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How to Get Free Real Estate in The Sims 4: The Ultimate Guide

Have you ever dreamed of living in a luxurious mansion or modern minimalist home but don‘t have the funds to afford it in real life? In The Sims 4, you can live out your ultimate home design fantasies by leveraging the incredible freerealestate cheat to furnish lavish homes without spending a single Simoleon.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll walk you through everything you need to know about using the freerealestate cheat to get free real estate and build your dream homes in The Sims 4. Whether you‘re a new player just starting out or a seasoned Simmer looking to expand your neighborhood, this cheat can unlock unlimited potential for creative home builds.

Let‘s dive in!

What Exactly is the Freerealestate Cheat in The Sims 4?

Simply put, the freerealestate cheat allows you to move your Sims into any empty residential lot in the game without having to pay the listed price.

Normally when you find a vacant lot you want your Sims to live in, you need to pony up the required funds to purchase the land before moving in. The purchase prices can range anywhere from a few thousand Simoleons for a small, empty plot of land to hundreds of thousands for a sprawling luxury mansion lot.

The freerealestate cheat circumvents this requirement and lets you claim ownership of a residential lot completely free of charge. Instead of a price tag, empty lots activated by the cheat will read "Free Real Estate" when browsing the map.

This gives you unlimited access to huge mansions, modern lofts, coastal villas and more without draining your Simoleon reserves. You can focus purely on the creative gameplay of designing, furnishing and decorating your perfect home.

Let‘s take a look at how to activate this incredibly useful cheat:

How to Use the Freerealestate Cheat in The Sims 4

Using the freerealestate cheat is a simple 2-step process across all platforms and versions of The Sims 4:

1. Open the Cheat Console

You‘ll first need to open the cheat console interface to input codes.

On PC/Mac, press Control + Shift + C on your keyboard.

On PS4/Xbox One, press all 4 shoulder buttons at the same time (L1, L2, R1, R2).

On Nintendo Switch, press ZL, ZR, R and L together.

This will bring up a dialog box where you can enter cheats.

2. Input the Cheat Code

With the console open, input the following:

testingcheats true
freerealestate on

Hit enter after each line. This will activate the freerealestate cheat.

Now when you enter map view, any previously occupied lots will be marked as "Free Real Estate" and ready for your Sims to claim!

It‘s that easy. This cheat works for all platforms across every world and neighborhood in The Sims 4.

To disable it, simply enter freerealestate off in the cheat console. Keep reading for limitations, tips for use, and alternative ways to earn Simoleons fast for real estate.

Limitations of the Freerealestate Cheat

While an incredibly powerful tool for unlocking residential lots, the freerealestate cheat does come with some limitations:

  • It only works on empty lots – you cannot use freerealestate to take ownership of lots already occupied by other Sims.

  • The cheat does not work on community lots like parks, libraries, gyms, retail stores, etc. Only residential home lots are unlocked.

  • Using freerealestate disables achievements/trophies related to legitimately purchasing homes and earning money.

  • Other Sims can still purchase "owned" lots normally – your household does not have true permanent ownership.

  • Any furnishings, upgrades or changes you make to the stolen lot will not transfer if another Sim household moves in by purchasing the land.

So while an extremely useful cheat, freerealestate does not equate to full ownership rights over real estate. Use it strategically within the limitations.

How to Responsibly Use the Freerealestate Cheat

Unchecked use of the freerealestate cheat can quickly ruin the sense of progression and achievement in a Sims 4 save file. Here are some tips for using it responsibly:

  • Only claim lots you plan to furnish and move into soon. Don‘t hoard vacant homes just for the sake of it. Leave affordable options for other Sims!

  • Spread claimed homes across different worlds and neighborhoods. If you monopolize all the lots in one area, new families moving in won‘t have any place to live!

  • Avoid claiming lots marked as Landmarks that have unique terrain or attractions other Sims may want to purchase. Share the fun!

  • Don‘t neglect legitimate income sources – use freerealestate as a supplement to smart gameplay, not a replacement for earning Simoleons.

  • Occasionally bulldoze and release unneeded vacant lots back into the marketplace for others to purchase.

