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Expensive Starter Homes

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    MoodbeamyMoodbeamy Posts: 1,510 Member
    A starter home in reality is not defined by the price but rather the size. I often build starter sized homes which cost more than a Sim family would start out with; however in most cases because of the size of these builds they could still be purchased unfurnished by a new family; that way players can build up their furniture as their Sims become more successful. I do still try and build some starter homes which fall below the 20k price tag; I've actually just completed one which I'll be adding to The Gallery any moment now. Sometimes it's nice to have the challenge of sticking to the budget but sometimes it's nice to let the creative juices flow and actually build the lot you envisioned rather than having to chuck out all your ideas because of the budget; that's likely the reason that a lot of starter homes on The Gallery end up costing more than 20k.
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    CorkysPetalsCorkysPetals Posts: 1,400 Member
    Moodbeamy wrote: »
    it's nice to let the creative juices flow and actually build the lot you envisioned rather than having to chuck out all your ideas because of the budget; that's likely the reason that a lot of starter homes on The Gallery end up costing more than 20k.

    I agree, I have made and downloaded many expensive houses.


    Wikipedia (always 100% right ;) ) says : A starter home or starter house is a house that is usually the first which a person or family can afford to purchase.

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    MDianaSimsMDianaSims Posts: 4,177 Member
    Jesf8312 wrote: »
    An under 40 or 50k family housing challenge could be good too!!

    I actually think this is a really great idea - anyone willing to start a thread like that? People who've already made lots like that can show them off and others can start making new ones. That way you'll collect a bunch of homes of that budget range all in one thread. Using the forums to find something you have trouble finding on the Gallery has proved useful before. :)
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    Sweet_ItalySweet_Italy Posts: 898 Member
    Hey guys! i went ahead and started a challenge for affordable family homes! check it out and spread the word, hopefully we can get a good collection of nice houses for our sims!

    http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/884472/affordable-family-housing-challenge?new=1
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    CinebarCinebar Posts: 33,618 Member
    Some single Sims in this game (not sure why not all the time?) get only $18,000. So, I like starter homes with the bare necessities of around $15,000 which leaves about $2,000 or $3,000 to get the things my Sim may want to do. Because there is nothing more boring than to watch them play on the phone 24/7 because you can't afford a radio or TV. Or can't afford a cookbook so they don't go around complaining about their first meal. I like them cheap and not so full so I can decide what I want to add to it.
    "Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
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    jaxie086jaxie086 Posts: 1,920 Member
    Something I've been curious about for a while, expensive starter homes in the gallery. There are a lot of very beautiful houses in the gallery tagged as starter homes, many costing over §100,000. How are these starter homes? In the game a true starter home would be under §20,000 for a single sim and under §26,000 for a family of 4.


    I know a lot of people motherlode their way into houses (I have), but why call it that if it can't be used as a starter home in the game?


    In real life §100,000 is a good price, but sims don't live in the real world.

    It's all the kids who don't understand what a real "starter home" entails.
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    PsychoSimXXPsychoSimXX Posts: 4,403 Member
    edited April 2016
    Building what I would call a starter home is hard, especially if you want a pretty lawn and be under 20,000. To me a starter home is under that and family home would be above but not no 100k!!!! I don't know if it is a glitch or if the game is just up, but in my game townies only move into an empty house if they can afford it. So filling empty lots with 100K starter home isn't going to get that lot filled!!! So yes I find the misrepresentation rather annoying.
    Post edited by PsychoSimXX on


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    PiperbirdPiperbird Posts: 4,161 Member
    Cinebar wrote: »
    Some single Sims in this game (not sure why not all the time?) get only $18,000. So, I like starter homes with the bare necessities of around $15,000 which leaves about $2,000 or $3,000 to get the things my Sim may want to do. Because there is nothing more boring than to watch them play on the phone 24/7 because you can't afford a radio or TV. Or can't afford a cookbook so they don't go around complaining about their first meal. I like them cheap and not so full so I can decide what I want to add to it.

    Are you purchasing an empty lot? Most of the small lots are around $2K, so you'd start with $18.
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    shacoriashacoria Posts: 247 Member
    I agree, OP. It frustrates me how expensive some of the homes in the gallery are as well just in general.
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    Glimmer50Glimmer50 Posts: 2,365 Member
    If I don't feel like building, I usually search for #unfurnished and you can find many homes that are larger in the starter price range. Your Sims may not have a bed or whatever for a few days but you can always send them out collecting or rough it until they get the money depending on your play style.
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    gamekittengamekitten Posts: 2,606 Member
    I built a single Sim starter house and a family of 3 house just now. I uploaded them but I do not use hashtags.. The problem I find in making affordable housing on a limited budget for starters...is the cost of everything in the Sims game. It is way overboard. The things that are cheap look like poo or are very useless (poor sleeping, bad food, bad shower, and etc)... I try and leave a little sim money left over when I put my creations up so anyone that gets them can trade out things for at least one or two better items ..like fridge, stove, etc...

