risk adverse friends

[JemShaun]

Hello all I need some help please, I have a friend who is wishing to sell his home and move onto the water, now I have lived on the water previously, and my wife and I are currently ready to embark on a new life afloat. It doesn't seem to matter how I explain things  to them, they are just panicking that the sale of the house wont be completed, the boat wont pass a survey, this will happen, that will happen. 

I have tried to explain everything as best I can, however I feel I now need help, can anyone who sold their home to fund this lifestyle please comment how easy it was so I can show him. 

The fact that we are buying a boat and renting our home out, should not be a barrier to them selling and then buying a boat. He has his head screwed on when it comes to the boat and how they will live, just struggling with that step........................................help lol 

[haggis]

Perhaps your friends anxiety is caused because he is not totally sold on the idea of buying a boat. 

[JemShaun]

now that is a fair comment, 

[jonathanA]

I think there is a big difference between what you have done and what your friend is doing.  you have rented your house out and so if things go wrong you can evict your tenants and move back, or at some point sell up and buy a bigger/better boat/smaller house etc.   in other words you have options. 

 

he is selling his house and if its goes pear shaped hes stuffed... going into a period of high inflation, he could find himself unable to buy a house in a few years time if his circumstances change.   for instance some friends of mine own a very nice Dutch barge moored on their own private mooring. The husband has early onset dementia and they have had to sell up as its become too difficult to manage his illness and continue a boating lifestyle. fortunately they had the means to buy an house without needing to sell the boat/land.   none of us knows whats around the corner. 

 

my advice to your friend would be - don't !  but you don't want to hear that 🙂

Edited September 21, 2023 by jonathanA
added a bit

[magnetman]

Don't sell the house. 

 

Bit of a personal story but I know how badly this can go wrong. Not me as I never owned any property but you have to be very careful about this. 

[Sea Dog]

Why don't you just move onto the water and let this friend make his own life-changing decisions? The best way you can assist him in making such a big decision without twisting his arm is to let him see first hand how you get on.

[LadyG]

I sold my house, and bought a boat . 

Everything that could have gone wrong with the sale of the house did go wrong, to the extent that I refused to move out untill the money was actually  in my own bank account. 

It arrived in my account at 11.00 after the midnight which would be the legal time of sale.

No one was happy about my action, but as the sale was not secure I was not going to leave.

My solicitor described the paperwork of the first solicitor, who I had to sack, as a mess and it was.

i have bought and sold several houses without any problem, though I remember one couple wanted to move in before the money was transferred. I refused .

So possession is the thing,

I had put down a deposit on the boat, so was keen to secure the purchase. It was quite seamless as there will be at least six weeks before accepting sale of house and getting the boat 

No need to stop browsing other likely boats, but buying a boat when you have cash in your account is a very strong position 

I hired a van for a few days , a big van holds all the possessions, and one can stay in motels.

 

In your position the only thing you can do is help with the boat viewing.

You could remind them that their solicitor is in their employ and should act under their instruction. This is something solicitors have to be reminded of, they are a slippery lot.

    

Edited September 21, 2023 by LadyG

[Alan de Enfield]

Don't suggest he sells his house to fund the boat, he then loses all security.

 

Rent out the house, extend the mortgage (or take out a mortgage) and use the rental to pay the mortgage.

 

No one knows what the future holds and for many where they are going to live 'in their old age (or illness) is very worrying.

[BoatinglifeupNorth]

@JemShaun how far are you into the process of selling up and buying a boat?

 I think you said  back in Jan/Feb you would be on the water within 6 month.

 Are you egging your friend on a bit because you want to do it, as it sounds like your friends not a 100% into it?

 Do you want a best mate/ buddy cruising partner?

 Let your friend make his own decisions, there’s no rush, maybe he can spend some time on your boat to see if it’s really what he wants. Is your friend married? if so I take it it’s him and his wife like yourself?

  

Edited September 21, 2023 by BoatinglifeupNorth

[booke23]

45 minutes ago, jonathanA said:

I think there is a big difference between what you have done and what your friend is doing.  you have rented your house out and so if things go wrong you can evict your tenants and move back, or at some point sell up and buy a bigger/better boat/smaller house etc.   in other words you have options. 

 

 

⬆️ This.

 

I'd strongly advise at all costs to retain some sort of property if he's going to move onto a boat. If he can't mortgage or raise funds, sell and buy a smaller property to rent out.  

[BoatinglifeupNorth]

5 minutes ago, booke23 said:

 

⬆️ This.

 

I'd strongly advise at all costs to retain some sort of property if he's going to move onto a boat. If he can't mortgage or raise funds, sell and buy a smaller property to rent out.  

I think it’s not just him but also his wife, maybe they’re both not 100% convinced on the idea and are apprehensive about the whole situation?

[robtheplod]

We're in the fortunate position of having a boat and a house, and my wife always says she would never had got a boat if we had to sell the house, this was a big no no to her, and i can see the logic. I'd step back and let your friend make his own decisions, maybe after seeing you it will put him off or encourage him!

[Chewbacka]

The point for your friend to consider is that house prices rise and a boat slowly rusts away losing value.  So in 15 years time, the boat that was purchased with the sale of a house will have lost a lot of value, and selling it will not even raise enough for a small deposit on a house, let alone how to pay the mortgage.  I wouldn’t sell the house.

