¶ Property
Properties in Cartel Empire are built by players using Cash and Construction Resources.
¶ Acquiring Construction Resources
Construction Resources are gained from the Construction Robbery Job. This is a difficult job as Construction Materials have become quite rare in recent years in Bolivia due to supply line issues caused by the narco state, which has led construction companies to hire security for their yards.
A maximum of 20 resources of any of the 4 types can be gained when successfully completing the Job, with each having the following probability -
| Name | Probability |
|---|---|
| Nails | 40% |
| Bricks | 30% |
| Concrete Bags | 20% |
| Steel | 10% |
¶ Constructing a Property
Construction primarily occurs in the Estate Agent found in La Paz Town. The process for building a Property is as follows -
- Acquire Construction Materials.
- Purchase a Plot of the correct size for the property type you want to build.
- Select the type of Property to build then select ‘Build’.
- The Property will now appear under ‘Owned Properties’ and show as ‘Under Construction’.
- Wait until the Property has been built.
- Move in to start managing the property and any upgrades.
¶ Property Types
Each type of property has an associated cost in Cash, Construction Materials and time as shown below. Each property can also only be upgraded to a certain level for each type of upgrade.
| Name | Cost | Nails | Bricks | Concrete | Steel | Time | Max Safe | Max Study | Max Gym | Max Museum | Max Library | Max Dock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shack | £10,000 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 Hours | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bungalow | £500,000 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 Days | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Town House | £4,000,000 | 80 | 45 | 20 | 8 | 7 Days | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Villa | £25,000,000 | 200 | 125 | 40 | 24 | 14 Days | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Mansion | £50,000,000 | 800 | 400 | 250 | 100 | 21 Days | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Private Estate | £125,000,000 | 2000 | 1200 | 750 | 300 | 31 Days | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| Luxury Secure Compound | £375,000,000 | 6000 | 10000 | 2500 | 900 | 62 Days | 8 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 5 |
A Luxury Secure Compound can only be built on a Luxury Secure Compound plot, which costs £150,000,000. It is the only property with a Dock.
¶ Property Upgrades
There are currently 6 types of upgrades available for properties, with most types of properties being able to construct most of them. The Dock is only available on a Luxury Secure Compound and costs construction materials as well as cash. The other upgrades only require cash and are built instantly. Each upgrade must be purchased before the next level can be acquired. A single upgrade cannot be removed. Demolishing the building removes its upgrades, keeps the plot, and returns 50% of the construction materials.
¶ Safe
The Safe allows players to store Cash completely safely and without incurring the same tax that is applied to Bank deposits.
There are currently 8 levels for the Safe, starting at a small hidden safe and ending at the Compound Vault. The Compound Vault is only available on a Luxury Secure Compound. Each level allows storage of an increased quantity of Cash but also costs a larger amount to build.
| Name | Level | Cost | Max Stored Cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Safe | 1 | £500,000 | £10,000,000 |
| Medium Safe | 2 | £2,500,000 | £50,000,000 |
| Large Safe | 3 | £7,500,000 | £150,000,000 |
| Small Vault | 4 | £15,000,000 | £250,000,000 |
| Medium Vault | 5 | £30,000,000 | £500,000,000 |
| Large Vault | 6 | £150,000,000 | £2,000,000,000 |
| Massive Vault | 7 | £350,000,000 | £5,000,000,000 |
| Compound Vault | 8 | £750,000,000 | £10,000,000,000 |
¶ Home Gym
The Home Gym increases all Gym gains by a small percentage. Starting at a Barbell Set which only grants 0.05% additional Gym gains, through to a Compound Gym Complex, granting 1.50%. The Elite Gym Room and Compound Gym Complex are only available on a Luxury Secure Compound.
