Reality may bite for a 'fantasy' property-related website, writes Edel Morgan.
On the website Second Life, for a fraction of what it would cost to buy a modest semi in Clontarf or Sandymount, you can purchase an expandible island with a choice of six topographies. Not only that, once you've explored Second Life's territories and found the right island or plot of land, you can build any kind of monstrosity you want on it - think Ireland before there was any kind of planning enforcement.
Second Life, owned by US company Linden Labs, is a kind of digital parallel universe where people who have been disillusioned by aspects of their real lives can re-invent themselves in cyberspace. This has me wondering if there are any frustrated Irish people who've been either priced out of the property market or can't live in a particular area or type of property who are redressing the balance on Second Life. Maybe they are land barons with vast acreages and charging people through the nose for homes. Or perhaps they are taking advantage of a lack of planning regulation to build their dream home with the big ignorant double extension that would send their real life neighbours into a tailspin of objections to the council.
The vast digital continent claims to have nearly 9 million "residents", who appear on screen as computer generated images called avatars. It might all be no more substantial than pixels on screen but, at the rate developers are acquiring every prime piece of land in this country, it might not be long before they are moving online and pushing virtual land prices through the roof. Glib as that may sound, people are actually paying real money for pretend land and there are real people trading on Second Life as virtual developers and estate agents who are only too happy to sell it to them. Islands, for example cost $1,675 (€1,242), which in the Second Life currency (the Linden Dollar) is L$449,092. Second Lifers trade in Linden Dollars online but this can be converted at a rate of about L$250 to $1 or around L$361 to €1.
"Whether it's a modest nook for a relaxing cottage," gushes the Second Life website "or an entire island to build your dream amusement park, land is for everyone." But if you're contemplating snapping up real estate on Second Life before interest rates go up there too, it appears that even pretend property comes with its drawbacks. As part of a basic month's free subscription, I downloaded the Second Life software onto my computer and chose an imposing looking avatar, Calista O'Connell. After been shown how to get her walking, flying and teleporting between communities, it was into the deep end for the intrepid Calista, exploring some of the land available for purchase.
She discovered that, while the sky's the limit in terms of what you can build, the lack of planning means there's nothing stopping someone plonking a play boy mansion beside your tasteful reconstruction of Áras an Uachtaráin. Medieval castles neighbour Greek temples and Malibu-style beach houses. The two "Os" that are the bane of every Irish residents' associations lives - overshadowing and overlooking - are rife there. Your prized lake view can be obliterated overnight by a newcomer's eyesore .
Land can be bought from residents, estate agents or at auction but the catch is a monthly land use fee of $9.95 (€7.37) a month, which is tiered and discounted as you acquire more land. Islands come with a monthly maintenance charge of $295 (€218). So if you resent having to pay a service charge for your real property, it might come as a shock that you are having to pay for land that doesn't exist. And even Second Life is not immune to market forces with land prices falling in recent months.
Second Life is believed to be feeling the pinch as other virtual communities - like Kaneva and Zwinky - compete for subscribers. A Forbes Magazine report suggested that, as confidence in the site dwindles, some big multinationals with an online presence on Second Life are considering their options. And so, it appears that even a fantasy land's property market could come crashing down to reality.
