Hello! A Question About Land

[AliceEverdark]

Hello, my name is Alice. I was doing some research on buying a house and chose to browse the Mainland rather than deal with estates and rentals. I already have a house I want that is 35 X 44 meters, so I need a 2,048 sqm for $13 a month according to this little thing

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

But my question is if I become a premium member and sign up for a 2,048 sqm plot, how does that work? Does it just randomly give me a plot that's available or do I fly around and find a plot and still have to pay the cost for the land separately? I've been flying around for a while and can't really find an area for less than $50-60 for the size I need. Since my home already costs 40$, well I just kind of don't want to pay a hundred dollars for a house. So I'm hoping it gives me a plot of land to pick for my house and not have to pay the additional land purchase.

 

Thanks for any replies or any tips!

[Klytyna]

39 minutes ago, AliceEverdark said:

But my question is if I become a premium member and sign up for a 2,048 sqm plot, how does that work?

1. Sign up for Entitlement Club membership

2. Abandon the "free 512 LL house" if one is automatically assigned to you.

3. Search the Madlands for a 2048 plot you like.

4. You always have to pay a cost to 'own the land' and THEN pay tier on it depending on how much land you own, that's how "buying" Madlands parcels and Entitlement Club membership work. Pay a one time fee for the right to be charged tier every month...

4a. If the plot is 'abandoned' file a ticket to claim it which involves paying LL direct to buy it. or...

4b. If the plot is for auction, make a bid and hope you win, or...

4c. If the plot is owned by another resident, buy the plot from them.

5. Your Entitlement Club membership gives you a "tier free allowance" of 1024 sqm, so you'll only have to pay Tier on the other 1024 sqm.

 

Edited July 6, 2018 by Klytyna

[AliceEverdark]

2 minutes ago, Klytyna said:

1. Sign up for Entitlement Club membership

2. Abandon the "free 512 LL house" if one is automatically assigned to you.

3. Search the Madlands for a 2048 plot you like.

4. You always have to pay a cost to 'own the land' and THEN pay tier on it depending on how much land you own, that's how "buying" Madlands parcels and Entitlement Club membership work. Pay a one time fee for the right to be charged tier every month...

4a. If the plot is 'abandoned' file a ticket to claim it which involves paying LL direct to buy it. or...

4b. If the plot is for auction, make a bid and hope you win, or...

4c. If the plot is owned by another resident, buy the plot from them.

5. Your Entitlement Club membership gives you a "tier free allowance" of 1024 sqm, so you'll only have to pay Tier on the other 1024 sqm.

 

Oh wow, I didn't realize my question had so many answers but thank you for answering.

So if I'm understanding this right, you pick a tier to pay for the size of land you want (such as 13$ in this case) for the right to own a plot that size? Then you pay the land cost to finish it, if I choose to just buy land rather than do an auction or deal with abandoned plots.

[Klytyna]

4 minutes ago, AliceEverdark said:

So if I'm understanding this right, you pick a tier to pay for the size of land you want (such as 13$ in this case) for the right to own a plot that size? Then you pay the land cost to finish it, if I choose to just buy land rather than do an auction or deal with abandoned plots.

No...

You've searched the Madlands and found the perfect 2048 plot, squeezed in between a road and the coast, and the sign on it says...

"For Sale - 2048 Parcel, Protected Road Access, Protected Waterway Access, Adult Rated, only 3 sims by road from the Ruins of the Philip Linden Memorial Sports Complex. L$ 75,000. Sold by Klytyna LandFlippers Inc."

You put your hand in your pocket, pull out L$75k, right click on the land, and buy... Kerching, I am L$75k richer, and you "own" a 2048 plot.

Then, LL deduct your "free" 1024 allowance from the TOTAL amount of Madlands you "own", and depending on what's left THEY decide what Tier bracket you are n, and bill you accordingly.

It's important to note here that the Tier bracket you are in is based off the highest amount of Madlands you own and owe Tier on, during the month...

So if you bought a 2048 from somebody else, and then decided the one I was offering was nicer, and bought that, and THEN sold/abandoned the old 2048, LL would figure your Tier for the month as 4096 - free 1024, and you'd pay Tier at that rate for the whole month even though you only owned the two parcels for about 5 minutes.

Always sell off or abandon the old land BEFORE buying the new land.
 

[AliceEverdark]

4 minutes ago, Klytyna said:

No...

You've searched the Madlands and found the perfect 2048 plot, squeezed in between a road and the coast, and the sign on it says...