    And the wallpaper is poo more than not and should cost 0 to 1 sims money..( too less of them and goes for the flooring). I'm creative seriously, but I have more customization in other games than Sims 4.. If I just let my creative nature go.. I end up with a very expensive build.. I do own a few starter homes (under 20k).. but I don't play Sims much anymore (just opened today to build two homes before I became annoyed with the game)..I play Xcom 2 and a MMO by Aeria..at this time..

    I can make tiny houses but those are usually for single sims the way I create them.. I usually don't do two stories because of the expense. I think it is because I can not stand posters and bare wall rooms..or even for that fact I absolutely love clutter. I hang pots and pans on my home's wall in the kitchen. I have clutter everywhere (nicknacks and such). And my walls...lol..

    Sims has way too expensive stuff and way too big. It makes me glad I don't live in a Sims World..XD!!!
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    MugglebumpMugglebump Posts: 52 Member
    Now I feel guilty for using cheats to get my money.
    If you got it, flaunt it.
    If you don't, flaunt it anyway!
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    MmdrgntobldrgnMmdrgntobldrgn Posts: 6,680 Member
    Jesf8312 wrote: »
    Hey guys! i went ahead and started a challenge for affordable family homes! check it out and spread the word, hopefully we can get a good collection of nice houses for our sims!

    http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/884472/affordable-family-housing-challenge?new=1


    Hello, glad to see I'm not the only one who has been bothered by the expensive starters on the exchange. :)

    The affordable housing challenge looks nice, and as a another spot for shopping I'd like to invite folks to browse the Starter Home Challenge (started last June) thread here in general discussion for some nice starters. B)

    For myself I've always based starters on how a sim from cas, or a sim moving out of a household starts off, which as already mentioned is 20,000 or a little bit extra if there's more than one sim. Although in the thread above I did challenge folks to try their hands at family starters for under 20 as well.

    I also will sometimes build or use the #mir which is more of a fixtures only and shell. mir=move in ready, as you would find out here in the real world; when you move into a home/apartment usually the only thing in it is plumbing and kitchen fixtures.
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    Audio_5urfAudio_5urf Posts: 655 Member
    Before I started building, I was filling my world with starters, etc off the gallery.. and it always irked me that they never include final price with the lot cost, so houses would go over the 20k budget, and i start a lot of single sims.. so anything over 20k is a no go.

    Also, hard to find a good mid-range home.. cheapest family homes i downloaded were 70k-100k.. Welp, i have an almost full world now, and I need more mid-range homes.. sure I use cheats on all but one household (challenge for myself), but I don't like cheating everything if I can help it.

    I enjoyed the starter home challenge. Tucker really enjoys his. Got a single-dad living in my family one. I kept both under 20k, as per the challenge, with lot cost for a 30x20 included.. sure family starters can have a slightly bigger budget, but 20k was a good challenge.

    Up next I am doing that affordable family one for the build experience and the fact I need them. I may even convert one of my houses I made into one just for the gallery since it currently sits at 145k fully furnished for a richer family in Windenburg.
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    Goth583Goth583 Posts: 1,203 Member
    They know people play with cheats, and if you look at a lot of the houses, they are going for realism. I have seen a lot of starters though that are really nice, but are just shells so they aren't uber-expensive, but they are over $20K.
    https://originalsimmer.blogspot.com - Check out my current TS4 Legacy!
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    EmmaVaneEmmaVane Posts: 7,847 Member
    edited May 2016
    Not everyone plays with money cheats. I use the build cheats (and unlock things for style reasons occasionally), but my sims pay normal price for things (more if they buy from retail shops) and earn money the normal way (through jobs/crafting/marriage). I play on long so my sims are usually able to extend their house by the time they have kids, unless they never go to work and have extravagant taste.
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    Goth583Goth583 Posts: 1,203 Member
    EmmaVane wrote: »
    Not everyone plays with money cheats. I use the build cheats (and unlock things for style reasons occasionally), but my sims pay normal price for things (more if they buy from retail shops) and earn money the normal way (through jobs/crafting/marriage). I play on long so my sims are usually able to extend their house by the time they have kids, unless they never go to work and have extravagant taste.

