Selling a home to live on a boat - does it really stack up?

[Mike Hurley]

44 minutes ago, chubby said:

So you sold a house & with the profit you bought a boat & another flat ? 

In what sense have you entered into the " owning a house ( or indeed flat )is not the be all & end all " mentality ??

You still own B&M ! 

Its an entirely different scenario from the OP as you still have a property asset . It is still , though less so , a safety net , a fallback option & almost certainly an investment in the sense that its value is likely to increase . 

Its hardly selling up &  throwing caution to the wind as far as i can see . 

You  appear to have then furthered this " gamble" by buying another property ! 

Fair play to you - happy days , youve done well  & made good judgements but i would suggest its not the same situation as the OP 

Yes you live once . Life is for living but theres nowt wrong with a bit of diligence or caution when considering ones options . 

For every one who wins at such a move - there ll ve those who got it wrong . MtB mentions a chap who made an error in his judgement speculating on property in Notting Hill , so not everyone who has a punt goes on to win . 

All this " one life " stuff  is tedious - yes it is true  , yes one ought to have a punt or two in life . Often though life is luck and aint always good luck & though we can never tell whats around the corner , spending some time thinking things thru before leaping is time well spent . 

 

Point i am making is gambles do pay off, sometimes, everyone said to me i was foolish to do what i did. If i had listened to them i would not be doing what i am now, i would be stuck in the rut of life still paying off a mortgage and working, which is something i gave up last year. Sometimes you just go with what feels good. He is a single man with no ties, perfect time to do your dream, if it is all for the right reasons of course and not just the living on a boat is cheap ideology, we all know its not. There is no clear cut answer to this or any major change in life, if it is what you want and it feels right then do it, if not then dont.

[MtB]

2 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

You don't buy a boat for financial reasons, and the world would be a better place if nobody bought a house for financial reasons either. 

Life is for living, and I do a hell of a lot more of it living on a boat, then I would if I was still in bricks and mortar.

 

Thus speaks a man with s secure pension in place, probably public sector.

tin hat back on again... 

[mrsmelly]

55 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Thus speaks a man with s secure pension in place, probably public sector.

tin hat back on again... 

Oy.......It wasny me who said that how did you twist it to make it a supposed quote from me!!

[WotEver]

Just now, mrsmelly said:

Oy.......It wasny me who said that how did you twist it to make it a supposed quote from me!!

He does this...

[mrsmelly]

6 minutes ago, WotEver said:

He does this...

Hes a very bad man!! 

[nb Innisfree]

When we bought our first home in early 1972 we were in a position to realise property was starting to rapidly rise in price. Nearly all my colleagues advised buying believing I was paying far too much and anyway if prices were rising as fast as I claimed the market would collapse, which it sort of did less than a year later after prices had doubled! Even some estate agents missed it. Turning it round, during the 80s property boom my colleague's brother sold his single estate agency business to a large national building society for an inflated half a million only for the market to collapse shortly after. What price professional advice if one of the biggest building societies made a massive cock-up? 

Seeking professional investment advice, why does the pro bother giving advice when they can secure profitable interest for themselves? 

My point is the vast majority of folk, including professionals don't see big changes coming until it's well and truly arrived, so what value does majority opinion hold? Zilch. 

Edited February 5, 2018 by nb Innisfree

[MtB]

3 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

Oy.......It wasny me who said that how did you twist it to make it a supposed quote from me!!

 

I'm deeply perplexed. It wasn't deliberate.

I thought I was quoting the author Dave_P. It was certainly his post I highlighted and selected "quote".

My sincere apologies.

[Irob]

On 05/02/2018 at 00:42, mrsmelly said:

You and I prefer the freedom and difference of living aboard and it certainly suites us. I am not phased by the future and not scared of my shadow. However we must remember that we are all conditioned in the UK that the ONLY thing to do unless you are a failure is to buy subsequent properties and remain on the " Property ladder!! " after all house are not for living in they are for profit!!. I don't however think property is a con as in all cases if you own property for over 20 years or so you will make a profit. Mum paid 200 pounds cash for her house in 1953 you can stick another three zeros on to it at least now. My first house in about 82 was 8450 and now for sale again at 100k etc etc so if your life is a spreadsheet then it has to be property but if you live your one life with other considerations then property is deffo not the only way.