"For Sale - 2048 Parcel, Protected Road Access, Protected Waterway Access, Adult Rated, only 3 sims by road from the Ruins of the Philip Linden Memorial Sports Complex. L$ 75,000. Sold by Klytyna LandFlippers Inc."

You put your hand in your pocket, pull out L$75k, right click on the land, and buy... Kerching, I am L$75k richer, and you "own" a 2048 plot.

Then, LL deduct your "free" 1024 allowance from the TOTAL amount of Madlands you "own", and depending on what's left THEY decide what Tier bracket you are n, and bill you accordingly.

It's important to note here that the Tier bracket you are in is based off the highest amount of Madlands you own and owe Tier on, during the month...

So if you bought a 2048 from somebody else, and then decided the one I was offering was nicer, and bought that, and THEN sold/abandoned the old 2048, LL would figure your Tier for the month as 4096 - free 1024, and you'd pay Tier at that rate for the whole month even though you only owned the two parcels for about 5 minutes.

Always sell off or abandon the old land BEFORE buying the new land.
 

I'm sorry but this is really confusing.

So if it deducts the free 1024 allowance from the 2048 one, that means I'm paying 7$ a month rather than 13$?

 

Edited July 6, 2018 by AliceEverdark

[ellestones]

@Alice - yes that's correct. Total cost: Premium account fee + $7.00 a month

if you are planning to be around for 12 months or more then it's cheaper to have 2 Premium accounts for $72pa each.

1 account: $72 + (12 * $7) = $156pa. for 2048m tier and 300L per week stipend.

2 accounts: $72 * 2 = $144pa. for 2048m tier and 2 * 300L (600L) per week stipend

 

[AliceEverdark]

2 minutes ago, ellestones said:

@Alice - yes that's correct. Total cost: Premium account fee + $7.00 a month

if you are planning to be around for 12 months or more then it's cheaper to have 2 Premium accounts for $72pa each.

1 account: $72 + (12 * $7) = $156pa. for 2048m tier and 300L per week stipend.

2 accounts: $72 * 2 = $144pa. for 2048m tier and 2 * 300L (600L) per week stipend

 

Ah alright. I plan to stay for a long time yeah I don't know why i would need two accounts though this one serves me just fine o-o

I'm just not sure I want to spend about $100 in total just for a house on top of monthly fees to keep my house xP I might just go with the free house now instead, since I just really want a little place of my own. Thanks for your answers!

[ellestones]

1 minute ago, AliceEverdark said:

I might just go with the free house now instead, since I just really want a little place of my own.

is always a good way that. Start with a Linden Home and then when you get the hang of owning your own then go from there when you are comfortable to do so

[AliceEverdark]

Just now, ellestones said:

is always a good way that. Start with a Linden Home and then when you get the hang of owning your own then go from there when you are comfortable to do so

Hmhm. I can always buy the house I want later if I decide I really want to keep a home. It would just be nice to have my own place for when I need to change clothes/body types and invite my friends who don't have houses to stay x3

Thanks again <3

[ellestones]

Just now, AliceEverdark said:

Hmhm. I can always buy the house I want later if I decide I really want to keep a home. It would just be nice to have my own place for when I need to change clothes/body types and invite my friends who don't have houses to stay x3

Thanks again <3

a alternative to getting a Premium is to "rent" and see how you go. An advantage of renting is that you can move easily to another parcel as and when. Is a number of SL estate rental agencies which give you all the same rights as a mainland parcel owner. Probably the benchmark for no-frills estate parcel renting is here:  http://www.anshex.com/

[AliceEverdark]

1 minute ago, ellestones said:

a alternative to getting a Premium is to "rent" and see how you go. An advantage of renting is that you can move easily to another parcel as and when. Is a number of SL estate rental agencies which give you all the same rights as a mainland parcel owner. Probably the benchmark for no-frills estate parcel renting is here:  http://www.anshex.com/

Oh neat, I'll check it out tomorrow! Going to bed very soon, tired of browsing land plots for the past 3 hours @.@

[ellestones]

happy home hunting tomorrow and have a good sleep

[Phil Deakins]

You said you're not sure why two Premium accounts can be better, so I'll explain it.

A Premium account receives 300L each week, which is 15,600L a year. For that it can have 1024sqm of land tier-free. So the only additional cost is the cost of the land, which should be about 1L per sqm (1024L). 15,600L is the equivalent of approximately US$62. The annual cost of a Premium account is US$72, so the Premium account only costs approximately US$10 per year, but it does mean paying the US$72 up front.

