Getting a New House Feels Impossible

[Kenky]

I don't even know why SE came up with the whole random timer idea xD. Wasn't it to prevent people from abusing the housing market?

To try and make it hard for bots to obtain them, though it has sadly not done much to stop it.

If people knew when the timer was going to be up, then people would get there like a minute before it's up and spam the placard, rather than it be a random ballpark number. While I personally believe the intent was to try and stop bots from camping the plots all the time, it's gone the reverse way and is now kind of forcing (Not really, personal choice and all that!) players to camp the placard all the time.

And if someone relocates to the plot, just to be a prick? (They do exist, unsurprisingly.) Well, then you're SoL.

[Draven2]

To try and make it hard for bots to obtain them, though it has sadly not done much to stop it.

If people knew when the timer was going to be up, then people would get there like a minute before it's up and spam the placard, rather than it be a random ballpark number. While I personally believe the intent was to try and stop bots from camping the plots all the time, it's gone the reverse way and is now kind of forcing (Not really, personal choice and all that!) players to camp the placard all the time.

And if someone relocates to the plot, just to be a prick? (They do exist, unsurprisingly.) Well, then you're SoL.

From what I've read the random timer was added to make it difficult for players to sell housing plots to each other. They were basically trying to eliminate the black market selling of housing lots.

Technically the timer does accomplish this but its one of the absolute worst ways possible to do it.