I also was wondering (it's probably a stupid question) how to run a real estate business. Do you need to buy properties yourself and then put the deed on display to sell them?

Exactly. Once you put the deed on display, you can mark it for sale.

So you have to spend a lot of money to begin with for this kind of business? I think I'll at least try it, but this doesn't sound like one that I will run too often.

In that way, it's kind of like actual real estate. Huge profits that you immediately need to reinvest in more real estate.

Just buy the real estate office in BlueWater village, then use the computer to buy some estates and put the deed on the wall, price them and carefull don't put the deed of your estate office on sale.

The tricky one is not too many sims have money to buy your estates, so you need to have some rich bestfriends, invite them to the lot and persuade them to buy your estate to start first, it's very slow development business so beware of that.

What I did, I have about 2 sims with motherlode, go buy some deeds and sell them back, It's like laundering money in real life for those sims. lol.

Anyway, the more I play, the more I feel it's like real life. Good luck.

I can't find the spelling button here, BBS has one. lol.

Thanks for the info.

Now I have a question: is it possible to sell vacation houses as well or, just business lots? And secondly, does it make any difference if the vacation house is sold by the Real Estate or is bought by a Sim interested in getting the said house?

I am asking because one of my Sims opened a Real Estate office --not the one in Bluewater Village-- and then I sent another of my Sims, who wanted to buy a vacation house, to fulfill his wish. He bought the house in Takemizu Village and off he is with his girlfriend. BUT, when they arrived there, surprise, surprise: his screen was on Business Mode, as if the game considered the house to be a business establishment.

Do you think I did something wrong or it's just impossible to sell vacation houses?
I followed all the tips given to rosesforme17 --thank you all! -- except that I bought the lots using the phone, not the computer. Then I placed the deeds on the wall and my other Sim went to buy a house. He paid and the deed was properly placed in his inventory.

Thank you all for any ideas/suggestions. Greatly appreciated!

Nalia, I believe this is a game bug, as I experienced the same thing when I had a Sim purchase their vacation home through an OFB real estate agent.

I always wondered how to run one, I knew it was possible but didn't know how exactly to go about it. Thanks for sharing everyone! I'm thinking I might take a crack at it myself as well.

Thank you, mangaroo!
The only difference is that, unlike your Sims, mine received the perks after returning home. Some further investigation showed also that my real estate agent is unable to buy vacation homes using his office's computer.

And now I am curious: EAxis never considered to fix this bug? I have all EPs with AL being the latest, and have all the official patches installed.

My sims can buy any estate on his office's computer.
I had same problem as you guys (the vacation home became community lot), also beware of the estate you put on sale, only use the estate that your sims don't use, the park or museum,..

My sims couldn't have access to the changing booth in clothes store which was put on sale in real estate office. Force Error and Reset didn't work, hasn't replace to new one yet.

How did you solve the problem, Spal?

TIA

I didn't solve it, I just let my sim sold the house. Then the next sim bought it from computer, not real estate agent, the house became residence.

I've never tried a real estate business, because I didn't think it would work except for visual appeal in neighborhood view. I think I'll give it a try. Thanks for the info!

Well, that makes two of us. My Sim sold his vacation house back and now I am expecting him to re-roll the want for buying a vacation house to get a shinny, new one.

That's sad and frustrating, though. A real estate agency should be able to sell vacation houses as well. But EAxis was probably lazy to think... that much!

Hey... Um... I am aware this thread hasn't had a reply for 73 months but, I'm kind of interested to know how you can build a community lot (which I've already done) and then get people working in there (which I've already done) and then exit it and make your other sims go and buy from the place or party there (exited the lot but it said that I couldn't visit the place because there was already a saved game). :/
I know what I've done, I'm just not sure what I should do. Keep that in mind when responding, could you?
Thanks! :D

Next time don't resurrect a thread, just make your own k.

The sim who owns the place has to go back home before you can go there with other sims, you can only have one family loaded at one time.

Why is a new thread better jo? It's one thing if someone necros to answer a question someone had 5 years ago, that was probably already answered, or to say "oh cool". But a question may as well be asked in a previous thread as in a new one, there's not much difference in the end, is there?

To further on what jo said, the person owning the store will be there when you visit it with other playables, even though you left them at home, so the shop will run as it should. Employees should do whatever they were last assigned to when visiting with the owner.

I didn't think resurrecting old threads was encouraged is all. The stupid question thread would have been the best place. I just wish it wasn't called the stupid question thread as I dislike tellign people to post there in case they take offense.

I see Necromancy is frowned upon in most places, but there's always nuances. I agree with the name stupid questions, it can imply things that are unfortunate. Perhaps "Simple questions" or "Quick questions" would be better. Perhaps it's even time for a new one? It is, after all, on page 924 by now :P

Nooo! Stupid questions must live forevaz!

Is it safe to sell the same lot many times? I tried to create a real estate as home business, but I realised that my sims was selling many times the same lots to different sims.

I'm kind of glad this thread was resurrected. I never knew you COULD sell properties! And now I'm curious as well.

Yeah, yeah ..... I probably should have read the manual that came with OFB. Y'mean ... you don't just skim through it and look at the pictures?

And that does make me wonder ... at what point do the mods start a new stupid questions thread? Isn't the current one the second or third iteration or so?

What manual? I never got any kind of manual. Took me years to figure out what the colour swatch and eye dropper were for.

Didn't your games come with a little pamphlet that tells you about the features of the new EP? What objects were added, and a bit about how they work, NPCs added, new interactions, new outfits, and so on.