Property upkeep
What TornLife's research has established about Property upkeep, and the questions players asked about it.
What TornLife has verified
- Unpaid fees reduce the property's max happiness once they exceed a threshold of 10% of the property's original value without upgrades. The reduction is (upkeep - 0.1 * property_cost) / property_cost * 2.5, and can run to 0 over a long period. (documented; Property › Upkeep, )
- The wiki says that whether you own or lease a property, daily upkeep and staff fees apply and can be paid by you and/or your spouse. So the occupant, not only the owner, is charged upkeep while living there. (documented; Property › Upkeep, )
- Wiki table of daily upkeep for fully upgraded properties without staff: Trailer $10, Apartment $25, Mansion $500, Ranch $1,000, Palace $3,000, Castle $10,000, Private Island $100,000. With staff, upkeep is much higher for Penthouse and above, e.g. Private Island $352,500. (documented; Property › Properties › Fully Upgraded Houses (Without staff) — Fully Upgraded …, )
- An owner overwhelmed by fees can sell the property back to the estate agents, with the remaining fees deducted from the sale value. The pack shows no eviction or loss of property from unpaid fees on an owned property. (confirmed by Torn; Property upkeep and vault changes, )
- If a renter has not paid all upkeep when the rental period ends, the fees pass to Duke as debt and the renter must pay him instead. Under this system no user should have a negative money balance. (confirmed by Torn; Property upkeep and vault changes, )
- A player was charged upkeep for a property owned and lived in by their spouse. In a thread the asker said they understood the charge applies to the owner or occupant. Another player answered that upkeep is charged as long as someone lives there, even if both spouses are offline or abroad. (player reports; property upkeep - spouse related, )
- If either spouse works in a 7* Lingerie Store, upkeep and staff costs for their residence are waived. Existing debt is not cancelled, but it stops increasing. (documented; Property › Upkeep, )
- Since the 2015 upkeep system, daily upkeep is no longer taken from the wallet each night. It is charged to the property, where fees build up and can be paid at any time through the properties system. Before this, upkeep was deducted nightly even without funds, so users often logged in to a negative balance. (confirmed by Torn; Property upkeep and vault changes, )
- Upkeep is charged daily, and the wiki lists the same $250,000 daily upkeep for all 12 unique properties. Their maximum happy runs from 6025 to 7975. (documented; Property › Unique Properties, )
- Patch 16/04/19 made hiring property staff add payable upkeep immediately when daily costs rise, and let staff be hired or fired at any time rather than waiting a day. Patch 25/09/18 added currently due property fees to the home page. Patch 19/03/19 removed upkeep buttons from properties listed for sale or rent. (confirmed by Torn; Property/Patch History (2/2), )
- Patch 19/03/19 removed upkeep buttons from properties listed for sale or rent. (confirmed by Torn; Patch list #86 : 19/03/19 — changes to Property (2019-03-19), )
Questions about Property upkeep
- How do you list, lease or sell a property, and who pays upkeep on a leased property?
The captured sources do not document the in-game steps for listing a property for rent or sale. On upkeep, the wiki says daily upkeep and staff fees …
- How does property upkeep work, and what happens if it isn't paid?
Upkeep is a daily fee plus staff fees, and the wiki says it can be paid by you and/or your spouse . TornLife's findings say the fees build up on the …
- How does renting a property work, and who pays the upkeep?
Rent is paid in full upfront, with no daily fees to the landlord . The wiki says daily upkeep and staff fees apply whether a property is owned or lea…