Monopoly marina ownership makes disabled veteran homeless

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by sailingabe41ds

My boat is an a Safe Harbor Marina. They bought it from another company and I can say they do not maintain the club house as nicely and I could not make reciprocal reservations in a sister marina till the month of departure. This made it very difficult to plan a trip and this was completely different than the previous owners. The place also does not look as well maintained as it used to be with the previous owner.

That said, we had severe winds 6 months ago damaging over 20 slips. Nothing has been done. The biggest problem is not money...insurance ...nor Safe Harbor. The biggest problem is the STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND THE LOCAL COUNTY GOVERNMENT!!!

That's not making sense.

If the marina was better maintained til Safe Harbor took it over... the problem ain't gummint. Somebody's just making excuses for not making repairs faster.

[sailingabe41ds]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

That's not making sense.

If the marina was better maintained til Safe Harbor took it over... the problem ain't gummint. Somebody's just making excuses for not making repairs faster.

It does make sense. Routine maintenance is one thing. The major repairs that has to be done as a result of severe damage requires permits, permission from different agencies and it is a lengthy process . I know I built a custom house here and I have built in other states....and Ventura is not a very friendly place to do business or build. They are not making excuses. Think about the hundreds of thousand of dollars they are loosing in the process. For them, the quicker they fix it the quicker they can rent those slips out. Welcome to California.. .this is not Lake Ontario.


Abe

[flightlead404]

Originally Posted by sailingabe41ds

Someone mentioned enforcement...yes they will. We have a electronic gate card that records every time you come in an out and it is very hard to get away with living on board without them knowing about it. They will evict you...the Harbor Master will get involved if you do not have a permit to live on board. So yes...they enforce. Do not know about other states...but in California you can not pass gas without the State knowing about it.

Abe

The marina the OP is talking about does not have this. There are mechanical push button combination locks. Yes, there are a few cameras around, but afaict no one is regularly reviewing the images. Probably only if an issue is reported.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by sailingabe41ds

Someone mentioned enforcement...yes they will. We have a electronic gate card that records every time you come in an out and it is very hard to get away with living on board without them knowing about it. They will evict you...the Harbor Master will get involved if you do not have a permit to live on board. So yes...they enforce. Do not know about other states...but in California you can not pass gas without the State knowing about it.

Abe

As the saying goes, "You get what you vote for".

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by Cadence

I don't think that would be nearly sufficient funds in todays economy.

It's not an outright buy but a sizable down payment. What we really need to be successful is a beamy boat lift for cats.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Tellie

It's not an outright buy but a sizable down payment. What we really need to be successful is a beamy boat lift for cats.

Get someone with an MBA and an attorney involved. A new endeavor with no P and L statement and 30 partners better have a well written prospectus. It might be tricky floating a major loan. A bank won't want 30 boats as collateral.

[4arch]

A well intentioned small investor group might keep a marina out of big corporate hands but I think would ultimately struggle to manage the place without implementing what some customers would see as corporate-style policies. Someone would need to be brought on board to manage the day-to-day and, even if initially given a lot of latitude to use their discretion to create a fair and customer oriented marina, they’d likely face differences of opinion among members of the investment group on what an ideal marina would look like. This would lead to management practices needing to be formalized and codified, and this would erode the manager’s discretion to handle client relations. It really wouldn’t be comparable to a well run mom and pop where you have a fully invested owner-operator usually on site daily and not necessarily having to answer directly to numerous financial stakeholders.

In fact, acquisition by a small or midsized investor group using a hired manager or management company is precisely what has happened or is happening to the marinas not being bought out by SH.

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by ShoreFun

One party wants to let businesses do what they want and the other is trying to keep the interests of the people in mind.

uh oh .. that sounds like politics

[Jammer]

In many ways, Dockominiums are the ideal ownership structure, at least for people who want a long-term commitment to a slip.


But many (perhaps most) do not accept transients, and they are a risky purchase for people who are planning to move to another area in a few years (or sooner). And they are financially daunting for most people buying their first boat.

[Tellie]

Let me rephrase this a bit. 30 SILENT partners.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Tellie

Let me rephrase this a bit. 30 SILENT partners.

I think that makes it less feasible for the original intent.
I would love to see a liveaboard marina however there does have to be a charter that outlines the does and the don'ts. Another consideration is selling one's share of the corporation, 30 may be to large for an LLC. Which is really just a protect your assets loop hole.
JMHO

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by Cadence

I think that makes it less feasible for the original intent.
I would love to see a liveaboard marina however there does have to be a charter that outlines the does and the don'ts. Another consideration is selling one's share of the corporation, 30 may be to large for an LLC. Which is really just a protect your assets loop hole.
JMHO

LOL, you're a financial adviser aren't you?

Actually, there are still some places here on the East coast of Florida and the interior that would make great prospects for acquisition that are not in the prime real estate areas. There's a Marina in Moore Haven Florida that we work at every now and then. If you Google the map you'd see this is near the South end of lake Okeechobee. If you've ever driven through Moore Haven and Clewiston area you'd swear there couldn't be a large marina in that area of sugar cane and cowboys. But it is there and they service large ocean going yachts. Land there is a whole lot different price wise than land in Ft. Lauderdale 70 miles away.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Tellie

LOL, you're a financial adviser aren't you?

Actually, there are still some places here on the East coast of Florida and the interior that would make great prospects for acquisition that are not in the prime real estate areas. There's a Marina in Moore Haven Florida that we work at every now and then. If you Google the map you'd see this is near the South end of lake Okeechobee. If you've ever driven through Moore Haven and Clewiston area you'd swear there couldn't be a large marina in that area of sugar cane and cowboys. But it is there and they service large ocean going yachts. Land there is a whole lot different price wise than land in Ft. Lauderdale 70 miles away.

Financial adviser, hell no. Been a suit and then owned a business which I floated a loan for the property. Just speaking from limited experience. My wife has an LLC just so suing us is limited to that piece of properties worth, as I said a protect your ass loop hole.
I've been through the Okeechobee ditch, but those areas aren't conducive to 30 live aboard investors unless they are mosquitoes.

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by ShoreFun

Interesting, so which party do you regularly vote for?

One party wants to let businesses do what they want and the other is trying to keep the interests of the people in mind.

Keep in mind the biggest threat to your hard earned cash is not spending and taxation by the gov. It is lack of regulation and monopolies that can take larger portions of your free money. Last time I check you freedom is tightly tied with how much excess cash you have on hand. If corporations had their way they would take as much cash as they could out of your pocket while reducing your wages. Historically that is what all major companies try to do.

BTW, places like marinas and trailer parks are considered cash cows. Someone I knew owned 2 of them and he lived very well. They also are a faster tax write off then buildings (trailer parks, I dont know about marinas). So they are good tax write offs and they make extra cash. FWIW, Sun Industries pays a good dividend.

Keep in mind all the pet Dr's offices are being bought out by 2 companies who also want you to buy pet insurance. They have been jacking prices. Same goes for eye wear and eye Dr offices. The key is to be able to get everyone in a subscription so you are constantly giving them money.

Notice the current administation is going to make it so you will be able to goto thrid parties to fix your boat engines. Currently some require you to go to the dealer and use their computers and their parts. Where the previous administation was allowing companies to increase their monopolies and prices you pay for stuff.

Anyway things to consider when you vote.

One party supports big corporations, the other wants to outlaw recreational boating altogether.

Which party do YOU vote for?

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

One party supports big corporations, the other wants to outlaw recreational boating altogether.

Which party do YOU vote for?

Keep politics out of it. I'm sure you can find a place more appropriate.