[Wanderer Vagabond]

36 minutes ago, Chewbacka said:

The point for your friend to consider is that house prices rise and a boat slowly rusts away losing value.  So in 15 years time, the boat that was purchased with the sale of a house will have lost a lot of value, and selling it will not even raise enough for a small deposit on a house, let alone how to pay the mortgage.  I wouldn’t sell the house.

I'd go with your position, there is the old adage of 'Buy in haste, repent at leisure' which is worth thinking about. I have the fortunate position of a house and boat, but if I hadn't and only had the house I'd be thinking more along the lines of taking out a loan to buy a boat whilst paying for it from the rental income of letting the house. Once you are out of the housing market it can become difficult to get back into it unless you have access to a lot of cash, and boats have a habit of soaking up a fair bit of cash.

[blackrose]

17 hours ago, JemShaun said:

Hello all I need some help please, I have a friend who is wishing to sell his home and move onto the water, now I have lived on the water previously, and my wife and I are currently ready to embark on a new life afloat. It doesn't seem to matter how I explain things  to them, they are just panicking that the sale of the house wont be completed, the boat wont pass a survey, this will happen, that will happen. 

I have tried to explain everything as best I can, however I feel I now need help, can anyone who sold their home to fund this lifestyle please comment how easy it was so I can show him. 

The fact that we are buying a boat and renting our home out, should not be a barrier to them selling and then buying a boat. He has his head screwed on when it comes to the boat and how they will live, just struggling with that step........................................help lol 

 

Why do you feel it's your job to persuade him? Why not just leave him to do what he thinks is best?

Edited September 22, 2023 by blackrose

[MtB]

My view is they are foolish to sell the house to buy a boat to live on. 

 

Boats generally go down in value, maintenance costs a ten times that of a house and a boat is the last place you need to be if you grow old and infirm rather than croaking it while you are still fit and healthy.

 

Bad move in my opinion and deep down they know it, which is why they are panicking and seeking the reassurance you cannot give. 

 

 

[BoatinglifeupNorth]

2 hours ago, blackrose said:

 

Why do you feel it's your job to persuade him? Why not just leave him to do what he thinks is best for him?

I thought that and why isn’t the OP selling his house, but renting it out and he’s trying to say to his friend it will be ok to sell his?

 His friend and his wife have a lot more to loose if they don’t like it, far more than the guy trying to persuade him to do it?

Edited September 21, 2023 by BoatinglifeupNorth

[Momac]

I met  a couple who had sold the house and bought a narrowboat. The boat purchase used all their equity  from the sale of the house.

After half a dozen years or so (not sure exactly) he became unwell and could not stick the winters on board

So they sold the boat which fetched about the same money as it had cost ,

But house prices had increased considerably so they could not afford to buy anything and had to rent , which was very upsetting for them.

 

So I would never sell the house and use the money to buy a boat unless there was plenty of other cash.

If there was other cash then use that to buy the boat and rent out the house.

 

It sounds like the time is not right for the risk averse couple.

 

[system 4-50]

Regardess of the wisdom of losing a toehold in the property market, if you are a "fretter" then a boating life is not the best for you. IMHO.

[john.k]

I did the opposite ...sold a boat in 1980  for $12,000 and sunk the lot into a property..............wonder how much property I could buy for $12,000 today?

[Machpoint005]

11 hours ago, system 4-50 said:

Regardess of the wisdom of losing a toehold in the property market, if you are a "fretter" then a boating life is not the best for you. IMHO.

 

Since the aspiring boat inner friends are not absolutely sure about the idea, I'm not sure whose business it is to "persuade" them one way or the other. 

 

I'm sure the OP can correct me if I'm mistaken, but what's the point in this apparent boating evangelism?.

 

 

[john.k]

'Better to be a fretter" than your typical careless /reckless boater .

[Tigerr]

Has your friend spent winter on a boat? One winter was quite enough for me. 

Cold, muddy, damp, and uncomfortable. Quite different from a winter cruise. We froze in, the water point froze. No fun. 

Selling your house to move onto a boat is a last resort. Not for the risk averse at all, because it hugely increases the overall risk element in life. Not least the fact that boating with the sort of health issues that accumulate with age can become simply unfeasible. 

I think your friends anxiety is likely to be because he knows this deep down is a bad decision. 

At some point they will need to move back off the boat. They'll be doing that, quite possibly, in a health crisis, with reduced means, and it won't be a good time. 

[Ray T]

Between jobs Judith, my wife, voluntered  at the local Citizens Advice Bureau. 

She occasionally had people who had sold up and bought a boat or motor home.

Things had gone pear-shaped and they were looking for a "council flat."

First off, Coventry City Council sold off all its housing to a housing association or "right to buy" and the association's view was that anyone who had done this had "Intentionally made themselves homeless" and went to the bottom of the list for rehousing.

We are in the fortunate position to have a house and boat. Old age and some issues which go with that have begun to rear its ugly head and I am glad to have bricks and mortar.

 

Edited September 22, 2023 by Ray T

[T.Dreme]

I would suggest any uncertainty or apprehension about living on a boat indicates they are either not aware of the practicalities of doing so or the risks especially if they are new to boating.  If that is the case keep the house, get a boat and after a time they should be up to making a decision.  
 

In my case, being boating for 30 plus years, moved on to the boat progressively over 12 months and eventually came to conclusion we didn’t need the house other than for storage

 

I haven’t seen any comment referring to renting the house.  I considered that but determined the returns would not cover the potential risk and cost of damage or any issues of being a landlord.