With some common sense and self-restraint, the freerealestate cheat can be an amazing tool for bringing your most ambitious home designs to life.

Alternative Ways to Earn Money for Real Estate

While extremely tempting, avoiding reliance on the freerealestate cheat can provide a much more rewarding Sims 4 experience. Here are some great ways to legitimately earn huge amounts of Simoleons to grow your real estate portfolio:

  • Focus on one lucrative skill – Maxing out something like programming, writing, or painting gives a very reliable high income source. Top-tier programmers can easily make §1,000+ per day!

  • Garden and sell produce – Planting high-value crops like dragon fruits and strawberries turns a serious profit with minimal effort. A couple dragon fruit plants can generate §20,000+ per harvest!

  • Paint masterpieces and sell them – Level 10 painting skill unlocks the ability to create masterpiece paintings worth §22,000 or more! With the fast painting speed, this adds up quickly.

  • Write best-selling novels – The writing skill similarly offers huge paydays for publishing high-quality books. Best-sellers net up to §75,000 each!

  • Promote your Sim‘s career – Reaching the highest tiers in lucrative careers like Tech Guru, Athlete, and Business nets your Sims massive salary increases and bonuses.

  • Complete aspirations – Each completed aspiration milestone provides increasing Simoleon rewards, giving you more capital to invest in real estate.

With some patience and smart investing of their time, Sims can absolutely earn enough money to afford mansions without ever cheating. But freerealestate remains a great supplemental source of homes for more design variety.

Unlocking Community Lots for Free

Sadly the base freerealestate cheat only applies to residential lots – but there is a way to access community lots like libraries, parks, restaurants and more for free too!

The bb.enablefreebuild cheat unlocks the ability to freely edit community lots without owning them. Use it in combination with buydebug to claim commercial properties for yourself.

Here‘s how:

  1. Open the console and enter bb.enablefreebuild to unlock editing.

  2. Access the console again and enter buydebug.

  3. Search "Ownable Community Lots" and you can purchase commercial lots for §0!

Now you have full creative control over community lots for unique gameplay opportunities. The Retail Store Game Pack takes things a step further by letting you build and run businesses from commercial lots!

Expert Tips for Using Freerealestate

To wrap things up, here are my top expert tips for leveraging the freerealestate cheat effectively while avoiding common pitfalls:

  • Only claim lots you plan to actually move into soon – don‘t hoard homes and leave them empty! Furnish ASAP to establish ownership.

  • Spread claimed homes across different worlds – no monopolizing or Sims will have nowhere to move in!

  • Avoid claiming iconic Landmark lots & community properties other Sims may want to purchase and experience normally.

  • Release any unneeded lots back to the marketplace every now and then by bulldozing and selling vacant properties. Keep options open for newcomers!

  • Use freerealestate to supplement normal gameplay – don‘t completely replace legit income sources. Keep advancing skills and careers!

  • Retain control by completing renovations quickly before another Sim can purchase the lot and evict yours! Add security with fences and alarms.

  • Save frequently – if another household purchases and moves into a lot you claimed, you can restore your saved game to regain the house.

The freerealestate cheat opens up a world of design opportunities, but restraint and smart gameplay habits will keep your save file balanced.

Ready to Try Freerealestate for Yourself?

There you have it – everything you need to know to start claiming luxurious mansions and building breathtaking dream homes using the incredible freerealestate cheat in The Sims 4.

Here‘s a quick recap of the steps:

  1. Open the cheat console (Ctrl + Shift + C on PC, all shoulder buttons on console)

  2. Enter testingcheats true

  3. Input freerealestate on

Now residential lots will be free to claim! Move your Sims in and let your creativity run wild designing, furnishing and decorating your perfect living space.

Just be sure to use the cheat responsibly – furnish promptly, release unneeded properties often, and don‘t neglect earning legit income too.

Thanks so much for reading! Let me know if you have any other Sims 4 tips or tricks you‘d like to learn about. Until next time, happy Simming!

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Michael

Michael Reddy is a tech enthusiast, entertainment buff, and avid traveler who loves exploring Linux and sharing unique insights with readers.