Buying the store is the end-game goal for the player. However, the price of the store isn’t easy to gather, and the greedy landlord starts to increase the price deep into the run. Today I’m going to give you a simple and effective formula to buy the store as soon as possible.
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How to Buy the Store in Probably Stolen
You can buy the store through the landlord (I mean, obviously) or with a mortgage. Every Sunday, when the landlord arrives, if you have enough credits to buy out the shop (shown in the calendar), you can buy the deed instead of paying rent.
How Much Does the Store Cost?
The cost of the deed increases with the difficulty of the game; greater difficulty means a more expensive deed. You can check the current price of the property at the bottom right of your calendar.
| Difficulty | Base Price | Daily Increase | Maximum Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price Gouge (Cozy) | 12,000 | +25 | 15,000 |
| Markup (Normal) | 12,000 | +50 | 17,000 |
| Thin Margins (Hard) | 24,000 | +50 | 34,000 |
| Red Ink (Challenge) | 36,000 | +100 | 56,000 |
How to Buy the Store With a Mortgage
The loan shark appears around day 5, introduces himself, offers you the chance of a loan, and comes back to you by Sunday if you have gathered 5000 credits. Once he visits again, you are given the choice to buy the store through a mortgage. On the formal offer, he states the current store value, the down payment (negotiated with the Landlord), the annual interest rate, and the weekly payment amount + number of weeks. He warns you to make sure you can actually afford the installments.
| Difficulty | Annual Interest | Repayment Period | Down Payment | Weekly Payment (example) | Total Paid (example) | Base Store Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price Gouge (Cozy) | 25% | 8 weeks | 20% | 1,233 × 8 | 12,364 | 12,000 |
| Mark Up (Normal) | 50% | 12 weeks | 15% | 930 × 12 | 13,160 | 12,000 |
| Thin Margins (Hard) | 75% | 16 weeks | 12.5% | 1,615 × 16 | 28,840 | 24,000 |
| Red Ink (Challenge) | 100% | 16 weeks | 20% | 2,370 × 16 | 44,920 | 36,000 |
If you are not able to pay the weekly payment, the loan shark will take items from your shop, and if you don’t have any items to give either, the run will end. So should you do it?
Should You Buy the Deed or Take the Mortgage?
While the idea of rent increasing every week seems so annoying to you and the mortgage seems more reasonable due to its fixed rate, you’d better hold your horses and calculate this thoroughly.
The rent increase every week will become quite expensive in the long run, but the increase is gradual and meets the increase of size of your business. On the other hand, the loan just adds a hefty amount to your weekly payment, which can be very hard to meet, especially early on if you are a new player, or playing on the hardest difficulty.
So while the idea of showing a middle finger to the landlord seems very fun, it’s not the most logical choice to make. You can just make the money and buy the store early on with some good strategies. Speaking of good strategies…
Best Ways to Save Money for the Store
With how many starter backgrounds and different machines are in the game, there’s no single best solution to saving money and winning, but I’m going to go over some of the choices you can make to climb the ladder to your own store easily.
Early Game: Shoot Augs, Earn Money
Early game is the figure-out part of the game where you are not yet set on a solid path, so a solid income through machines can’t be consistent yet. So the most reliable way to earn money is to shoot as many Augs as you can. A perfect way to increase this income stream is to pick the Aug menace perk, which makes Augs active from day 1, and killing Augs gives you 25% more money. Load the shotgun, milk the AI.
If you have a problem dealing with Augs, then read our article on Augs in Probably Stolen.
Midgame: Focus on One Profession
This is the time to go all in on one profession so you can earn consistent money as fast as possible. My main recommendations are:
Furnace and Metal Ingots
A good choice to focus on for the mid-game, because you get the equipment for it at a discount. It works overnight, and you can get a pretty good profit from it when you get a contact and buy ores from the suppliers. To learn more about the Furnace and ingots, read our article about the furnace in Probably Stolen.
Water Purification
One of the most lucrative options in the game, with constant demand from topside visitors, this business can lead you to your store in one of the shortest times possible; just make sure you build up a good moisture farm, get your hands on a UV light, and don’t waste too much money on tablets. If you want to learn about water purification, then read our guide on water in Probably Stolen.
Energy Cell Charging
Have you already bought the power line hijack from Joe Wild? Go all in on the energy cell business. Take empty batteries, charge them, and sell them back for a hefty charge-up. This business can also cover your other energy-reliant needs, machines like the furnace that we talked about just a few paragraphs above. If you want to know more about energy cells and how to charge them, read our guide on PowerBloc in Probably Stolen.
Rat Ranching
A pretty good business with customers willing to pay upwards of 350 credits is rat ranching. Get your rats in line and make them chunky and healthy, butcher them, and sell the meat. As you gain more reputation for the meat you are selling, topside chefs will come to you paying hefty prices for the highest quality meat you have, which makes it quite easy to reach your desired amount. If you want to learn more about rat ranching, you can read our guide on rats in Probably Stolen.
Late Game: Rush the Deed
If you have stabilized your income, then it’s time to stop expanding your business and start focusing on the deed. The store’s value increases every day after day 50 up to a certain cap. So focusing early is much better for your own economy.
Use Rent Grace Carefully
Especially good for the last week, postpone the rent and gather the necessary money and then some (so you don’t go bankrupt immediately).
What Happens After You Buy the Store?
The Buyout ending is achieved, and you receive the following ending screen. It’s not the type of ending that locks the save; you can continue with your store and go on infinitely.
Can You Buy the Store Before Day 50?
Yes, and there’s a whole achievement called Prodigious that can be achieved by doing this. It is not dependent on how you buy the shop, be it upfront or by mortgage.
