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Buying my first boat alarm bells! Can you help me?


Jeffyjeff

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11 hours ago, Jeffyjeff said:

 

So apparently the last time the anodes were fitted they fitted the wrong size - too small - so there's meant to be 6 of the correct size. Hence the fast corrosion, although scouring the forums I can't see any resource on this - have you come across this before?

 

Cheers 

Apparently the anodes were too small hence the corrosion - does this sound feasible?

I'm afraid you looking at the wrong boat here - my advice is walk away now.

 

You said "She was also shot blasted, 2-pack epoxy coated including base plate and had 12 new anodes fitted in 2018"
According to McDuff technical support anodes do nothing until the blacking breaks down. My boat was 2-packed from new 15 years ago and has been re-blacked using same 2-pack every 3 years since. The original anodes are still only partially corroded.

 

"do you think this is a massive alarm bell for issues underneath?"

"he's knocked a further 2k off the price agreed if I do not get a survey and move in this month" ALARM BELL
 

There's too many things that don't add up here I would be very wary.

 

If you are set on it get a full survey but I don't see why you would need to pay a 10%  deposit first. I would be very cautious, you may not see that again under any circumstances.

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Don't forget maintenance (depreciation). As a start point, assume that your boat will be depreciated over 10 years (you can argue about the length but thereabouts is a good start) so that each year you should be setting aside £3K (plus inflation allowance) to replace it at the end of that period. A more complex calculation would take a detailed look at a long term maintenance schedule, allowing for the fact that the worst case always happens! (usually at the outset . . .) With a proper maintenance programme you could maintain some residual value at the end of the depreciation period. Even so, your budget should include maintenance expenditure (as well as depreciation allowance) each year - £3K might just be realistic, but talk to others in a similar position. What you don't want to do is end up in a few years time with a comfy home that is sinking into the water  (not so comfy then) or where some of the major facilities no longer work. If you really do not intend to move and stay permanently hooked up to electricity, then you will be less worried about engine and generators (a big worry for others) but do allow for a proper external repaint at a suitable interval.

 

Make sure that your valuation for insurance is realistic. If you over-insure then your premiums will be higher but come a payout, for anything not just a total write off, your insurance company may apply a reduction. Similarly with under valuation - you will only get a proportion of what you might be expecting. You might want to discuss with the broker how their policy works over the depreciation period - will you still be paying the same (+inflation) period after five years when its market value may well be much lower?

 

You should also look at another ongoing thread about living 'under the radar' with regard to permanent residence. What may not worry you right now could well become more significant as time goes by.

 

None of this, or any of the other comments, is meant to deter you from owning a boat and even living on it, but aimed at ensuring you do so in a realistic context that helps you plan ahead. Putting off longer term matters means that you will not be able to weather a storm when it arrives.

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It might seem appealing but as has been said - your boat - even if it's a good boat depreciates. 

If your mates buy an apartment - it will appreciate in value. 

 

Property will go up in value with time so the best time to get on the property ladder is now.  Or maybe Nov1 if it's all gone tits up. 

 

 

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37 minutes ago, cougie said:

It might seem appealing but as has been said - your boat - even if it's a good boat depreciates. 

If your mates buy an apartment - it will appreciate in value. 

 

Property will go up in value with time so the best time to get on the property ladder is now.  Or maybe Nov1 if it's all gone tits up. 

 

 

So are you saying property always goes up except when it goes down?

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59 minutes ago, cougie said:

If your mates buy an apartment - it will appreciate in value.

 

Frankly, in the long term, an apartment won't.

 

It is a lease not a freehold so its value depreciates to zero over the term of the lease. Probably 99 years. 

 

 

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11 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Frankly, in the long term, an apartment won't.

 

It is a lease not a freehold so its value depreciates to zero over the term of the lease. Probably 99 years. 

 

 

Lots of people buy apartments which appreciate in value. I bought one in 2013 for £75k, sold it earlier this year for £105k. Most flats I have helped people to sell, (probably hundreds since 1987), had increased in value. Very few had fallen in value.

 

Care needs to be taken with the length of the lease remaining, of course. Once a lease gets down to, say, less than 90 years, it can become difficult to get a mortgage, so impossible to sell to someone getting a mortgage, and very difficult to sell to anyone with the slightest hint of inquisitiveness, even if they have cash funds for the whole amount.

 

There are lots of apartments that have the balance of 999 years of the lease remaining, and lots which started with 250 year lease. Many do have shorter leases which started at 125 years, or 99 years as you mention.

 

With most/many apartments, there is an option to buy an extension of the lease from the freeholder. This is often back up to the original term, and the cost can seem a bit arbitrary - several thousands of pounds.

 

Clearly, somebody, at some point, is going to be left holding the baby when the flat needs a lease extension. This needs to be considered at the time of purchase as it is most likely to be the owner trying to sell who is forced to pay for it, rather than a buyer doing it immediately after purchase.

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2 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

With most/many apartments, there is an option to buy an extension of the lease from the freeholder. This is often back up to the original term, and the cost can seem a bit arbitrary - several thousands of pounds.

 

Several tens of thousands in my personal experience. 

 

 

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20 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Several tens of thousands in my personal experience. 

In an area where flats currently sell for around £100k to £250k, (with a few cheaper and more expensive outliers), I have seen costs of between about £7,000 and £15,000 taking leases from around 85 years back to 120 years, or so. There will be parts of the country where the values and extension costs will be widely different.

 

Nevertheless, i think it is important to stress that, on the whole, and in general, flats don't depreciate like you suggest. They may lose value from time to time, (just like the rest of the market), and they may not rise as fast as the rest of the market rises, when they rise, but that is not the same.

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8 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Frankly, in the long term, an apartment won't.

 

It is a lease not a freehold so its value depreciates to zero over the term of the lease. Probably 99 years. 

 

 

that is a generalisation too far.

 

many properties of all types in London are leasehold - many people have made a fortune out of buying them.   the cost of extending a lease (every 20 years, say) is insignificant compared to the huge rise in value.   how else could my daughter have bought a flat in NW London for 220K in 2010, and has since moved twice and now owns a terraced house valued at 1.2million?  

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