buying vs. renting slip

[sneuman]

In general, are marina slips appreciating? Is it a good investment for a liveaboard, as opposed to renting?

[delmarrey]

If I could find one for sale (here), I'd buy it in a minute.........................._/)

[sneuman]

what happens if a developer comes along and wants to buy the marina and convert it to lubberland? would one get a fair price for the slip?

[delmarrey]

If it had an offer to be sold everyone would have to agree on a reasonable price. They just can't come in and take it away without reasonable cause. And then they still have to pay a resonable amount.

Here on the Sound or Lakes, if you buy a slip it's like buying part of a condo. You are required to pay in a monthly sum for maintenance and obey the rules with in. You also have to pay for power, phone & cable if supplied. Auto parking is usually limited to one or two vehicles in most places I seen.

But you have cause some thinking here. What if it burns up, like what we've had on Lake Union a couple times recently. Is insurance required?? Will it get rebuilt??

.............................................._/)

[swagman]

Location, location , location.
The laws in differing lands need to be really studied and one law does not fit all with property incl marina berths. Even inside one country property matters may differ.

As a current example in some parts of Spain many expat Poms are up in arms as local developers (if they can prove to the local council that there is 'communal good' in appropriating part of the aready registered and owned land) have demonstrated they can seek to have land confiscated for minimal compensation and with no appeal process to speak of.
T'was on TV last night in UK. They interviewed guys who left their houses for a UK trip and arrived back to find pools filled in and new walls built carving off sections of what once was their gardens. One even had one side of his house torn down!! Bit of shock - but apparently all legal in that region.
So suggest there are more issues to address than simply whether a berth may or may not appreciate in value - will the local laws even see you owning it in years to come??
Cheers
JOHN

[Pura Vida]

John's Argument is worth serious consideration. In a similar situation Houston is the largest city in the States without zoning. Every neighborhoood or development is managed under deed restrictions, much the same as being a member of a condo association. Essentially you sign an agreement saying you will abide by the rules. Problems run the gamut. One association's board sold a retiree's $150K house for way below market when she missed a few months worth of dues. In another neighborhood the restrictions are so lax after years of poor enforcement that you may see a $300k home next to a lot with a travel trailer.

In many areas it is legal for the city or state to condemn property, say a home (or slip and adjacent land) and force sale to a business that will pay higher taxes. A state law was recently introduced, but failed, that was meant to prevent this. The homeowners along Galveston Bay are concerned about the growth of the local 'amusement park' and were behind this proposition.

Anyway this is a sticky subject. It may be the right choice and it may be the wrong choice depending... But in many places no clear law may be present. So what happens if the fairway needs to be dredged and the association refuses to do it? Or a derilict moves into the slip next to you? It may be easier to up anchor in a rental situation...

[GordMay]

Don't need a licence to practice Engineering in Texas, either. I have several Monolithic Dome projects to my credit, no professional seal required.

[seafox]

I paid $50k for my berth in NZ (mana) four years ago. They are now selling around me for $75k. The loss of interest on the 50K is heaps less than renting one and the $25k capital gain is icing on the cake.

[seafox]

They were $35k two years before I bought.

[AnchorageGuy]

condo slips in the Floriduh Keys 7 years ago $25K to $40K, same slips today $250K to 500K for a hole in the water. I managed a condo marina so know from where i speak.

[jwaring1]

I just purchased a slip in the Wharf Marina On Galveston Bay in League, City Texas. I had all of the same forementioned concerns. I checked with the Galveston County Tax appraisal office and found that the marina had once been owned by the Condo Association but had been taken over by the Marina association next door many years ago. Whoever orginally drew up the covenants for the marina was very thorough. The covenants must be bullet proof because they allow use of the condo's facilities and parking. I have heard that there have been attempts in the past by the condo association to remove access to thier facilities but with no success.

[jwaring1]

I just noticed the price mentioned for a deeded slip in other areas of the country. All I have to say is I'm so glad I live in Texas. I paid well below 20 for mine in 2008.

[liberty16]

Is the market properly responding to the demand for slips? Why are they getting so exorbitantly expensive? Are there just so few marinas and more mariners that the price is through the roof or are the marinas just price gouging? At those prices it seems like there should be a rebel colony of sailors that band together and form their own collective for more a affordable place to dock.

Don't need a licence to practice Engineering in Texas, either. I have several Monolithic Dome projects to my credit, no professional seal required.

That's awesome, do you have any pictures?

[caribnsol]

I believe alot of it has to do with demand and that so many of the cheaper marinas are getting sold to developers. Some places are using emminent (? spelling) domain to take properties. They are using economic reasonsto justify it. Get a little bit of taxes for a marina or house, get ALOT of taxes from new condo's or a Walmart. I think I read that recently florida ammended their laws that cities could not take land and give it to a developer or corporation.

[hellosailor]

"form their own collective for more a affordable place to dock."
Interesting idea, but what good is your own collective unless you alos have your own waterfront to put the docks onto?

And that's the problem, waterfront property of any kind, any place, has always been the most expensive (even when it takes regular storm damage) and there's no more of it being made. In many areas it is also heavily regulated, either by the Army Engineer Corps or other agencies, and new construction may simply be impossible.