Is it worth it?

[Stakie Junibalya]

I am a renter and pretty happy with it. I rent a quarter sim on the mainland and pay about 60 USD doing so a month. I am interested in knowing if it's worth just purchasing my own land.

 

I never really understood the tier system and how it worked, though I did read up on it. Guess it's just not sinking in all too well with me. So, if anyone is out there, let me know... Is it worth it? If it is, what are the benifits? What are the cons of it?

 

Thanks so very much,

Stakie

[Qwalyphi Korpov]

If  you look at this page:

http://secondlife.com/land/pricing.php

You will see that 1/4 sim of mainland tier is $75 per month. 

You pay $15 less by renting.

This is too complicated to sink in?

[Indio Quinnell]

When you say you're currently renting a quarter of a sim... does that mean, someone else owns the actual parcel, and you're paying them US$60 a month?

If so, you're actually getting a pretty good deal, because according to the Mainland Pricing and Fees page, the land-use fee (a.k.a. "tier") on 1/4 of a mainland region (16,384 sq.meters) is US$75.00.  So you're actually saving US$15.00/month with your current arrangement, which makes me wonder if you're really on mainland, or if you're on someone's privately-owned island with grandfathered pricing.  (I suppose the other alternative would be that your landlord is making up the difference from another renter or in-world business somewhere else...)

The main advantages to buying and "owning" the land yourself (though you're not really owning it, so much as renting it directly from Linden Labs, since you're still forking over a monthly fee for it) would be:

(1) You're not dependent on the continued goodwill of whoever owns the parcels you're on now.  If they decide to quit SL, you could unexpectedly find yourself with a new landlord (if they sell the property to someone else), or even with no land at all if they just abandon it.  Now, one would hope that they would give you the first option to buy it yourself before handing it off to someone else or abandoning it, but you never know.

(2) You can, in turn, sell off the property yourself to recoup some of your investment, such as it is, if you ever decide to leave SL, or just decide that you don't need the entire 1/4 region.  You could also rent out parts of it yourself.

(3) Greater control over the property; owning the parcels gives you access to the land-management tools, which in turn lets you eject or ban troublemakers from the property, prevent other people from using your area as a sandbox without permission, etc.  It also generally means there's no covenant to worry about.

The downside, of course, is that you'll be paying more per month.

 

 

 

[Qwalyphi Korpov]

full sim mainland tier = $195/m

1/4 sim rented at $60/m * 4 = $240

$240 > $195

[beethros Karas]

Yes, its preety bad for a landlord to have to deal with many of those who offering mainland parcels , sometimes for less than the above price and so,

Thats why, the average price for a 1/4 sim is between L$3,900 up to 4,200 per week (Always speaking for Mainland)

wich is actually close to the cost of the USA Citizens Landlords, while for the Europians is under their cost due to VAT

And we all offer those parcels with full permissions , exactly as if the tenant was a premioum!

So yes, as other people who replied here said, It is so simple:

us$60 (plus) is way less than us$75...

And let me remind you the another us$10 someone need to pay simply for to be premioum and so be able to buy that land and pay us$75+10

So, i really want to ask you something...

Why you want to stop pay those 60 dollars ( actually are a bit more) and get your own land?

What is that will make you to pay 20-25 us$ more aka approx 30% More? to get the same thing?

Like you asked right now, i had the same question for years.. and I really dont get it.. i never was able to get it ..

and this is my chance to ask finally:

Why a tenant will want to do that?

( Dont pop up and tell me the story of a landlord who will quit.. becauase like i am.. there are so many other landlords here in SL since 2007 or before then!)

 

 

[Qie Niangao]

---

Why a tenant will want to do that?

---

We can think of some reasons, I suppose, but whatever the reasons, they raise a different "why" question, too:

Why do Mainland landlords rent land instead of tier?

Of course they do so because that's where the demand is, so the question is really "Why do tenants want to rent land instead of tier?"

Now, I know there are outfits that rent tier (or at least there were; I imagine some must still exist although the one who really introduced the practice has been out of the business for several years now).

I get it that there's some economic incentive -- the cost of land parcels themselves -- that a Mainland landlord provides as a service to tenants. There's also the considerable complexity of land ownership in SL that tenants don't need to figure out. And some may be attracted to landlord-developed property (although, in fact, the vast majority of Mainland rentals are for bare land, and it takes quite special "development" to make land more valuable as a rental).

But we know such land-renting advantages, such as they are, simply aren't enough to pull in as tenants folks willing to pay a substantial premium to own land themselves -- all the quarter-sim tier-payers, for example. For those specific people -- the ones who own middling amounts of Mainland -- what's the reason they want to pay tier to LL rather than paying substantially less to a private company for tier only?

Is it irrational fear of losing the land if the company goes bust? (I say "irrational" because group-owned land can exist for months or even years after tier contributions have dropped to zero.) Or is the barrier the complexity of group-owned land, above and beyond individual land ownership? Or something else?

[beethros Karas]

Yes they do still rent out tier, at least I do and someone else i know,  if i have a tenant who want that.

They have to pay me a deposit usually its the Value of the parcel as a guarantee and whenever they relinquish those money will cover one more month or whatever these money can pay for.  That way, I simply donate my tier to them group and they can do everything they want, sell it or abandon it or anything. And if they sell that parcel instead of relinquish it, then i keep the deposit and they keep the whatever more they have gain from the sale.

And of course i have no powers at all at this land, because i am a simple member of their group.

But, that works only with Olbies, because there is no way a newbie will know all that and so there is no way to listen and understand and trust someone to pay them a deposit in SL instead of simply pay a weeks time in any tier box arround.

I personaly believe this is the best way for both (landlord and tenant) to rent out some land, because the tenant is tottaly satisfied having full powers like they own it ( actually they do own it 100% the same as they was premioum  - there is no difference at all if has been as mentioned above) and also they saving the premioum fees (US$8.5 - US$10) and they having it in a price lower than US$75. As for the landlord.. the gain comes with time since it is more a long term deal wich is the best for a landlord.

But as i said, no one is asking for it, and none of the Landlords is willing to be sweared and coursed and accused as a scammer or a crook, because the Newbie simply cannot get it...Only some old friends asking who they know that option.

Thank you for remind me Tier Rental!

 

[Stakie Junibalya]

I will not reply further to the snarky remarks, but to those who actually took the time to give me their opinion and some information, I thank you. I appreciate it.

 

I have no real reason why I would want to move. I am very happy with what I have. Paying 60USD is just fine for me. I have enough prims for what I want. I have nice neighbors, and I have never had any problems as of yet. I just keep seeing land for sale by me. I've always liked to amuse the idea of actually owning my own land rather then renting. But, money is money! Haha. I don't want to pay more if I don't have to! I wasn't exactly sure how some people were renting out at this price to be honest. Markets change, so it can be confusing to understand.