Some help on lands and houses?

[sushichii]

I've been playing SL for some years now and i want my own property/home. I don't have so much money to spend on monthly subscription every month, so I was wondering if I'm able to get a home/land without paying real money for it and monthly/weekly fee. Is there a way to get a membership once and get a permanent home on my own name and be in full control of it? Or every home/land has to have a monthly fee? If someone could explain it to me i would be very grateful. I've read so many posts and i cant seem to understand it :((( 

~ Sushi <3

[Claireschen Hesten]

Unless you have a generous friend or find the right community there's no way of having a home/land with out coughing up RL money or L$. If you can make money inworld you can get land or homes to rent cheaply. If you want more security of tenancy and guaranteed full control of your property you need a premium account.

The Cheapest way of being premium is to pay annually it costs $99 (£74) a year. Amongst a Linden home or up to 1024sqm tier free land and other benefits. You get L$300 stipend a week plus a one off L$1000 bonus after you have been premium approx 60 consecutive days, I seem to remember there was an additional small L$ bonus for using PayPal but that was ten years ago. The amount of L$ you receive brings down the net cost of premium.

If you want to downgrade premium you will have to get rid of any land you have, all your other premium benefits except Linden home/mainland ownership will be retained until it expires

[BJoyful]

You are at a very exciting time in your SL!   Woot!

You  can purchase a Premium Membership and have your own 1024 m2 parcel for no extra fee.  You can have a Premium Member home in Bellisseria which has an extra benefit of having a house without the building counting against your 351 LI.  It does have a Covenant which are basic good neighbour rules and a great start to living in a Community.  I highly recommend this as your first home! If you decide you want something different, you simply pack up your things and open About Land and Abandon.  Your 1024 m2 and 351 LI are yours to use on Mainland anywhere.  

You can purchase a 1024 parcel on Mainland for an initial purchase price and then it’s all yours with no rules or Covenant as long as you keep your Premium Membership!  You also get a stipend of L$300 per week each Tuesday for being a Premium Member.

Lots of people will offer advice for decorating in that 351 LI budget to help you make the most of it and have a great time in SL as a new Landowner.  There is a very helpful group called Bellisseria Citizens which will help with anything and everything about the Premium Homes and much of that advice will be very helpful for you to use on Mainland also.

Have fun and Enjoy SL 💕

[So Whimsy]

Land always has a monthly fee attached whether you pay that directly to LL or a landlord.

You do get a free 1024sqm home with a premium membership but that again means you have to pay for premium each month to keep it.

There is no such thing as free land.

[Jolly Nova]

Hi! 

I don't know of a way to have land for free sadly, unless you can crash at a friend's house. I pay my premium yearly, ($99) and after the math is done I save $45 USD alone by getting it yearly rather than $11.99 monthly. If you add up the weekly stipend during that year it's 15,600L (About) and with the current exchange rate, it would cost about $70 USD to purchase that much. So just those two things alone, premium really adds up to something that you get a lot of benefits out of. Plus you get a free 1024m land allotment, which means you can either buy mainland within that range, or you can select a Linden Home which has a home on the property that doesn't count against your land impact (prims) There's quite a few themes to choose from and there's still more they haven't released. Something important though, you have to have premium in order to own mainland. (dunno why) 

Anyway, in a round about way you get your money back from paying premium. the yearly fee is $99 and it seems crazy high I know but you get the most bang for your buck that way. 

Something to note though about getting a Linden home, you mostly have all rights to your land, the one thing you can't do is terraform. If you're really into breedables you can only have two per home, and they prefer you to use your linden home security orb that comes with the house via the mailbox. The neighborhoods are themed which I find nice as you're far less likely to end up with interesting neighbors who uh... are either trolls or just don't know how to decorate and if you do, you can report them as long as it means they broke the rules. If you get a Linden home please read the covenant, most people don't and that can lead to a Linden or Mole showing up at your house askin about something you've placed or done. 

