What is Needed to Live in a Neighborhood?


There are three main things you'll need in order to move into a neighborhood:

  • A neighborhood Lot (or enough tbux to purchase a neighborhood lot).
  • A neighborhood you've been approved to move into.
  • Enough tbux to cover your first month's rent.
  • The ability to read and follow directions, specifically the hood's rules.

First, you'll need to purchase a Neighborhood Lot (a.k.a. "Lot") and you'll need to be approved to move into a neighborhood in order to drop the Lot there.  Please note that a Lot does not contain a house, deck, or any other item in it; you are merely purchasing the boundaries used for "roping off" your chosen spot.  There is a one-time fee for the purchase price of a Lot, and the Lot is yours to keep forever unless you sell or trade it.  You can usually find very inexpensive Lots by shopping for them via Auctions instead of Shop Central, as Shop Central lists them at full price. 


You do not lose ownership of your Lot when putting it down in any Neighborhood or when moving it to another neighborhood, nor does the Lot charge you rent if it has not yet been dropped into a hood.  You only pay rent once it leaves your inventory by being dropped or placed in-world; doing a Preview Drop Location does not cost you any rent!  Besides that, any associated rental costs should pop up on your message bar and ask for verification before charging you the amount specified.


The best way to explain a Lot is to compare it to a real life vehicle you own; once you've paid for it, it's yours to keep until you sell or trade it.  The Neighborhood Zone (a.k.a. "Hood") is like a parking garage; you can park your vehicle in the garage for as long as you like (as long as you're not evicted), but you will be charged for your occupation of that spot for 30 days, and every 30 days thereafter.



What are the Benefits of Living in a Neighborhood versus a PAZ?


The following are a list of features and options available to Lot Renters in a Neighborhood; these features are NOT available to PAZ renters:

  • Privacy Settings (Control who enters your Lot - everyone except your ignores, only friends, no one but yourself, etc.)
  • Event Hosting (host an event in your Lot, allow others to cohost with you, allow others to host their own event within your Lot, etc.)
  • Permission Settings  (Choose to enable or disable paintguns, driving, and other options within your Lot)
  • Monthly Lot rent is cheaper than monthly PAZ rent.  Compare a one-acre with 50-drops:  Lot rent per month is 24,000T; PAZ rent per month used is 24,480T.
  • Other features that may be available, pending your neighborhood is the ability to host events in community Lots within the hood, and the additional layer of privacy and permissions allowed around your Lot through the hood's settings.



How Long is a Rent Cycle?  What is the Length of a Rental Period?


A Lot's rental period consists of 30 consecutive days, which is automatically renewed every 30 days unless you Relinquish it.  There.com deducts the rent from your tbux balance on the first day of the rental period and holds onto it for 30 days, much like your real life landlord does.  When the next rent cycle is due, There.com will automatically attempt to remove the cost of rent from your balance.  You do not need to be online for this to occur; you just need to have the lot placed within the hood and have enough tbux available to cover the rent.  Note that this rent amount is not available/accessible to the hood owner until after the end of each 30-day rental period.  



How Much is the Lot Rent?


The rent amount for Lots is a fixed price set by There.com, based on the size of the lot and the amount of drops (objects) that it allows.  You can find this information in There's Help section or in the Shop Central, but for your convenience, we have posted it below.  The USD/Dollar rates shown below are based on There's conversion rate of 1,800T = $1.00.  You can often find a better deal (2,000T - 2,100T) through third party tbux dealers, some of which have been posted in our Links of Interest page for your convenience.

 

  • 110×110/100 (3 acre, 100 drops) = 78,000T / $43.33
  • 90×90/100 (2 acre, 100 drops) = 72,000T / $40.00
  • 90×90/50 (2 acre, 50 drops) = 36,000T / $20.00
  • 64×64/100 (1 acre, 100 drops) = 48,000T / $26.66
  • 64×64/50 (1 acre, 50 drops) = 24,000T / $13.33
  • 45×45/30 (1/2 acre, 30 drops) = 15,000T / $8.33
  • 32×32/20 (1/4 acre, 20 drops) = 9,000T / $5.00
  • 16×16/10 (1/16 acre, 10 drops) = 4,500T / $2.50


How does the Free Lots or Rental Discount "Move-In" Deals Work?


The rental prices quoted above is the amount that There removes from your tbux balance in order to pay rent.  Some neighborhoods offer free lots or rental discounts, however; these deals are NOT through There but are through the Hood Owner.  Some hood owners have spare Lots in their inventory that are no longer being used; these are what they offer to renters for free, meaning, you will be given whatever Lot size the hood owner had in mind for this free offer.  A free lot simply means you will not need to purchase one yourself; it does NOT mean that your rent will be free!


Rental discounts are also offered through the hood owner, and not through There.  There will automatically take out the full rental amount from your tbux balance; this is something the hood owner nor yourself cannot alter unless you cancel your rental altogether.  The discount basically comes out of the hood owner's tbux balance in order to give you the amount agreed upon for the discount.  Because this will depend on when the hood owner is able to obtain tbux in-game, your discount may not be given to you at the same time each month, and in some cases, may not even be for the same amount each month. 


Always be aware of the stipulations for rental discounts and free lots!  Some hood owners require you to live in their hood for a certain amount of time before you can claim these benefits, while others will not credit you the discount if you're found violating the hood's rules.  Also, these discounts and such may vary from one avatar to the next, so your discount may not be the same as your neighbors, etc.



Why Can't a Hood Owner Give me a Rent Refund when I have Relinquished my Lot?


Again, the rental amount is automatically removed from your tbux balance every 30 days by There.  This is not something that the hood owner can alter.  Once There takes that rent from you, it does NOT go to the hood owner immediately; instead, it sits in a There Escrow account for those 30 days.  This means that your rent money is NOT available to the hood owner until AFTER the rent cycle has ended.


Basically, There and its Escrow feature acts as a middle-man in the Lot rent payment process, which prevents the hood owner from providing refunds or altering the amount of rent taken out, and it also prevents both the hood owner and the Lot renter from trying to take advantage of each other's financial situation, as they would have to go through There for any tbux-related disputes (such as rent).