    I don't play with cheats either, but a lot of players do.
    https://originalsimmer.blogspot.com - Check out my current TS4 Legacy!
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    cynclacyncla Posts: 1,117 Member
    I am just a player , not a builder to the exchange. When I look for a "starter" house on the exchange I shop by price range and 20 thousand is the tops. You get 20 thousand for one sim and 22 for two adults. Just a shell of a house is fine but it REALLY ;has to appeal to me and I should have some money left for bathroom stuff a fridge and a bed , even if it is the cheapest stuff.
    Sometimes a house in that price range is downloaded , placed , and then it does cost a little more because the builder didn't take into account the price of the land - I just go back in and get rid of stuff until I can afford it.
    I have a dozen houses in my gallery from the exchange , some I haven't used yet and a couple I have used twice. I like to have the option.
    Most of the time I build my own or mostly build as I go. So my Sim has a really nice bathroom but sleeps in a really cheap bed in the yard , I don't care , just means I need to find ways to make more money , and there are a lot of ways.
    Thank you to all that do build starter houses for us to download.
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    TheGoodOldGamerTheGoodOldGamer Posts: 3,559 Member
    Actually, $18,500 is the max price of any true starter home. The cheapest lot, as I recall, is $1,500. And a single Sim starts with $20,000. You get a few thousand more leeway for additional Sims in the household. Anything above that price range is generally beyond 'starter'. Doesn't matter how 'small' or 'quaint' the build may be. If you've gotta cheat to get a starter home, you're doing it wrong, lol. You're not 'starting'. You're skipping x amount of employment time. :p
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    CorkysPetalsCorkysPetals Posts: 1,400 Member
    This is the reason I started this thread. In the game, starter home really means a house that a new single sim or family can buy with 20k or 22k including basics like a bathroom, bed and a simple kitchen (and hopefully a little left over for food). I anything that costs more just isn't a starter home. I have sims that bought or built larger houses. I've used cheats when I made sims based on fictional characters who live in big houses. I don't have a problem with larger houses.


    But a starter home is for sims starting out.
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    Inna MinnitInna Minnit Posts: 2,008 Member
    Goth583 wrote: »
    They know people play with cheats, and if you look at a lot of the houses, they are going for realism. I have seen a lot of starters though that are really nice, but are just shells so they aren't uber-expensive, but they are over $20K.

    Not neccessarily. When I am building for my own enjoyment, I just build what I want. I don't have some ulterior motive. It can be hard when you are building to keep track of budget.

    What I do if I am intentionally building a,starter is to place a new Sim or Sim family on a lot. That way you have those considerations built in. When you run out of money, you are done.

    Since I really don't enjoy furnishing, I have been building more Move In Ready homes and trying to stay under 10 or 12 K so players can furnish on their own.

    But often I just build, furnish and landscape on infinite money just because that's what I love about TS4.

    If you don't like what you see in the gallery, take a try at building, it's great fun and very addicting :)
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    duhboy2u2duhboy2u2 Posts: 3,290 Member
    I don't know why its done either to be honest. If I build a starter home its priced as a starter home. If its a home (lavish or otherwise) for a single sim its a bachelor pad. Why create something people won't be able to use? Like some others say though, I usually search by price range rather than keyword when I'm searching anymore.
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    Goth583Goth583 Posts: 1,203 Member
    Goth583 wrote: »
    They know people play with cheats, and if you look at a lot of the houses, they are going for realism. I have seen a lot of starters though that are really nice, but are just shells so they aren't uber-expensive, but they are over $20K.

    Not neccessarily. When I am building for my own enjoyment, I just build what I want. I don't have some ulterior motive. It can be hard when you are building to keep track of budget.

    What I do if I am intentionally building a,starter is to place a new Sim or Sim family on a lot. That way you have those considerations built in. When you run out of money, you are done.

    Since I really don't enjoy furnishing, I have been building more Move In Ready homes and trying to stay under 10 or 12 K so players can furnish on their own.

    But often I just build, furnish and landscape on infinite money just because that's what I love about TS4.

    If you don't like what you see in the gallery, take a try at building, it's great fun and very addicting :)

    True, some of you build some very lavish homes and lots. I'm not a fan of building. I think I built one home in TS2 that actually looked decent, but after that I stopped. I prefer to furnish rather than build.
    https://originalsimmer.blogspot.com - Check out my current TS4 Legacy!
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    SimburianSimburian Posts: 6,916 Member
    I sometimes buy a tent, make a small bathroom and start that way. It was a way suggested in part by a Maxis guru for making quick money in the original Sims game. You bought the computer to get the job and sold it again.
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    Inna MinnitInna Minnit Posts: 2,008 Member
    duhboy2u2 wrote: »
    Why create something people won't be able to use?

    Because I enjoy building? Why do people want toddlers? Because it's how the enjoy playing the game. Building is what drew me to the game. I enjoy playing with my Sims, but building is what keeps my interest. I don't build for anyone but myself.

    And other people can, and do, use them. Everyone plays the game the way they want to. If it's different than how you play, it isn't wrong. Just different.

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