With a second Premium account, everything is doubled. You get 2048sqm tier-free, which is what you want, and you get the equivalent of US$124 back through the year. So the cost of two Premium accounts is approximately US$20 per year, but you do have to put up the US$144 cost of the Premium accounts up front.

In both cases, you do have to buy the land from its current owner, who might be LL. If it is LL, it will cost you 1L per sqm (2048L), or less if you buy in the auction.

Having two Premium accounts doesn't get a quantity discount. What it does do is allow you to have the 2048sqm piece of land that you want free of tier. That's why is was suggested.

You said that you are planning to stay in SL for a long time, and you will no doubt want to spend L$ in SL. If you don't want to spend large amounts too soon, two Premuim accounts generate 600L a week income, and managing that can avoid the need to buy L$. Without the income, you will probably be spending US$ on L$ through the year anyway, but not all up front.

That's all information for your consideration, but I recommend initailly doing as has been suggested, and get one Premium account and use the Linden Home for a while, until you fully grasp it all. The Linden Homes are currently 512sqm, so, with one Premium account, you'd have a spare, unused, tier-free 512sqm to play with. With that, you could dip your toes into land, and buy a 512 plot just for the experience, and perhaps have a skybox on it, way up in the sky, as a secret hideaway

Edited July 6, 2018 by Phil Deakins

[Qie Niangao]

It sounds strange, coming from me of all people, but I'd actually consider renting right now while waiting to find out what the Lab has planned for Premium subscriptions. They claim they'll be adding different levels of membership, and maybe one of those will better match plans than the current, one-size-fits-all Premium membership.

Now, on the other hand, that may be the very worst possible advice. Instead the current Premium subscription may prove vastly superior to anything they offer going forward -- and one reason to think that may happen is that Ebbe is trying to shift the Lab's revenue from the Land product to other sources, presumably including Premium subscriptions, and if they'll be making more then we'll be paying more. So by that logic, you'd want to lock-in as many annual memberships as you could ever want.

So, umm... toss a coin, I guess?

[Theresa Tennyson]

4 hours ago, AliceEverdark said:

Hello, my name is Alice. I was doing some research on buying a house and chose to browse the Mainland rather than deal with estates and rentals. I already have a house I want that is 35 X 44 meters, so I need a 2,048 sqm for $13 a month according to this little thing

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

But my question is if I become a premium member and sign up for a 2,048 sqm plot, how does that work? Does it just randomly give me a plot that's available or do I fly around and find a plot and still have to pay the cost for the land separately? I've been flying around for a while and can't really find an area for less than $50-60 for the size I need. Since my home already costs 40$, well I just kind of don't want to pay a hundred dollars for a house. So I'm hoping it gives me a plot of land to pick for my house and not have to pay the additional land purchase.

 

Thanks for any replies or any tips!

Another thing that throws up a red flag for me is the "$40 [I assume US] for a house." That's way up in the high end for a SL house and, interestingly enough, that doesn't always mean quality. Many very good house builders sell for much less than that and some of the people who do charge that much made those houses years ago when they were state of the art but they're no longer that special and may be quite inefficient when it comes to land use.

I'd advise you to travel around more and learn more about what's available. Here's a very useful trick - when you see something like a house that interests you when you see it "in world", right click it and select "Object Profile." That will tell you information like the name of the object and the name of the "creator" who made it. Then you can usually look up information about that item on the Marketplace which will also tell you what it costs. You can do this for anything you see.

When it comes to buying land, go to the world map and put a check in the box next to "Land Sale". That will put a yellow highlight over the land that's for sale and tell you the size and price, and also tells you what it costs in L$ per square meter. A 2048 square meter lot for US$40-50 is in the L$5-L$6 per square meter range and you should only pay that much for land that's pretty special.

Edited July 6, 2018 by Theresa Tennyson

[Phil Deakins]

55 minutes ago, Qie Niangao said:

It sounds strange, coming from me of all people, but I'd actually consider renting right now while waiting to find out what the Lab has planned for Premium subscriptions. They claim they'll be adding different levels of membership, and maybe one of those will better match plans than the current, one-size-fits-all Premium membership.

That crossed my mind when I was writing my post, Qie, but I thought 2 things about it. One is that it could be a while before the new Premium levels come in, and the OP is looking to get set up now. The other is that LL doesn't tend to dump on users these days, so my guess is that those with Premium accounts when the new levels are intorduced won't be worse off than those who get new Premium levels. I could be wrong on both counts though.