I probably left some info out. Jelly Brains! I'm on a super tight budget and have to save for a while when I know my premium is coming up, so I understand! (A year ago I didn't have ANY income and just looked at all the premium homes and cried lol)

Edited August 18, 2021 by Jolly Nova

[Rabid Cheetah]

Lot's of us are on tight budgets, so I understand your situation.  You need to figure out how much you can afford each month, examine what you can get for that amount, and cross-reference this to how much joy you think you'll get of out implementing each option.  Only you can figure these things out, as it varies from person to person.  Here are your options:

• Rent a place:  Most likely the cheapest option that will give you a somewhat stable home.  Check the prices on rentals, see if they come with a home or if you'll need to buy or build your own, and how long the landlord has been renting.  The disadvantage of renting is that you have no idea or control over the landlord suddenly selling or abandoning their land, which would mean you no longer have a home.  Also, most landlords use an automated system for rent collection.  These systems will boot you off the land and return all your stuff if you are late with the rent.  A grace period is often given, but it's usually only for a few days.  If your access to the internet or whatever goes down for a while at the wrong time of the month, you could be out of a home.  Owning land of your own doesn't have these disadvantages -- Linden gives a 30 day grace period for late fees.
• Go premium:  This costs about twelve bucks a month, or even a lower monthly cost if you can afford to shell out a hundred bucks all at once for an annual subscription.  Being premium will give you the advantage of being able to own land.  Note that in addition to your premium membership fees, you'll also have to pay a fee based on the amount of land you own.  This is what folks mean by "tier", as the fees are structured similar to income tax brackets.  The more land you own, the more it will cost you.  The good news is that if you keep your land ownership at 1024 square meters or less, you won't pay a tier fee, as Linden subtracts 1024 from any land you own before determining your tier.  You'll have a one-time cost for any land you purchase, or you could get free land with a home already on it if you get a Linden Home.  I suggest you go to the Linden Homes thread for advice on the pros and cons of Linden Home ownership.
• Rent from a friend:  You might be able to make some sort of an arrangement with a friend if they've got some land they can spare.  This could be lower cost than a traditional rental, perhaps even free, and you won't have to worry about a rental robot kicking you out.
• Squat:  Find a spot that has full build rights and zero auto-return of objects, either for the general public or only for their group, provided that the group is open for anyone to join.  Some places don't mind at all if you do this, some places are specifically designed for this (though they're rare to find), and some places will get rather irate at freeloaders on their land.  Realize that your home could go *poof*  at any moment if the policies change, and you could even get banned from a parcel if they are of the more angry type when dealing with squatters.
• Don't get a home:  You don't need a home to enjoy Second Life.  There's plenty of exploring and socializing that can be done for free.  Only you can determine if that's enough fun to satiate you, or if you think the joy of having a virtual home would be worth the cost.

Either way, you've got some thinking and research to do to help you come to a decision.  Best of luck to you!  🙂

Edited August 18, 2021 by Rabid Cheetah

[Leora Greenwood]

To sort of expand on Rabid's last two points, there are many old and new organizations within Second Life that offer unpacking areas, sandboxes, and dressing areas for free.  I am listing a few below.  Remember that it is generally polite to join the group associated with the space.

The Bare Rose Women's Dressing Rooms:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Black Cat/211/109/28  (I used these for years; there is a men's dressing room too somewhere.)

New Citizens Help, Freebies, and Dressing Rooms:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Fishermans Cove/62/179/25  (A terrific group that I relied on for years.)

Free Dove Freebies and Dressing Rooms:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gallii/108/71/33  

Builders Brewery generally has some great and private dressing rooms too but it looks like they are doing some reconstruction and I did not see the rooms when I checked just now.  Also, Graylady Gardens had all sorts of areas.  It can be a lot of fun to wander around and find which group is new and has places to share.  😃

[Maitimo]

On 8/18/2021 at 11:07 AM, sushichii said:

I've been playing SL for some years now and i want my own property/home. I don't have so much money to spend on monthly subscription every month, so I was wondering if I'm able to get a home/land without paying real money for it and monthly/weekly fee. Is there a way to get a membership once and get a permanent home on my own name and be in full control of it? Or every home/land has to have a monthly fee? If someone could explain it to me i would be very grateful. I've read so many posts and i cant seem to understand it :((( 

~ Sushi <3

Every home, whether rented or purchased, will have a monthly fee (or yearly, as an option for premium accounts).

The only option for a totally free home is to find a friend who is willing to let you live on their land for free.  But in that case it's highly unlikely that you would get rights to control the land; it would still be in your friend's name.

[sushichii]

Where do I find friends like that? D:

 (In general lmao)