INTRODUCTION TO HOUSING Types of Domicile Houses come in all shapes and sizes. There are small houses to be purchased made of stone and plaster, wood and plaster , wood with a thatch roof, brick, and fieldstones. All of the small houses listed are of the same size. The larger houses each have a unique size and style to them. These are the large brick house, two-story houses(2 styles), a large shop with a fenced off patio, a small stone keep, a large tower and a very large castle. The larger homes are extremely expensive, and are more suited as the headquarters for a large guild than as a private residence. Players with enough of the correct skills can create add-ons for their homes to decorate them. Players can create beds, tables, forges for creating armor, looms for making cloth to sew, and many other things to make the home more practical and inviting. Purchasing A House or Castle All houses may be purchased from an architect and provisioners are also known to sell houses and ships of the smaller sorts. If you're buying a large house or castle on behalf of a guild or other group, you'll first want to get the other members to transfer sufficient funds into your bank account to cover the purchase. Because of the large sums involved in real estate purchases, architects can draw funds directly from your bank account. House deeds are now treated as "newbie" items. Like any other "newbie" item, this means that they can not be stolen, and they will stay on your corpse if you die (unless you are a murderer). However, this also means that if you set them down in the open, meaning not inside of a container (chest, backpack, sack, pouch etc...), they will decay almost instantly... just like any other "newbie" item. Selling your house to a Broker When you trade with an architect, you'll see a menu of house types and prices. Once you've made and paid for your selection, you'll receive a deed for a house of that kind. Watch out for bandits and pickpockets - you do not want this deed stolen. (Deeds that came from houses that were re-deeded or were bought before April 16th, 1999 are possible to steal) If you wish to sell your house, you may find real estate brokers to buy your house deed from you. When you come near a broker, if you have a house deed in your backpack, the broker will offer to appraise it or buy it. If you say "appraise" to the broker, you will get a targeting cursor so you can target the deed you want appraised. The architect will tell you what s/he would pay for that deed. Dropping the deed on the broker will sell the deed to him/her. The money you get will be placed in your bank box automatically. Brokers may be found in the same places as carpenters and architects. Building Your House Once you have your deed, you'll need to select a site for your new domicile. Land in Britannia is free, outside the cities, as long as the king's right-of-way is respected. That is, houses may be built in any unoccupied location outside a city, except over roads. To place a house, you must be sure that you have an unobstructed spot for your house that is free of obstructions (including rocks, trees, and plants) throughout the entire footprint of the house. There is also a 'buffer zone' around the house of five tiles north and south and one tile east and west that cannot contain these objects, other houses, or other dynamic objects such as friends or pets. This buffer zone is to insure that houses are not able to block passage through their placement. The ground where you wish to place your house must be flat, as uneven ground will usually prevent the placement of a house. Houses cannot be placed in a justice region, or any region that is zoned for no housing. Once you've decided where you want your house to be located, double click the deed. A translucent outline of the building's walls will appear on screen with a targeting cursor within it. Once you've got the outline situated where you want it, click and the house itself will appear. If you cannot place the house, you will get the message of: A house can not be created here. Either something is blocking the house or part of the house would not be on valid terrain. When the house is created, make sure that the door(s) will is(are) locked. The key will appear in your backpack and a duplicate is placed in your safe deposit box. There will, of course, be no furniture (except for shops, which appear with the furnishing essential to their operation). Furnishings will have to be acquired and transported in separately.