This article answers some frequently asked questions about purchasing Estates and Private Regions.
How much does an Estate cost?
- An initial US$1,675 setup charge to create the Estate.
When the Estate is ordered you will be billed that initial setup fee on the credit card listed on your account. - A monthly charge of US$295 per month in land fees.
Every month
(on the same day -- usually the anniversary of the delivery date),
you'll be billed this monthly fee for the coming month's use of the
Estate.
Can I buy as many Estates as I want?
Yes!
Can I transfer/sell my Estate to a new owner?
Yes. Our current policy is that the monthly fee stays at the
current rate, even when the Estate is transferred. Should we change
this policy, we will announce it in the blog. For more information see our article on Estate Transfers.
What if my funding source (credit card or Paypal) is declined?
Ouch! This is something to avoid. If your charge is declined for an
Estate fee (initial set up or monthly maintenance), your Estate will be
disabled until payment is made. We're sorry, but we can't refund you
for lost time if your Estate is disabled for nonpayment.
Can I pay that initial US$1,675 through some other means?
If you have a US$
credit on your account (see your account page on the Second Life
website for an up-to-date balance), we will use this money first of all
unless instructed otherwise. Anything that cannot be covered by your US$ credit will be billed through the payment source listed on your Second Life account.
Can someone else split the cost with me?
Sorry, no. At this time we can only bill one resident for the full
amount -- that resident is considered the Estate owner. It's not
possible to bill multiple residents for an Estate.
Can I pay for an Estate for someone else?
Yes you can. An Estate can have a payor who is a different person
than the owner. When this is done, we consider the payor to be the
rightful owner of the Estate, and that person has the right to do as
they wish with it. The owner gains the controls they need to run the
Estate, but although listed as owner, they do not have the right to
sell or transfer it.
In any conflict of views between owner and payor, it is the payor
that has ultimate control -- even down to removing the owner entirely
if they wish.
If you are interested in purchasing an Estate for someone else, please submit a Support ticket.
How does this affect my mainland land use fees?
The good news is, it doesn't! Estate ownership and billing is
completely separate from land use fees. Even if you own an Estate, your
land use fees will bill on the same day of the month, for the same
amount (based on how much land you've owned on the mainland).
Conversely, your Estate bills the same -- US$295 per month, whether
you own land on the mainland or not. Basically, you pay land use fees
for mainland property, and you pay Estate fees for any Estates owned.
Will I need to "tier up" to own an Estate?
This is another advantage to Estate living. Since Estate ownership
is separate from land use fees and "tiers", you don't need to alter
your land use fee tier to purchase an Estate (hooray!). Owning an
Estate will not change your current land use fee tier; Estate fees and
mainland land use fees will bill separately.
In addition, when deeding Estate land to a group --
because Estates do not use tier, that group will not need tier
contributions from its members to hold Estate land in this way.
What happens if I sell my land on the mainland and switch to an Estate?
Since you owned land on the mainland, you'll be billed land use fees
normally, on whatever date your land use fees are normally due.
Please note: Second Life bills for "peak usage", so selling land
means you still pay land use fees for it on your next bill date - even
if you only owned it for 5 minutes of the first day of the billing
cycle.
Your Estate will bill its setup fee and monthly fees normally. So,
if you sell all of your mainland property and purchase an Estate,
you'll be charged one last land use fee (for peak usage), your Estate
setup fee, and monthly Estate fees from then on.
Are there any discounts for owning multiple Estates?
Nope.. Each Estate you order costs US$1,675 to set up and US$295 per month.
For more information on the November 2006 Estate billing change, please see the Estate Price Increase FAQ.