Edited July 6, 2018 by Phil Deakins

[AliceEverdark]

10 hours ago, Theresa Tennyson said:

Another thing that throws up a red flag for me is the "$40 [I assume US] for a house." That's way up in the high end for a SL house and, interestingly enough, that doesn't always mean quality. Many very good house builders sell for much less than that and some of the people who do charge that much made those houses years ago when they were state of the art but they're no longer that special and may be quite inefficient when it comes to land use.

I'd advise you to travel around more and learn more about what's available. Here's a very useful trick - when you see something like a house that interests you when you see it "in world", right click it and select "Object Profile." That will tell you information like the name of the object and the name of the "creator" who made it. Then you can usually look up information about that item on the Marketplace which will also tell you what it costs. You can do this for anything you see.

When it comes to buying land, go to the world map and put a check in the box next to "Land Sale". That will put a yellow highlight over the land that's for sale and tell you the size and price, and also tells you what it costs in L$ per square meter. A 2048 square meter lot for US$40-50 is in the L$5-L$6 per square meter range and you should only pay that much for land that's pretty special.

The house I picked out came fully decorated with furniture and such so I figured it might save me money from having to buy all the furniture myself as well as the potential headache of figuring out how to place furniture xP But that's also prolly why it costs so much compared to others I looked at that were less than 1000 L$ but had no furniture. Still, it's sounding like a lot better of an option right now lol

I'll have to try that out when I go land hunting again. I spent 3 hours yesterday looking at every single plot of land that was at least 1024. Unfortunately there wasn't a single plot on that continent at 2048 for less than 9,177 L$ that i found before bed, which is roughly 35$. So I'll try another continent today. I may also just change houses or whatever, I'm still thinking about all this. I only wanted the 40$ house I found because I liked the theme but mostly because it cme fully furnished >> Also I only need a 2048 if I want it's background stuff (I'm sorry I don't know the technical names here) activated otherwise I might be able to get away with a cheaper 1024. Either way I have a lot of options here lol I don't care where my house goes I just want a cheap plot to throw it in or I guess a cheaper house/no furniture if I can't find a cheap plot xP

Auctions might be a way to get a cheaper plot too, though I'm going to be working on figuring out how to do auctions today.

 

@Phil Deakins

I see what you mean, that does sound pretty nice. In the future I will consider it even if I chose a cheaper option for now x3 That's a lot of nice weekly L$. I like to shop though so I can't promise anything, I spent 30$ worth of L$ in the last two weeks on clothes xP

[Phil Deakins]

@AliceEverdark You're doing it all exactly right, by spending time asking, looking, researching, and considering the options. Whatever you decide to do in the immdiate future will probably change over time anyway, but that's ok. We (landowners) all changed our land over time, as we changed what we wanted to do with it, and as we changed the sort of place/area type that we wanted to live in.

I recently added a second premium account when LL doubled the tier-free allowance from 512 to 1024, just because I considerd an extra US$10 (approximately) a year to be so cheap for the extra tier-free land. The second premium account isn't touching the 300L a week it receives, so at the end of 12 months, I'll convert it to US$. Over the years I've been in SL, my land has gone from the smallest, up to a whole sim, and back down again - all bit by bit, as I changed what I was doing. The point is that what you decide now doesn't have to last you for years to come. You can chop and change at any time.

[Qie Niangao]

12 hours ago, AliceEverdark said:

Auctions might be a way to get a cheaper plot too, though I'm going to be working on figuring out how to do auctions today.

Just FYI, auctions are kind of a pain right now, and soon to change pretty dramatically, including eventually a facility for private sellers to list their land for auction.

Not that you need more opinions about this house, but I think it's a pretty universal experience that any house you get (or make) you'll soon enough want to replace -- and that drive to replace stuff is even stronger for furnishings inside the house. If money is no object, then getting a nice "starter set" may help get up and running quickly, so the furnished prefab may be worthwhile, but to avoid disappointment just expect to throw it all out, piece by piece, over (a relatively short?) time.

The thing about Mainland you buy is that, even when you "graduate" from one parcel to something better, the one you're leaving behind will likely retain at least some resale value. It's not like a real estate investment or anything, but you don't have to abandon it for nothing (and that pending private-parcel auction thing will make that option easier). That's why I've always spent much more on land than on anything I'd rez on it.

