🏠 Building Your First Property
Ready to build your own place? Whether it's a business, a hangout, or a private home, this guide will walk you through the starter basics of buying and setting up your very first lot.
💰 Get Money!
You start the game with empty pockets. Before you can buy property, you need to earn some Simoleons. Here are the best ways for new players:
- Visit Money Lots: Use crafting objects (like the gnome or pizza oven) and sell what you make.
- Get a Job: Use a newspaper or computer to find a job and go to work for a steady paycheck.
- Welcome Lot Bonus: For your first week, you earn double money at designated "Welcome" lots. Take advantage of this!
🗺️ Choose & Buy Your Lot
Once you have enough cash, find an empty lot to purchase. Lot prices depend on the terrain:
| Lot Type | Base Price |
|---|---|
| Dirt | §3,000+ |
| Grass | §4,000+ |
| Sand | §5,000+ |
| Snow | §6,500+ |
Location, Location, Location!
- Lots next to busy properties might get overflow visitors.
- Lots touching water cost more.
- Remote lots are great if you want privacy.
📜 The Basics (Deeds & Upgrades)
Understanding Your Deeds
When you buy a lot, two deeds appear in your inventory. These prove you own the lot.
- Property Deed: Transfers the lot and its structure (walls, floors) only.
- Property Plus Owner's Furniture Deed: Transfers the lot, structure, AND all furniture placed by the owner (not roommates).
⚠️ Be careful when buying deeds from other players! Always visit the lot first to make sure it's what they claim it is.
Property Mode & Upgrades
Once you're on your lot, press F4 to open "Property Mode." Here you can set admission rules, ban players, and manage your property.
Your lot starts very small (12x12 blocks and 2 floors). You'll eventually want to buy upgrades to make it bigger, but you can start building right away!
🛋️ Place Your First Essential Items
You can build live on your lot or use "Sandbox Mode" to plan without spending money. To start, you need to cover your visitors' basic needs. Make sure you have:
- A Toilet: For the Bladder need.
- A Shower or Sink: For the Hygiene need.
- A Bed or Chair: For the Energy need.
- A Food Source: (See next step!) For the Hunger need.
- Something Fun: A TV, computer, or pool table for the Fun need.
High-quality furniture fills needs faster, but starting with cheap items is fine! Remember to shop at player-owned stores for potential discounts.
🍔 Handle Guests & Food
Lots can hold up to 24 Sims (plus roommates). To keep them happy, you must provide food. Only residents can provide food to visitors.
Your Food Options:
- Stove Meals: Restores the most hunger, but you have to cook it yourself.
- Grills (Burgers): A cheaper, easier option that restores a moderate amount of hunger.
- Buffet Tables: The easiest "set it and forget it" option, but restores the least hunger per plate.
👥 Get Help with Roommates
You don't have to run your lot alone! You can invite up to 7 other players to be your Roommates. They can help you build, cook for guests, restock items, and keep the lot open when you're offline.
⚠️ Trust is Key! Roommates can move your furniture and interact with guests. Only invite players you trust.
💵 Get Paid (Tip Jars)
Running a lot costs money, you have to pay for food, repairs, and services. The most common way to get paid back is through *Tip Jars*.
- Place tip jars in obvious locations, like near the food or the entrance.
- Each resident (you and your roommates) needs their own personal tip jar.
- Visitors can optionally leave a tip to thank you for your services.
🌟 You're All Set!
That's it for the basics! The most important things are to keep your lot clean, be friendly to your visitors, and have fun. Good luck!
🚫 The Burglar
The Burglar is a non-player character (NPC) who may randomly appear on residential lots to steal valuable items. This feature includes the Burglar NPC, Burglar Alarm object, and Police Officer NPC.
The alarm detects a burglar on the lot
How The Robbery Works
When a burglar spawns on your lot, they follow a specific pattern:
Step 1: Check for Alarm
The burglar will first search the lot for a Burglar Alarm. If found, they will path directly to it and attempt to break it with hammer-swinging animations. The burglar's AI includes pathfinding logic to help locate and reach the alarm.
Step 2: Find Items to Steal
After breaking any alarms (or if no alarm is present), the burglar searches for specific objects to steal in this exact priority order:
- Television (Cheap)
- Television (Moderate)
- Toilet
- Shower
- Restaurant Fridge
- Dishwasher
He does not steal rare items.
⚠️ If the burglar cannot find any of these items, or if all listed items are currently in use by other Sims, they will leave empty-handed.
The Burglar Alarm
The Burglar Alarm is a wall-mounted object that continuously monitors for burglar presence. You can purchase it from the Buy Mode catalog under Appliances.
Finding the Burglar Alarm in the Appliances section of Buy Mode
When a burglar is detected:
- The alarm plays a loud siren sound
- All Sims on the lot are woken up
- The burglar will attempt to break it before stealing
Important: The alarm does NOT automatically call the police. It only alerts the household and can be broken by the burglar. Police only arrive if a Sim successfully fights and defeats the burglar.
You only need ONE Burglar Alarm on your lot! A single alarm (placed inside or outside) will cover the entire property and detect burglars anywhere on the lot.
Placement Tip: Make sure to place the alarm with at least one open tile in front of it. This allows the burglar to path to it, and gives you space to attack them if needed. You cannot trap the burglar, via walls or trip wires; he will teleport away!
Fighting the Burglar
Sims on the lot can actively try to stop the robbery by using the "Attack" interaction on the burglar. The outcome is determined entirely by your Sim's Body Skill level.
| Body Skill Level | Chance to Win |
|---|---|
| 0 - 15 | ~10% |
| 15.01 - 17 | ~30% |
| 17.01 - 20 | ~70% |
Burglar Mechanics:
- Burglars have a 1% chance to appear at midnight
- They have a 20% chance to successfully break the alarm
Successfully defeating the burglar in combat
🏆 Rewards for Catching the Burglar
If your Sim wins the fight, you'll receive:
- 2,500 Simoleons - Awarded immediately as a bounty reward
- A popup message: "Looks like you've won the fight this time and helped catch this wanted criminal! His bounty was worth 2500 simoleons and it's all yours to collect."
- The police officer will spawn and arrest the burglar
The 2,500 simoleon reward notification
The Police Officer
When a Sim successfully defeats the burglar, a police officer will spawn on the lot to make the arrest:
- A police whistle sound plays
- The officer appears in full police uniform
- They route to the burglar's location
- The burglar is arrested and escorted off the lot
- Both the burglar and officer disappear from the lot
The police officer arresting the burglar
💡 Pro Tips:
- Invest in Body Skill training to increase your chances of catching burglars
- Install a Burglar Alarm to alert your household when burglars appear
- Keep valuable items away from easily accessible areas
- The 2,500 simoleon reward makes catching burglars worthwhile!