A home of your own (renting in SL)

For six years I was a landlord in SecondLife, in fact I think I only ever rented homes/land for myself for about 3 months, then bought land and the rest is my SL history. Renting your own place is a big draw for a lot of people, a place to log into, a place to decorate, to hang out in with friends or lovers. Home rentals is a big market in Second Life, and the choices almost limitless! It can seem a bit overwhelming though , for new residents – they are encouraged to go “premium” by Linden Lab to own a home. However, you don’t need to go premium at all to get a space of your own. There are plenty of landlords in Second Life that offer all sorts of places for you to settle right into. I sent a trusted friend off with a small amount of cash, with instructions to rent a place and decorate it as cheaply and prettily as possible. I was pretty amazed actually that she found this gorgeous houseboat on day one. Its set in a realistic marina, with open access to the sea and a dock for your own boat. All for the tiny rent of 200L per week with 150 prims tossed in ! If you utilise the classifieds search function and type in something like “rental home”, a list as long as your arm will pop up for you to ponder. If you want more privacy than a land based home offers, check out the “sky homes”. Teleport over and take a peek at the homes, you’ll be able to go inside and inspect before paying rent. It’s important to also be a “good tenant” – this means paying your rent on time (the rent box should be outside the property and will probably also show you how much time you have left). If you’re unsure how many prims you have out, ASK your landlord to check for you – it’s a simple thing for them to do, they might even have a prim counter inside your home or on your rent box – so ask them ! You should be offered a group to join – this is IMPORTANT – if you’re not in the rental group you wont be able to rez any of your objects or set your space as your “home location” – so make sure you’ve got it ! If the invite didn’t come through, ask your landlord for it again.

Back to the houseboat, its pretty spacious and sooper adorable. I was gobsmacked at the decor that had been found. A lot from gacha yardsales, which are a really handy source of low cost items for your home. As each new round of gacha events ends, the prices do seem to drop (unless it’s a rare item). Some items were from the market place and are mostly dollarbies. (all info below) Above is a selection of items – drainer from persnickety 25L – Tray table from Cleo Designs 20l – 1 prim cupcake that gives out wearable cakes is free – Paris screen behind is one prim and only 50L , I especially liked the mesh “Barbary Coast Freight Cart Coffee Table” that she found at Lok’s – 1 prim  and SO stylish for 49L only ! The sweet votive was from Grimalkin and a gacha item for just 25L – the vase of lilacs another bargain from Cleo Designs at 40L .

One of my favourite finds she made was this dollarbie bench by *WS* on the market place, 5 prims with couples and singles animations, you get two versions, white or dark wood.

Biggest purchase was at Kusshon, but it really seems to steal the show inside the boathouse’s living space. The “coffee hour” set is a winner if your short on space , touch controlled for three wood colours, coffee machine built right in and two scrummy stools with male & female poses. You also get a couple of decor items to scatter around included. Low Li and at 240L, it really wont break the bank. All the other decorative bits n bobs were gacha yard sale purchases from 10L – 25L, seriously you need to get yardsaling ! Ohhh almost forgot – the retro telephone is from The Mustard Seed, its 30L and one prim – great buy.

This fantastico patio set was a market place treat by Tidbits, a dollarbie ! Lovely poses and the whole set comes in at 11 Li.

There was this adorable group gift from Dench Designs too, a bunny hutch ! Its got bunnies inside  (static) The bunny outside the pen is animated, for 30L you too can have your own hoppy skippy  bunneh. Group is free to join btw. The upper deck of the boathouse seems to be a perfect place for it, always makes a place more homely with pets . I think the hutch is 6Li, but you’d have to check to be sure !

Speaking of pets, check out this gorgeous Bassett Hound doggy ! He is only 1 prim ! He has a sound menu, meaning he woofs and sniffs, you can alter the amount of noises and volume handy ! A real bargain at only 30L, the food & water bowls are 15L each. No laggy scripts involved, your landlord will adore you *wink*, he can be found at Dench Designs, lurking outside in the garden area.

Pro – tips for renting a home from a private landlord:

1) Pay for one week at a time – you stand to lose little if you decide it’s not what you want, or you don’t like the neighbours!

2) Check the prim allowance and stick to it. Ask about a prim counter, if you need extra prims ASK before using them and see what it will cost.

3) If you like more privacy check out sky homes.

4) If you own pets/babies etc, make sure they are permitted in your home. Some landlords have rules regarding leaving them animated while you’re not there – as they can cause lag and spoil the experience for other residents.

5) If you would like a television or media set up – talk to your landlord about “deeding” and permissions.

The Boathouse rental: Emmons-Key Marina – both Player and I have been to take a look around and I have to say – we LOVED it! Plenty of space, incredibly inexpensive to rent and a shedload of prims included. The access to water to sail on is a BIG bonus.

Gacha yardsale list at Seraphim – Look at the tabs at the top of the homepage and choose “yardsales” – literally ooodles of them to choose from, some only cover The Arcade, but plenty cover ALL gacha events. Great pickings for cheap cheap cheap decor items for your space !

Seraphim

Decor info:

az 1 prim cupcake free !

az plates free!

HCC “go away” doormat dollarbie !

WS animated bench dollarbie! 

Patio set dollarbie !

Dench Designs

Cleo Designs

Lok’s

Kusshon

Persnickity