on Private Estates versus the Linden Lab owned Mainland.

Caledon Oxbridge offers classes every week. All classes are free and open to everyone. Unless otherwise noted, classes are taught at the Caledon Oxbridge Lecture Hall located between the "Cathedral/Gateway" and the "College of Avatar Motion".

Location: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Oxbridge/78/140/29/
Website: http://www.caledonoxbridge.org/

[Lindal Kidd]

You have to understand the different types of land, and land "ownership".

In one sense, no one ever owns any land in SL...we are all "renting" server space from Linden Lab.  But there are many ways to do this.

1. You can buy Mainland, if you have a Premium account.  In this case, you hold the land direct from LL, and pay a monthly maintenance fee, like property tax, on the land.  This fee is called "tier".

1.a.  You don't actually have to buy the land.  Instead, you can get a free Linden Home as a benefit of your Premium membership.  This gives you a small parcel of land and a pre-built house on it.

2. You can buy an entire private region from LL.  The startup fee is $1000 USD, and the monthly tier is $295 USD.  People who do this usually plan to use the land in some sort of a business, to cover those costs...such as subdividing the land and selling parcels to others, or using the land for a large Second Life store.

3. You can "buy" a parcel (a piece of a region) from another resident who has done #2 above.  You will then pay a weekly or monthly maintenance fee *to that resident*.  This fee is often called "tier", although strictly speaking "tier" is a term that only applies to Mainland parcels.  This type of land ownership is actually the most common in SL.  It does not require a Premium account.  You usually have land management abilities equivalent to being a mainland owner.  However, you are subject to the whims and business fortunes of the estate owner.  If you choose this option, be sure to read and understand the Covenant of the estate before you pay any money.  Like a planned subdivision in Real Life, the Covenant will probably have terms and conditions you're expected to abide by.

4.  You can rent land on a weekly or monthly basis, either on the Mainland or on a private estate, from another resident.  This option has the lowest up front costs (zero!), but the monthly cost will probably be a bit more than the other options.  The landlord has to make a profit too!  The benefits are that you have no money tied up in the land, so it's easy to pull up prims and move whenever you choose.  The downside is that you may not have the same land management abilities as you would if you owned the land.

 

[Monti Messmer]

Hello, you do never own land in SL.

That is explained in above answers...

After you bought it you have to pay a fee - compared to the land taxes in RL (at least in my country that is a big amount every year)

Monti