Property and auctions

Five kinds of buildings

There are five kinds of buildings: airports, train stations, bus stations, prisons and hospitals. There is at most one of each kind per city. Not every city has a train or bus station you can buy.

Every building has one owner. You can own at most two buildings at the same time. Auctions where you hold the highest bid count towards that.

How the auction works

You always buy a building at auction. You bid with cash. That amount is held for as long as you are the highest bidder. If you are outbid, you get your money back at once.

Every new bid has to be a fair bit higher than the previous one. If a bid comes in just before the end, the auction runs on for longer. So striking at the last moment achieves little. Whoever holds the highest bid when time runs out becomes the new owner.

At the start of a Season all buildings go under the hammer again. The auctions then do not end at the same time, but one after another. That gives everyone the chance to bid.

Earning and paying upkeep

As an owner you earn from other players. With an airport or station you get part of every ticket. With a prison you earn from the bail that frees players, with a hospital from every treatment.

Upkeep is the other side of it. It is taken from your bank automatically, spread over the day. So make sure there is enough in your bank.

You set your own prices, within fixed limits. On the statistics page of your building you see per day how many customers you had and what you earned. That is how you find out which price pays off most.

How you lose a building

If you can no longer pay the upkeep, your building is put up for a forced auction. You then get back at most part of what you once paid for it.

If you die, your buildings go to auction as well. When you return to the game afterwards, you do not get them back. So protect yourself well when you own property.

You can also put a prison or hospital up for sale yourself. With a new Season all owners lose their buildings and the bidding starts again.