You know how when you're trying to rent an apartment you have the option of "viewing" the place before you accept it? I was thinking how cool it would be if Sims could do that with homes. Like they could go to a computer and click on available listings of unoccupied lots and have the option of being able to look at it or buy it sight unseen. Then they could drive over and look at it, maybe have a default NPC be there acting as a "relator" or seller. Or buying it unseen could just have them pack up all their belongings and leave the lot empty.


Idk it just sounded neat. I have no idea if this idea already exists or is even possible.

Apartments are very easy to screw up and screw over your game so no one every came up with that nor do I believe they ever will.

But this doesn't have anything to do with apartments, it's about regular residential lots.

There's a workaround for that.
There's a mod so sims can visit other residential lots. I think it was made by Chris Hatch, but I am on my phone and can't look it up right know.
But it's always the whole family who goes.
And you have to make sure the sim has a phone with him to go home.
There's no NPC as seller or an option to buy right away, but as a workaround it fits and is really fun.

But unless Chris fixed this, you have to be VERY careful about Sims other than your visitor entering the lot or exiting the lot during a visit. When one of the Sims that my Sim visited went to work, it borked the lot, and I had to move everyone out without being able to put anything in inventory. I know someone had a similar experience when something caught fire, and firefighters and walk-bys went on the lot.

Since this did happen a while ago, this might have been fixed, but I did not read of any updates.

I don't think Chris' mod allows you to visit an unoccupied house though. There has to be someone already living there.

There is a way you could simulate this. whether you build (be sure to add a duplicate to bin) or use downloaded houses, add the residential lots to your hood. Create a sub hood with duplicates, but don't move anyone in. Change zoning to community lot in the subhood and add a visitor controller. You could skip adding a stove or anything else that would cause problems, like a fire, but the community lot houses would reset anyway after the sims leave. For more realism, you could create a real estate business, owned or not, just to simulate shopping for a home. Have any sim go to each lot to set the visitor adjuster to the option for no sims allowed, this would make it possible for the controlled sim or sims to be the only ones on those lots. They can check out the houses, go back home and decide which one would suit their needs, then move out and into the new 'residential' lot. I would name them with For Sale & address in the subhood to match the residential in your main hood. I have used 'private' community lots for specific purposes and they work great that way. Now any controlled sims will be able to visit, this includes family members, dates or group outings. I've made a restaurant for dates who planned on proposing, just to avoid other sims intruding, a small lot with pool table for friends or even 1 sim, even an imposter hotel prior to Vacation, a house on a tiny lot, for adults to have a night away from the kids. If you create any kind of community lot other than pretend homes for sale, NPCs will show up if they're supposed to even with all sims blocked from the lot other than controlled sims. Lots of potential for these type of lots too, create a beach home, community lot, block all but controlled sims and you have a free vacation at the beach with no visitors, no mail, carpools or school bus and no aging to ruin their fun. These type of lots will not work the same way in University or BV hoods though because time still passes on their community lots, but Uni students or families could also use community lots back in the neighborhoods. (:

Yes, they can. I tried it.
That's what I meant with the workaround. Visiting the unoccupied lots for finding a house. And why I mentioned they should have a phone with them to go home. (From my own experience).
I didn't know about the problem with the other sims going to work or firefighters and all. So thanks for the warning.

Are these problems with the old or newer version of visit other sims or both?

You could also have a 'Real State sim' who would own the house. Your sims could be invited as any regular sim (or teleported), and with the 'Control this Sim' mod they could test the objects in the house. Once they have decided to buy the house, you could make your sims transfer with the checkbook from Simwardrobe or with Monique's Computer money to the 'Real State sim' for the house, and move them, be it by moving out Mr. Real State or by inviting them to move. You could even a roleplaying factor with the seller having to forge a relationship with the buyers. Dunno, may be amusing.

I don't know if it's a mod or something in game, but in my game I can "order" a deed of lot ownership. It looks like a diploma or something. I transfer lotownership right before the owner dies, but you can use it to sell houses too when they are visiting (by being invited or teleported) to view the house.

I have a mod by Monique, about tenants and landlord....
http://modthesims.info/d/171883

I have that too, but I'm not sure that it's that what I was talking about in my previous post. I really think it's from the game itself.
The mod by Monique is, I think, for owning more than 1 residential lot at a time.