Long Term Hire or Short Term Buy then Sell?

[DavidUK]

I am hoping to have between 4-6 months career break either this year or in 2012 and am seeking some advice from experienced boaters.

 

The two options I am looking at are either a long term hire through Escape the Rat Race (etrr.co.uk) or to purchase my own boat with a view to selling it after 4-6 months. Etrr.co.uk costs are approx £1000pm which includes maintenance(not fuel) although the costs do increase to around £1500pm for the summer period.

 

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

[Guest]

I am hoping to have between 4-6 months career break either this year or in 2012 and am seeking some advice from experienced boaters.

 

The two options I am looking at are either a long term hire through Escape the Rat Race (etrr.co.uk) or to purchase my own boat with a view to selling it after 4-6 months. Etrr.co.uk costs are approx £1000pm which includes maintenance(not fuel) although the costs do increase to around £1500pm for the summer period.

 

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

For me it all depends on how new a boat you are thinking about buying and how far through it's depreciation slide it is. Get one that has stabilised at around £50-£55K and you could lose very little in 4-6 months.

 

Come sell time of course you need to factor in the brokers fee.

 

Based on the limited info. you have posted I'd be inclined to say long term hire.

[DavidUK]

For me it all depends on how new a boat you are thinking about buying and how far through it's depreciation slide it is. Get one that has stabilised at around £50-£55K and you could lose very little in 4-6 months.

 

Come sell time of course you need to factor in the brokers fee.

 

Based on the limited info. you have posted I'd be inclined to say long term hire.

 

 

If I bought it would definately be second hand, probably around the 5-10 year old range. Any idea what typical brokers fees are?

[ditchcrawler]

I am hoping to have between 4-6 months career break either this year or in 2012 and am seeking some advice from experienced boaters.

 

The two options I am looking at are either a long term hire through Escape the Rat Race (etrr.co.uk) or to purchase my own boat with a view to selling it after 4-6 months. Etrr.co.uk costs are approx £1000pm which includes maintenance(not fuel) although the costs do increase to around £1500pm for the summer period.

 

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

The problem is you may not want to part with it after 6 months

[DavidUK]

The problem is you may not want to part with it after 6 months

 

 

Yes I know, although I wouldn't have much choice really as would be returning to work and keeping a house plus a boat isn't an option.

[originalsmoothie]

I contacted this long term narrowboat hire company about a month ago, said that I had a lot of people subscribing to my web site who would be interested in his service and asked him to provide information. Not a word from him. This is not necessarily indicative of the level of service you could expect, but I thought I would let you know.

[Guest]

Any idea what typical brokers fees are?

 

http://rugbyboats.co.uk/Selling.php

 

I do not know if this is typical or competitive...

 

I've seen 6% quoted.

[Grace and Favour]

I am hoping to have between 4-6 months career break either this year or in 2012 and am seeking some advice from experienced boaters.

 

The two options I am looking at are either a long term hire through Escape the Rat Race (etrr.co.uk) or to purchase my own boat with a view to selling it after 4-6 months. Etrr.co.uk costs are approx £1000pm which includes maintenance(not fuel) although the costs do increase to around £1500pm for the summer period.

 

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

Not only would you have to factor in the Brokers fees on the sale, but also the fact that the boat may not sell for 12 / 18 / 24 months . . you'd then incur mooring fees, maintenance costs and further depreciation.

 

IMO it's a no-brainer - - - rent a boat!

[Weyland Yutani]

Not only would you have to factor in the Brokers fees on the sale, but also the fact that the boat may not sell for 12 / 18 / 24 months . . you'd then incur mooring fees, maintenance costs and further depreciation.

 

IMO it's a no-brainer - - - rent a boat!

 

At least one broker I know of allows you free mooring at their marina whilst it's listed for sale though. Worth bearing in mind when choosing where to sell.

[sociable_hermit]

Yes I know, although I wouldn't have much choice really as would be returning to work and keeping a house plus a boat isn't an option.

Sell the house?

[RichardH]

Despite my core business I would suggest buying and then selling.

 

Why do I say this?

 

1. You get the boat you want

2. You should not lose any money in such a short space of time

3. If you make improvements to the boat whilst you own it, you may even make a few beans

 

If you opt for long term hire ask the company the following

 

1. What insurance cover do they supply (and insist on a copy of the certificate)

2. Has it a current BSC which is valid for hire boats

3. What would they do if you cruised to say Skipton and the engine went bump?

 

Finally, you must compare apples with apples. Are you looking at the comparison of a 50k boat for sale with a 50k boat for rental?

[ymu]

You'd probably be much better off renting. The economy is unlikely to pick up any time soon and there are a lot of boats out there not selling. Unless you know enough to pick up an absolute bargain, or can afford to have a large amount of money depreciating at a brokerage for a long time, it'd be very risky.

 

We rented for a lot cheaper than etrr are offering - both through a hire place (winter months) and privately (year round). Whoever you rent from it will include licence, insurance and maintenance - it's not in the owner's interests to leave those up to a tenant.

 

The difficulty is finding a rental advertised. You might be best off walking the towpath and talking to people. Or do what we did and phone around a few hire places that don't hire out in the winter months and see if they're interested.

[TimD]

When I suggested (on the introduce yourelf forum) that I wanted to rent for 4-6 months before buying, several people advised me not to on the basis that official rents are expensive and unofficial rents are illegal (due to insurance issues).

