Choosing a House or Plot of Land

The Sims 3 Guide

Choosing a House or Plot of Land

Before you can get to the fun of the Build and Buy modes you need to pick somewhere to construct your house, or choose an empty property to move into.

Acquiring Land

Before you can begin to build your house, you first need to get some land. You could (if you have already played, or cheated and have plenty of money) buy a house already on a lot and demolish it to create your own. Of course, you are also allowed to just make minor alterations to the structures already in place. There are a few things to consider when choosing a plot:

The flat squares indicate empty plots of land.

Practicality:

While it doesn't exactly take all day to get into town from anywhere on the map, it is handy to be closer to all the local amenities. Bear in mind that the car pool for your job will always come an hour before work, regardless of where you live. This means that living next to where you work is not only depressing, it's not particularly useful either. Perhaps the key factor in terms of the location of your house should be the interests of your Sims (or the interests that you want to try and foster in them).

There are a number of great lots positioned next to areas of interest in Sunset Valley. The most notable is 53 Waterfall Way. This is a plot on its own, situated right next to the classic fishing spot beneath the waterfall to the north of the map. You also have the largest plot in the game adjacent to the Summer Hill Springs, while the two Skyborough Boulevard properties and the one on Oak Grove Road are all superbly close to the town itself.

Waterfall Way is a great lot to buy if you love scenery, fishing or collecting bugs and beetles!

Again however, you can buy a property already in the centre of town or next to a place of interest and demolish and rebuild it! If you have the money that is. Use Edit Town mode to change the lot type from Communal to Private and stake your claim to locations previously off-limits. You may have to knock down the library though...

Location:

There are benefits that your Sims will receive for lots positioned in particularly beautiful locations. The Beautiful View moodlet provides a handy bonus to receive every time your Sim looks out of the window. The properties on Sunnyside Boulevard, Sun Song Avenue and the cliffside lots on Redwood Parkway all overlook the sea and provide a tidy bonus to your Sim's mood. You can also get the Beautiful View Moodlet elsewhere of course, just not as obviously as with seafront lots. You can expect to pay more for lots in areas such as Redwood Parkway, as it is something of an exclusive neighbourhood.

Size:

The final distinguishing factor between lots is size. This is also the biggest contributor to the price of a lot. The largest area of land available for purchase from the off is Summer Hill Court. This is on the hill to the west of town, next to the Landgraab and Alto households. It's nearly twice the size of any other lot in the game, and will cost you double too (14,700 Simoleons). Summer Hill Court is the ultimate place to show off your successful Sims. Sunnyside Boulevard has great views, a large plot and is in a quiet neighbourhood, but will cost almost 7,000 Simoleons. It may not sound a lot, but this is just the plot, no bricks and mortar included.

Summer Hill Court is only for seriously successful Sims

Probably the best value lots are those at Pinochle Point, with large lots yet a small price tag reflecting the lack of amenities in the area.

You only have 16,000 Simoleons to spend at the start of a new game, so pick your land wisely, and remember that you need that money to build and furnish your house if doing it all from scratch!

Alternatives

Vacant Houses:

There are empty houses that have already been constructed in Sunset Valley. These don't involve evicting a family, but can come pre-loaded with furniture upon request. At the start of the game only three houses are within the 16,000 Simoleon budget (with furniture), and each of these are in the same location to the north of the town. If you want to furnish them for yourself, you can potentially get a great house and just live with some tatty items until you get a job. Mosquito Cove is a fine-looking property, and at around 16,000 Simoleons unfurnished you could, just about, get it as an incredible starter house if you have multiple Sims in your household.

Mosquito Cove is a beautiful property at a great price

Getting a pre-furnished house has the advantages of allowing you to get straight into life with your Sims, which is suitable for younger users or those who prefer the simulation side of the game to the building and creative aspects.

Note: If there are more Sims in your household you get an additional 2,000 Simoleons for each one in your starting budget.

Evict a Household:

A house isn't vacant? You can live anywhere you want in Sunset Valley, just use Edit Town to evict a family and move your own Sims in! It's that simple. Once you have kicked one family out, your lot can buy the newly-empty house providing they have the funds. The evicted family can even take all their furniture and a copy of the house with them, if you want to move people around or fancy playing God and saving the evicted from dwelling in oblivion.

Evict a Household if you don't like them, or you just want their house…

Preset Households:

The game comes with plenty of families you can 'take-over', thus eliminating the Create a Sim mode and letting you just pick any house you want. Again, this is ideal for youngsters of those just wanting to get straight into the game. Each has a different scenario and difficulty settings based on their personalities and current situation when you take them over.