The Voices in My Head

This page describes the payment system in use if you are renting land in a Mythfits private island estate.

Methods of Payment

Payments can be made either within SL (to Warda Kawabata only - no one else), or in US$ through paypal (please ask within SL what email address to send payment to).

If a payment is made with Paypal in US$, Paypal takes a small percentage (approximately 3% of the transaction) as a service fee. That cost is covered by Mythfits Rentals. What you pay is all you pay, and the exact amount you pay is credited to your account with Mythfits Rentals.

If a payment is made within SL in L$, the amount paid is converted into US$ at the L$ -> US$ Sell rate (not the buy rate). This converted amount is then credited to your balance. Because the exchange rate fluctuates, exact and up-to-date conversion cannot be given on this page. Linden Lab tries to maintain the rate at a stable value, and as of this writing (May 2008), it is currently at 284.97 L$ to 1 US$. The current exchange rate can be researched on the Lindex.

Rental Period

The rental period is assumed to commence from the day the land is purchased using the SL “Pie menu -> Buy Land…” or “Pie Menu -> About Land… -> Buy For Group…” options. Note that although the SL interface uses the word “buy”, and although I use that word in this article, you do not have exclusive ownership of the land. As with all private islands in SL, ownership ultimately rests with the region/estate owner. The estate owner can be found under “Menu -> World -> Region/Estate -> Estate tab”.

Depending on circumstances, you may either pay a token purchase price of L$1 to buy the land, or a larger amount (currently, I normally set this at L$250 per 1024 sqm). This money is converted into US$ and then credited to your balance.

Pro-Rated Rent, Calendar Months, and You

Rent is charged on calendar month basis. The rent is always due on the 1st of each month. The only exception to this is when you first start renting. The rent payment for the first calendar month must be made within three days of buying the land.

Of course, you may be thinking, “Suppose I start renting halfway through the calendar month… I lose out because half the month has already gone!” Not so. This is where pro-rata rent enters the picture.

As an example, suppose you rent a 1024 sqm parcel of land. The rent for this is normally US$10 per month. However, you start renting it on the 9th of April. April has 30 days, and 8 have already passed by, with 22 days remaining. Your rent for April (to be paid within 3 days of starting the rent agreement (ie. by the 12th of April)) is (10 x 22 / 30) = US$ 7.33. Then, on the 1st of May, you would pay US$10 to continue renting the land.

Rental Amounts

The usual monthly rental fees are as follows:

1024 sqm… US$10 per calendar month

2048 sqm… US$20 pcm

3072 sqm… US$28 pcm

4096 sqm… US$35 pcm

Larger parcels may be rented. Prices are subject to discussion, depending on your vision for the land, size required, phase of the moon, and what I had for breakfast that morning.