[Syo Emerald]

13 hours ago, AliceEverdark said:

The house I picked out came fully decorated with furniture and such so I figured it might save me money from having to buy all the furniture myself as well as the potential headache of figuring out how to place furniture xP But that's also prolly why it costs so much compared to others I looked at that were less than 1000 L$ but had no furniture. Still, it's sounding like a lot better of an option right now lol

Placing furniture is not that difficult and if you ever want to have your own style and own choice of living, its something you will need to learn. And while furnishing a whole house can get a bit pricy, its a one time payment and you own those things. I would value the option of choice alone a lot...but then again I love to decorate and furnish.

[Alwin Alcott]

4 hours ago, Syo Emerald said:

Placing furniture is not that difficult and if you ever want to have your own style and own choice of living, its something you will need to learn. And while furnishing a whole house can get a bit pricy, its a one time payment and you own those things. I would value the option of choice alone a lot...but then again I love to decorate and furnish.

ánd don't forget the horrible old animations that are mostly in those pre- styled homes, those were often already freebies in my young days very few have up to date scripting and poses.

[AliceEverdark]

@Phil Deakins

Oh lord! Well it's true I like to change and have new things so I prolly will change my home over time too xP I spent 30$ in the last week or two, as I just got back into SL in about that time, to get new clothes for my avatar. But while searching for a new house I also randomly, but highly interesting things during that search and now I want to redo my avatar again lol also wow a whole SIM? I would love to own  whole SIM but that one would be too much for me x3

At the moment, thanks to auctions, I'll have a land plot and a new house I picked out for a total of 10-15$ depending on whichever plot I get. I have a vacation coming up so I shouldn't spend too much, so I went to find a non-furnished home I liked.

 

@Qie Niangao

Is it? I got two winning auctions atm for really cheap x3 Going to sell whichever plot I don't get. Also the more I thought about it last night as I browsed more plots/houses the more you're right. So I decided to go for a non-furnished house because I just KNOW I'll be renovating my home overtime, or changing styles, or ect... thinking it might be cheaper in the long run to have  furniture I can take and go as I please from house to house x3

 

@Syo Emerald

Yeah I watched a friend do it, it looked pretty simple so I have more confidence in the idea of buying my own furniture. I love to decorate and furnish too though so I know I'll be buying a lot of decor regardless of what kind of house I get x3

 

Edit:

A Side question... is there anyway to see the dimensions of the plot? I have a 850 L$ home I really like picked out as the top of my current list but it's dimensions are 45x45x15. Unlike others I looked at, this one doesn't have a link to view it in world. Just worried it won't fit in a 2048 plot considering 45x45 is pretty square the 2 plots I'm bidding on are both more rectangular. For reference it's this home

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/NEW-LoF-SPACE-STATION-POLARITY-SALE-75/6996057

 

Also thanks for all the tips everyone!

Edited July 7, 2018 by AliceEverdark

[Phil Deakins]

24 minutes ago, AliceEverdark said:

is there anyway to see the dimensions of the plot?

You can TP to an auction plot from its page in the auction.

A 512sqm plot measures 32X16. Most 1024s measure 32x32. A 2048 could be 32x64 or somewhere in between. The best way to see a plot in the auction is set your options to View > Land Owners. On the ground, land that's for sale is yellow, but land that's in the auction is purple.

[Chic Aeon]

Very long thread and I just read though VERY quickly so this may have been noted (Phil hinted at it above).

The house mentioned will NOT fit on a 2048 as it is 35 meters WIDE and almost all 2048s will be 32 meters wide.  So the OP would need a 4096 (64 x 64) assuming they didn't find someone to make a less than standard size parcel.

 

Also, along with some suggestions I glimpsed, it might be good to RENT first. That is a big house and will take lots of furniture to fill and so that cost needs to be factored in. 

Just adding some practical stuff to the thread in case it was missing it LOL

 

[LittleMe Jewell]

Another option - bounce around the mainland, either via random TP or flying, and look for plots that have 'Abandoned' in their description/name (shown at the top of your viewer).  If you are a Premium member, you can put in a request for LL to sell you an Abandoned plot - or cut out the size you want and sell you that.  They will typically sell it for L$1 per sqm, so L$2048 for a 2048 sqm plot.  If you want a piece cut out, you will need to give them the exact coordinates -- i.e. Sim ABCD location 33 to 64 (south to north) and 0 to 64 (west to east).  That would be a 32x64 parcel resulting in a total size of 2048.

ETA - I think I got those numbers correct. Wrote this quickly as I'm heading off somewhere.

Edited July 7, 2018 by LittleMe Jewell