'Protected water' - but is it really? Check carefully!

[Yukari Kimagawa]

It's important to carefully check that everything the seller tells you about their land is true.  This is especially so when the seller claims their land is on 'protected water'.  The number of times I have looked at a parcel offered under this description only to find that the water is definitely not protected water at all is...  not small      Go off into all the land and water surrounding the parcel you are interested in, and check the ownership. 

Even if neighbouring water is entitled 'protected water', have a look and see who owns it.  If it is not a Linden entity such as Governor Linden, or Linden Department of Public Works, it is not likely to be forever-guaranteed REAL protected water.  Sometimes a landowner will set up an estate-like area on Mainland and, with the best intentions, they will define channels leading to 'real' protected water using that same name, and landowners buying land on their channels will be able to use them for navigation;  but that arrangement is only good for as long as the landowner maintains the arrangement, which he is free to change at any time.  If the land you want to buy is priced accordingly, you may still be happy to buy and take the risk, and won't lose too much if the access channel closes in the future.  But beware of paying a premium price for land on 'private' so-called protected water.

Even worse are those who label their land as 'protected water' when all of the water around is completely privately owned, with no intention to provide access for other landowners at all.  In some cases you may be able to sail across such water, but there is never a guarantee.

This may seem obvious to experienced land buyers, but when I started buying land I was initially shocked by some of the misleading descriptions I found.  It is definitely a small minority of sellers who do such things, but it only takes one transaction with such a seller to dash your hopes of that dreamy water parcel you always wanted.

 

[Cecilia Dallas]

Agree. I've been scammed before when I was a newbie and assumed that open water canal to the larger sailing area was going to stay that way. I bought a small parcel, and even made sure i made my little island and cottage narrow enough that two other owners cold sail past. Within 2 weeks that canal had also been bought and the guy blocked it up and put ban lines up. Three of us now could not sail out. I'm very super wary of buying parcels now on good sailing areas without checking the surrounding parcels thoroughly. Not Linden, I won't buy.

[K9Mark]

It's the same with Protected Roadside plots. Buyers should always check the land properly before they buy because there are so many plots claiming to be Protected Roadside when they're not.

[Yukari Kimagawa]

9 hours ago, K9Mark said:

It's the same with Protected Roadside plots.

Oh, is that so?  I guess the scammers are everywhere      So far I am lucky enough to not have seen one of those, but I know you do land business all over, you will see all the dirty tricks there are.  I'm always happy to see some of the land sellers committed to doing the right thing across the Mainland, so keep up the good work   

[Abnor Mole]

On a related note, many people are under the impression that land adjacent to a void on the grid (an area with no region at all) is "protected". It is not. The Lab may decide to place a region there at some point, so those "open water views" are not guaranteed. It may not be likely (especially on mainland), but it is possible. We most often run into this situation when we bring up new regions in Bellisseria and people are shocked to find their house by the "sea" is no longer beachfront. 😣

Edited December 21, 2021 by Abnor Mole

[Sylvia Tamalyn]

14 hours ago, Yukari Kimagawa said:

Oh, is that so?  I guess the scammers are everywhere      So far I am lucky enough to not have seen one of those, but I know you do land business all over, you will see all the dirty tricks there are.  I'm always happy to see some of the land sellers committed to doing the right thing across the Mainland, so keep up the good work   

I suspect some of it is sheer ignorance and not evil intent, though of course there are sleazy land sellers out there. Inexperienced folks who decide to get into the business of buying and selling land (no doubt with dreams of getting rich) don't always take the time to learn things like what the various terms mean, so they wind up using misleading sales descriptions. 

[davidventer]

On 12/20/2021 at 5:06 PM, K9Mark said:

It's the same with Protected Roadside plots. Buyers should always check the land properly before they buy because there are so many plots claiming to be Protected Roadside when they're not.