| Name | Level | Cost | Gym Gain Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell Set | 1 | £10,000 | 0.05% |
| Heavy Weights Set | 2 | £50,000 | 0.1% |
| Gym Machine Set | 3 | £1,000,000 | 0.2% |
| Basic Gym Room | 4 | £3,000,000 | 0.3% |
| Superior Gym Room | 5 | £15,000,000 | 0.5% |
| Professional Gym Room | 6 | £50,000,000 | 0.75% |
| Elite Gym Room | 7 | £150,000,000 | 1.25% |
| Compound Gym Complex | 8 | £250,000,000 | 1.50% |
¶ Home Study
The Home Study reduces the length of all University Courses by a certain percentage.
| Name | Level | Cost | Course Reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Study Books | 1 | £25,000 | 1% of total time |
| Advanced Study Books | 2 | £250,000 | 2% of total time |
| Home Computer | 3 | £1,500,000 | 4% of total time |
| Basic Home Study | 4 | £5,000,000 | 6% of total time |
| Superior Home Study | 5 | £12,500,000 | 8% of total time |
| Professional Home Study | 6 | £25,000,000 | 10% of total time |
| Compound Study Suite | 7 | £100,000,000 | 12% of total time |
¶ Museum
The Museum upgrades increases the Intelligence cap from the standard 1000, up to 1250 at the maximum upgrade level. The Museum upgrades start off as a small Artifact Display, which increases the Intelligence cap to 1050, and finishes at a Compound Museum Wing, increasing the Intelligence Cap to a total of 1250. The Compound Museum Wing is only available on a Luxury Secure Compound.
| Name | Level | Cost | Total Intelligence Cap Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Artifact Display | 1 | £1,000,000 | 50 |
| Large Artifact Display | 2 | £10,000,000 | 100 |
| Basic Museum Room | 3 | £25,000,000 | 150 |
| Superior Museum Room | 4 | £50,000,000 | 200 |
| Compound Museum Wing | 5 | £150,000,000 | 250 |
¶ Library
The Library upgrades increase the rate at which Intelligence is gained in the University when Studying. The perks associated with the Library upgrades range from an 0.1% increase to Intelligence gains up to 1.00% at maximum. The Compound Library Wing is only available on a Luxury Secure Compound.
| Name | Level | Cost | Intelligence Gains % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Book Collection | 1 | £10,000 | 0.1 |
| Medium Book Collection | 2 | £250,000 | 0.2 |
| Large Book Collection | 3 | £1,250,000 | 0.3 |
| Basic Library Room | 4 | £7,500,000 | 0.4 |
| Superior Library Room | 5 | £12,500,000 | 0.5 |
| Professional Library Room | 6 | £30,000,000 | 0.75 |
| Compound Library Wing | 7 | £90,000,000 | 1.00 |
¶ Dock
The Dock is only available on a Luxury Secure Compound. Each level costs cash and construction materials. A higher level replaces the benefit of the level below it. Demolishing the compound also returns 50% of these materials, rounded down.
| Name | Level | Cost | Nails | Bricks | Concrete | Steel | Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jetski | 1 | £40,000,000 | 25 | 50 | 15 | 5 | +5 town shop buys per day (30 instead of 25) |
| Tugboat | 2 | £70,000,000 | 75 | 125 | 40 | 15 | +10 town shop buys per day (35 instead of 25) |
| Catamaran | 3 | £80,000,000 | 150 | 250 | 80 | 30 | +15 town shop buys per day (40 instead of 25) |
| Yacht | 4 | £275,000,000 | 350 | 550 | 175 | 60 | 4th expedition slot, and keeps +15 town shop buys per day |
| Smuggler's Berth | 5 | £350,000,000 | 400 | 650 | 200 | 80 | Unlocks personal smuggling, and keeps the 4th expedition slot and +15 town shop buys per day |
¶ Property Upkeep
Properties require a daily upkeep of 0.075% of the upkeep basis. That basis is 75% of the cash paid for the plot, building, and upgrades, and a monthly appraisal does not change it. If the property has any outstanding upkeep, you will be unable to sell, demolish or move out of the property. Unpaid upkeep is taken off Home Value until it is paid.
