The demand for houses is too high and stock is too low... then what?...

[Vircon]

No. I am talking about people who want to take a break from the game for 45+ days but don't want to lose their house. I suggested they could pay through the mogstation to extend their allotted inactivity allowance without having to pay for a full 30 days subscription that they have no intent of using.

While that is optional it'll just make it harder on those who don't have a house and want one. I'd still rather leave it the way it is but extended the reclamation time to 60 days but that is just me.

[Velvet_Xioyin]

There's a super small tax rate on the market board that no one seems to have been mentioning much. Why not have something like that take effect on people who disapear for a trillion years? Or perhaps crysta or something. There has already been talk that we can't have infinite stock of plots. Why do people who still pay their subscription have to feel the negative effect of other people not paying their subscription anymore?

Not to mention that private housing is practically a gold mine for RMT asociated accounts who can manage to get a hold on them.

[Velvet_Xioyin]

Highly doubt we'll ever see the demand ever going down with current state of housing so wouldn't this in future only be detrimental for development if it continues with just "add more wards"?

[Knahli]

I wasn't convinced either. If I am unlucky in 3.3 - and I don't doubt that will be the case - I, too, will be relying on potential land reclamations; but I was considering the massive uproar back when it was announced because people found 45 days too be too short a period, one that demanded dedication to the game. While I enjoy FF and don't think I have let a subscription lapse for more than 45 consecutive days myself, I can sympathise with those who feel they need a little break now and then and feel cheated by having to subscribe to keep their home. I just thought that permitting a short extension(perhaps only allowing one between every subscription period) might give people a little more freedom, clear up legitimately empty plots and not let people who are just too stingy to let go despite being bored with the game abuse it for too long. I'm not saying I am all for the idea myself, but I thought it was worth mentioning at least.

A free extension like you mentioned works either, but I figure that would likely have been adjusted earlier on back when there was still drama about it if at all. If there's a small fee attached then it might just add a little incentive for SE.

[Lexia]

Here two options keep the certain system of having to enter house every 45 days or modify that system to where if you don't use you house in 45 days you get charged a property tax like 100k a week until your gil is gone. Assuming for some really rich people that could be quite a while.

[coco1851]

I joined this game shortly after beta then left, just recently came back. Called SE they said ask/discuss housing on here so can someone please explain housing in general to me including the airship fc thingy & ways to continue chocobo quests with a more realistic price tag, because I was doing my chocobo quests only to get to the 2nd quest to be at a standstill because it says I must own a house, so I went to all locations there was 1 for sale for a bodacious amount of Gil. I am aware they are adding more plots in today's patch but somehow get the feeling they'll be occupied before I even get a chance to log in, not that it matters because even if not gone I won't be able to afford anyhow. One comment I'd like to throw in there is that on other mmo's that I've played with housing is that everyone gets their first one free, (more so a entitlement, not a privilege)yea if you want better stuff it will cost you.

[Velvet_Xioyin]

I dont have any confirmation on this but i have been told that the limit of houses in stock are due to an issue with server storage, if this is really true would it really be smart to put in resources into just adding more "flat" digital content when perhaps private housing system itself might need to be looked at closer?

On one hand we have people who dont want to lose their house (understandly) because how hard it might have been to get, while on the other hand we have people who can't get a house at all because the stock is too low. While also inbetween those two we have some sort of "grey market" reselling for absurd gil. It just doesn't seem right when you're just an observer.

I suppose what I'm trying to get at is just that the philosophy behind housing development doesn't seem to make much sense to me with direction is seems to have been going. But who knows maybe its actually a pretty small team who does housing and they still need to find out what they can do.

[Solarra]

I feel paying a sub should be enough for players to retain their house, alternatively Knahli's idea would be one I'd support.

I don't think charging house-owners taxes is going to help at all.
I understand the frustration felt by people who don't own a personal house (I don't own one either), but adding gil payments on top of the requirement to log in and enter the property isn't going to miraculously increase supply.

Bringing RMT and botting into it only clouds the issue further. I'm sure the majority of house-owners are not breaking ToS in the way the OP suggests. The problem is simply that housing is in short supply and in fairness, Square are doing their best to address it.
We've already got a reclamation system that takes houses away from people with active subs and evicts active tenants if the owner is inactive. Surely that's enough? Trying to make it even more difficult for people to hang onto houses they have worked and paid for seems almost spiteful to me.

[Knahli]

*Only noticing the gil tax suggestion now*

A gil tax would only allow Lolorito's to keep their houses indefinitely - regardless of whether they play or not - while subjugating those who don't make much and pay a subscription every month honestly. Even if you incorporated a system where it's very lenient of active players and progressively worsens as inactivity goes on, there's no way that such a system could be implemented in a way that many honest and loyal players didn't end up getting trodden on. As Vircon said, the money was already paid and there should be no real need to have to continue paying for anything other than upgrades and changes. An in-game currency is far too unreliable to be used as a recurring decider on who deserves a house and who does not.

[Snugglebutt]

I hope someday SE allow for the changing from personal to FC and vice versa on the house a person owns because while it won't solve the shortage a lot, it will reduce the amount of people who own both a personal one and FC one. If not in an FC or are happy in someone else's FC so own a personal house but later leave that old FC and/or start your own FC, converting your personal house to an FC house should be allowed in my opinion. If own an FC one but your FC dies off and everyone leaves, you should be allowed to close down the FC and convert to personal house so can then join someone else's FC in my opinion.