Yeah, what frustrates me is when searching for "roadside" land for sale. Seeing sales listings with "roadside" in the title, but then the parcel is on the opposite end of the region, far away from the road. If you sell mainland, please stop labeling your properties "roadside" if they're not right next to the road. Even having a 512sqm parcel between your "for sale" parcel and the road is NOT roadside. Roadside literally means; on the side of the road, like, parcel border touching the road, with nothing in between the parcel and the road. Pull up land search and you'll see there are way too many properties for sale that claim to be roadside but they're NOT.

Related: I wish the Lindens would create new mainland regions (or update some of the vast open spaces on the existing mainland - Can I do that? Where do I apply to become a mole?), themed with roads, parks and foliage, like Bellisseria, but with different sized empty parcels for sale rather than the pre-made houses. Like, give us roads and other infrastructure between parcels. The mainland doesn't have enough of that. One road circling an entire continent is not enough. I dream of owning a lovely mainland parcel with protected roads surrounding it - kind of like Bay City. Make all new/future mainland continents like that. I would've totally purchased some Bay City land if it weren't ridiculously overpriced due to its rarity. Having more of mainland themed like that would level the playing field, bring down those ridiculous properly prices, and maybe even make more people consider mainland parcels. The only time I would ever consider buying a parcel is if it's connected to protected infrastructure.

Edited December 21, 2021 by davidventer

[Yukari Kimagawa]

9 hours ago, Abnor Mole said:

under the impression that land adjacent to a void on the grid (an area with no region at all) is "protected". It is not.

I was tempted my some land on the north coast of Sido which faces such a void, but wasn't totally comfortable the view would be 'forever'...  though in reality it probably will be.  If it had been an easterly or westerly view, I might have yielded to the temptation.

I have to admit that my motive for this comment was also partly that I could quote @Abnor Mole - OMG I am such a fan of the LDPW Moles  *giggle*

1 hour ago, davidventer said:

please stop labeling your properties "roadside" if they're not right next to the road

I so agree with you, David.  But as Sylvia has said above, in some cases it may be ignorance.  In the end, I always have a huge swig of 'buyer beware' juice before inspecting land to buy.

[Coffee Pancake]

10 hours ago, Abnor Mole said:

On a related note, many people are under the impression that land adjacent to a void on the grid (an area with no region at all) is "protected". It is not. The Lab may decide to place a region there at some point, so those "open water views" are not guaranteed. It may not be likely (especially on mainland), but it is possible. We most often run into this situation when we bring up new regions in Bellisseria and people are shocked to find their house by the "sea" is no longer beachfront. 😣

If the lab ever get the urge to add new mainland, can you get them to start by filling the voids next to Lusk?

[Alexis Crisp]

On 12/21/2021 at 12:10 PM, Coffee Pancake said:

If the lab ever get the urge to add new mainland, can you get them to start by filling the voids next to Lusk?

Would LOVE to see this... it would be quite beautiful I think.

[Aethelwine]

My first waterside parcel was a narrow little strip of land advertised with protected waterway access to the Blake Sea. It seemed very reasonably priced for what it was, just 100 prims free but enough to put my Loonetta down and build a little pier with a hut on it place a deck chair and a coffee pot on a stove. I was made up until I tried to navigate out along the passage to the sea.

The narrow strip of protected land curves awkwardly and leads straight to a region corner crossing with about 5m spare either side. Banlines along the route and not knowing then about Third party viewers being able to show the passage to follow, meant that it was taking 3 or more attempts each time to reach the open water so frustratingly close. I got a huge sense of achievement when I finally made it to the Blake Sea and proved what it was advertised as was possible, the journey and route I took felt epic even if I was maybe no more than 20 regions away. It was a great introduction, but it was also a lesson learned.... even if your parcel does have protected waterway.... it doesn't mean it will be easy to use it. Always check what you are buying in world and if you are wanting to use the protected waterway or road carefully consider how easy it will be to use if the neighbours put up banlines or security. What might be an easy route now might be treacherous in a weeks time when the owner of the parcel next to the corner puts up their banlines.

I abandoned the land when I found somewhere with more direct access. I learnt the hard way that not all protected access is the same and what you might think is a bargain might be overpriced for what it is.