Salem

The wiki doen't actually say what a claim actually does, from the videos I'm watched, it's inferred that it prevent stuff on it from decaying. How fast is this decay? What else does it do? How fast would a simple fence, (with gate and lock) along with a hovel take to decay?

As a new person I'm trying to decide if I really want to have to keep putting silver into maintenance for a claim or, due to how I play which is rather Spartan if I could just get away with the fence and a gate with a lock, maybe a hovel and repairing that whenever it's necessary.

Yes I know people could bash my fencing, come in and take what they wanted but if I don't have anything worth taking and I purposefully keep it that way why would I need/want to cover everything with a claim?

What I truly want to keep out of my place are aggressive animals/monsters. Will a simple fence work for that?

I'm a measure twice, cut once type of person so having these questions answered before I do anything works best for me.

Again you have all been great answering my questions in the past. Thank you for any light you can shed on this one.

Repairing structures is many,many times more expensive than building them.
Decay ticks happen on map unload or load(i dont remember which one). So, unless you plan on repairing your base 24/7 id recommend claim.
Besides, people have to activate crimes to even try to trespass onto your claimed land or take your property.
Animals do not spawn on Private claim, just Town claim.
Claims are insanely cheap considering what they provide. ID go with small claim for start, but if you wanna roleplay as a handyman in Salem your choice

I would consider settling in biomes with less aggressive animals. Marshland should be perfect. There are no snakes and bears.

OK so decay is too crazy to even consider this idea, thank you for your answers.