If the Upkeep button is pressed then the upkeep will be paid with cash in hand. If that is not enough, it is taken from the private vault, and if the vault does not cover it, from the bank.
¶ Demolishing a Property
Demolishing a finished building removes the building and its upgrades and returns the plot. You also receive 50% of the construction materials from the building and its upgrades, rounded down for each material. Cash spent on the building and upgrades is not returned. You must move out, empty the private vault, and pay any outstanding upkeep first, and the property cannot be up for rent. A Property event lists the building you demolished, the plot you kept, and the materials you received.
¶ Home Value
Home Value is the sale price shown on the property. It is the upkeep basis, plus 75% of the recent market price of the construction materials in the finished building and its upgrades, minus any unpaid upkeep. Empty plots and buildings still under construction do not include a material value. Selling still requires upkeep to be paid, so the price at that point is the full appraisal.
A monthly appraisal refreshes Home Value when material prices change. It does not change the upkeep basis or the daily upkeep. When a property's Home Value changes, that property's Appraisals tab records the date, the old value, the new value, and the change. Increases are shown in green and decreases in red. The owner receives one Property event for the run, however many of their properties changed.
¶ Personal Smuggling
Smuggler's Berth unlocks a solo run for whoever is living in the Luxury Secure Compound, as owner or renter. It is separate from cartel smuggling. You can have one run at a time, and the page cannot be used while you are in hospital or jail.
¶ Running a load
- Start loading cargo.
- Deposit Cannabis, Tainted Cannabis, Cocaine, and Tainted Cocaine from your own inventory. Drugs on loan from your cartel cannot be loaded. While the run is still loading you can take cargo back out, or cancel the run and have all of it returned.
- Launch. The run needs some cargo, and you still need to be living in the dock compound to launch it.
- The trip takes 4 days. It cannot be cancelled after launch.
- Collect when it is ready. Cash is paid to cash in hand, and collecting it clears mug protection. If you move out after launch you can still collect this run, but you need to be living in a dock compound again before you can start another.
The last 20 collected runs stay listed on the personal smuggling page, with the cargo, cash, and items from each.
¶ Cargo and payout
Cargo is capped at £100,000,000 of market value across all four drugs together. When you collect, the return is a random 100–120% of that cargo's market value. The estimate shown while loading or waiting uses the middle of that range, 110%. 3.5% of the return is cash and the rest is items from that drug's basket. The percentages below are how that drug's item budget is split, so a larger load returns more of the same mix. A leftover that is not enough for a whole item is rounded up into one more of the cheapest item in that basket, rather than paid as extra cash. A very small amount of a drug may pay cash only until there is enough value to return items.
| Drug | Returns | Item budget |
|---|---|---|
| Cannabis | Medical supplies | Bandage 25%, Small Medical Kit 75% |
| Tainted Cannabis | Thrown items | Fragmentation, Flash Bang, Illuminating, Tear Gas, and Stun Grenades, 20% each |
| Cocaine | Alcohol | Blancoda Tequila 45%, Repose Tequila 35%, Anejo Tequila 15%, Raicilla 5% |
| Tainted Cocaine | Enhancement materials | Street-Quality Enhancement 70%, Syndicate-Issued Enhancement 30% |
Anejo Tequila and Raicilla are premium. A run can include one extra bottle of the dearer premium whose price still fits within 40% of the cocaine item budget. Grenades are added to an equipped stack of that grenade when you already have one equipped. Other rewards go into inventory.
¶ Status icon
While a run is out, a boxes icon appears in the status bar and links to personal smuggling. It is hidden when there is no active run. A Property event is also sent when the run is ready to collect.
White means the run is still out, and hovering the icon shows when it completes. Yellow means the cargo is ready to collect.
See also: Features overview · Property ROI Guide · Beginner's Guide