First Storm Leiutenant, have twice as much as asking price, but unable to buy house

[Kleeya]

If the random timer wasn't here, the previous owner would have known the exact moment when the house would be available again for purchase, and would have warned one of his friend to stay next to the plot to snatch it right away when it becomes free. Or worse, instead of giving it to a friend he could have sold it for millions of gils, or even real money to the highest bidder (this is called house flipping).

And you would have never get it.

While the invisible timer is for sure an irritating system, at least now you can SEE free plots, and even TRY to get them. Which is a huge improvement compared to the old times when house flipping was rampant without the invisible timer, and 100% of the plots always taken.

Has anybody done research/experimented with how the timer works? Like is it an exact specific number of hours, or can the timer be something like 9 hours and 27 minutes? I mean, would I have better luck by timing it to be on the hour exactly?

Google suggests that relocation bypasses the timer. Is this true? Will it work for my FC private chambers if I select 'relocate' and select the FC chambers? I can always just buy another FC room

As far as i know the timer is totally random, which would be logical because it is the point of it. And if you are talking of the tiny FC room you buy for 300 000 gils, it isn't gonna work. It is the entire FC house that needs to move.

[MoltresRider]

The plot had a red glow, now it is orange? Does that mean the timer is getting close?

[ItMe]

Google suggests that relocation bypasses the timer. Is this true? Will it work for my FC private chambers if I select 'relocate' and select the FC chambers? I can always just buy another FC room

FC chambers =/= a house.
If you have a house and want to move it to an empty plot, you can. That will circumvent the relocation timer.

[DrWho2010]

The plot had a red glow, now it is orange? Does that mean the timer is getting close?

the glow color does not change. and it does not indicate the timer is close. the only thing that is close is us losing patience with you lol

[MoltresRider]

I hate that whole f*****g system now. 10 seconds to just open my door because dog HAD to go out that EXACT time and of course THAT is when the game decided to allow it to be purchased by one of the other three that were also there at that time. I was the first one there too

[ItMe]

Better luck next time.

[TaleraRistain]

What is the point of making us wait? I was the first to this plot and now six people are camping here.

What doofus thought to put an invisible random timer? The house should be rightfully mine because I was the first to discover a plot without a house

Because if there wasn't a timer there wouldn't be an open plot at all. A reseller would have had a buyer lined up to take possession the second they released. That's what happened before.

[xxmiamorecadenza]

I can’t help but think we’re maybesorta being trolled here.

[Jojoya]

I can’t help but think we’re maybesorta being trolled here.

The posts are a valid description of what players can experience when trying to buy a house for their character. Frustration with the system is growing more and more as the number of players who want a house increases but the number of houses does not.

It's a problem unique to this game as far as I know. Other MMOs either use only instanced housing (most of them) or they automatically increase the number of houses available on a per world basis as the existing supply gets sold out.

[Absurdity]

Tbh the timer does a poor job at stopping people from selling the plot at ridiculous prices, now there's simply the added requirement of "you need to already have a house AND pay me this exorbitant amount of gil so you can relocate to the plot".