 

For me, the big difference is that I live nowhere near the narrowboat system and I'd like to view a lot of boats and get to know my options first hand before committing myself to buying a boat. I view the value of cruising on the system for a few months visiting boatyards and talking to boaters daily etc is considerable. Others who have much easier access and/or experience of boat buying would be in a better position to buy straightaway.

 

However I would only rent where I "buy part ownership" of the boat thus being covered for insurance and where the owner is committed to cover breakdown issues. That said renting isn't cheap, being comparable to my mortgage payments on my house.

 

 

BTW I have had no response from etrr either, I wonder if they have gone out of business.

[TimD]

Oh one other thing. I wouldn't go for renting an out of season Holiday boat unless you really have no alternative. They're designed to squeeze lots of people in for a week or two only. The live aboards are much better suited for you and your SO to go cruising for months.

[RichardH]

Oh one other thing. I wouldn't go for renting an out of season Holiday boat unless you really have no alternative. They're designed to squeeze lots of people in for a week or two only. The live aboards are much better suited for you and your SO to go cruising for months.

 

A rather sweeping generalisation. Take a look at our Green Man for example.

[ymu]

When I suggested (on the introduce yourelf forum) that I wanted to rent for 4-6 months before buying, several people advised me not to on the basis that official rents are expensive and unofficial rents are illegal (due to insurance issues).

Our landlord checked with the insurance company and they were fine. We paid marginally less than a one bed flat in the general area we were cruising around would have cost us. We did have the usual shit experience with amateur landlords though ... Do everything in writing, no matter how trustworthy they might appear.

 

I've seen lots of people arguing on here that renting is a waste of money, but they don't seem to be taking into account that licence, insurance and maintenance are included in the rent, and nor do they include the interest payments/loss of interest on the purchase price of the boat, let alone the value of knowing that the life is right for you before committing tens of thousands of pounds on something you don't yet know much about and might make a very bad decision on.

 

I agree with you about holiday boats being less ideal because they're not designed for living on. It was very good for us - that first winter on a boat designed for summer use with no stove and very limited electrics meant we knew it was what we wanted when we made the decision to carry on. It wouldn't be so good for the OP because he's not looking to buy for the long-term.

[Steilsteven]

Why not buy into a boat share scheme? It could cost you less than you've said you'd be prepared to pay for hiring and when you decide to leave the scheme you'd get most or all of your money back.

 

Keith

[Paul Evans]

Why not buy into a boat share scheme? It could cost you less than you've said you'd be prepared to pay for hiring and when you decide to leave the scheme you'd get most or all of your money back.

 

Keith

 

Very few, if any, boat share schemes would give the OP the 4 to 6 months of

cruising that he is looking for.

[Mike Jordan]

If I understand you correctly, it's a case of balancing the #1500 rental cost against- 1. a survey fee - lets say 500 (only a fool would buy without one) plus 2.a brokers fee of say 6% on 40,000 = 2550. You have already covered the firts three months cost before insurance, licence, and maintenance/repairs. You might make two brokers very happy! but even if the plan worked you could be well out of pocket. Much more sensible to rent.

Mike

Edited February 26, 2011 by Mike Jordan

[Guest]

Oh one other thing. I wouldn't go for renting an out of season Holiday boat unless you really have no alternative. They're designed to squeeze lots of people in for a week or two only. The live aboards are much better suited for you and your SO to go cruising for months.

 

Can't agree with this at all. While some boats we have hired have been akin to floating dormitories (because we needed lots of berths for a particular hire) others have been more than spacious - particularly if you do as we have done and hire a four berth when there is only two aboard.

 

I don't think this boat looks as if it has been designed to squeeze lots of people in AND we had a great time aboard her in November 2009 and Feb 2010 ie out of season.

[Steilsteven]

Very few, if any, boat share schemes would give the OP the 4 to 6 months of

cruising that he is looking for.

 

Ah yes, I hadn't thought of that.

 

Keith

[TimD]

Can't agree with this at all. While some boats we have hired have been akin to floating dormitories (because we needed lots of berths for a particular hire) others have been more than spacious - particularly if you do as we have done and hire a four berth when there is only two aboard.

 

I don't think this boat looks as if it has been designed to squeeze lots of people in AND we had a great time aboard her in November 2009 and Feb 2010 ie out of season.

 

As MJG and Richard H pointed out, there are some exceptions, and I agree Green Man does look like a great live aboard layout for a holiday boat. But even so I think that most live aboarders would rather have a shorter boat or have extra living space rather than have the second cabin in the NB linked above (Moira), and use some kind of sofa/pulldown bed for guests. In terms of the OP's question, If DavidUK plans of having lots of friends to visit throughout the summer then a boat like Moira would be ideal (albeit very expensive for a 4 month hire in season), otherwise go for a boat with just one cabin.

Edited February 27, 2011 by TimD

[Odana]

Try Sheffield Narrowboats for long term hire. It's all they do, and Martin may pointyou in other directions if his boats are booked up. Good bloke.

[bargemast]

I've just been studying the web-site of "Sheffield Narrowboats" and they really do look as THE answer for the OP.

 

Peter.

[DavidUK]

Thank you very much to all who have offered advice and their opinions. It has given me plenty to think about.