I agree.  We just have to make a choice. I really knew nothing about narrowboats when i made my decision to sell up in 2013. I just looked at alternative options. I,m early retired, no kids, and a foreign partner who is small and adaptable. So i jumped for the canal boat. I,d sailed boats and im an engineer so it didnt daunt me. Once i,d dumped the flat and began my new adventure, life just got better everyday i cruised,  and met nice kindred folk, helpful, friendly and respectful of each other and the environment.  The thought of sitting lonely in a flat just isnt in my mind anymore.  Maybe with old age infirmity i,ll have to deal with that but at today,s fit n fairly healthy 64 years, i,ve still got 10 or more years to enjoy outdoors with nice folks. I know nice old Baz aboard Country Dreaming still cruising around Braunston area at 80 years young, fit n full of fun. Thats my target too.   " better remorse, than regret " ( better to be sorry you did something, than to be sorry later for not doing it).   Tempus Fugit.

[nb Innisfree]

I've never seen the point of regret, you make decisions, immediately or considered, turn time back and you would do exactly the same because that is who you was at the time. Once a decision has been enacted you can only look and go forward.  

Fate =kismet (alleged to be the words spoken by Nelson as he lay dying, not "Kiss me".. but "Kismet Hardy" 

Edited February 6, 2018 by nb Innisfree

[Dave_P]

19 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Thus speaks a man with s secure pension in place, probably public sector.

tin hat back on again... 

If that was meant for me, then you couldn't be more wrong.  I have very little pension provision at all.  I'm part of that generation where I don't really ever expect to retire.

When I bought my boat I had no pension provision at all.

 

Edited February 6, 2018 by Dave_P

[Irob]

35 minutes ago, nb Innisfree said:

I've never seen the point of regret, you make decisions, immediately or considered, turn time back and you would do exactly the same because that is who you was at the time. Once a decision has been enacted you can only look and go forward.  

Fate =kismet (alleged to be the words spoken by Nelson as he lay dying, not "Kiss me".. but "Kismet Hardy" 

I,ll bet Hardy was a bit red faced after a smooch with his dying hero. "KISMET HARDY, NOT BLOODY KISS ME ! "  .  I think it was that episode that lead to the other nautical term " Your turn in the barrel tonight Hardy " !

[nb Innisfree]

10 minutes ago, Irob said:

I,ll bet Hardy was a bit red faced after a smooch with his dying hero. "KISMET HARDY, NOT BLOODY KISS ME ! "  .  I think it was that episode that lead to the other nautical term " Your turn in the barrel tonight Hardy " !

[Laurie Booth]

1 hour ago, nb Innisfree said:

I've never seen the point of regret, you make decisions, immediately or considered, turn time back and you would do exactly the same because that is who you was at the time. Once a decision has been enacted you can only look and go forward.  

Fate =kismet (alleged to be the words spoken by Nelson as he lay dying, not "Kiss me".. but "Kismet Hardy" 

He actually said "Case me" meaning put my body in a barrel of rum to preserve it.

[Mad Harold]

On 04/02/2018 at 17:59, Furness said:

Consider a fibreglass cruiser.  They can be bought for the price of a used car,and a bigger one [27-30ft] will be big enough to be comfortable.

Have a look at boats for sale on this  site.Nothing there at the moment,but there are plenty of other sites to look at.

It will give you an idea of what price and specifications you can expect to find.

[WJM]

On 04/02/2018 at 05:07, roland elsdon said:

you are disposing of an asset to buy a depreciating  chattel that has attached costs.

house prices may fluctuate cyclically but in the long run asset prices increase . Chattels devalue to zero

OP - throw your spreadsheet in the bin. This is the crux of the whole matter. In 30 years time you can have a saleable asset or some worthless scrap metal. 

[barmyfluid]

6 minutes ago, WJM said:

OP - throw your spreadsheet in the bin. This is the crux of the whole matter. In 30 years time you can have a saleable asset or some worthless scrap metal. 

This is entirely true (unless you maybe buy and maintain something historic, tin hat time...), and to directly answer the OP question, no it doesn't stack up if you're talking spreadsheets, but it may of you're talking lifestyle and investing in a better one.

To rebalance the negative/positive scales however, remember that b&m isn't the only way to earn on investments, it's a good one, but not the only one (and not immune from disaster/calamity), especially as the op is young, earning and has plenty of years he could be putting savings away.

[JamesFrance]

You can do both IF you get the timing right.   In 1998 I sold a house I was no longer happy with (noisy tenants next door) and spent all the money on a 70ft tug from Steve Hudson to live on.   3 years later we decided it would be better to get back into the house market so spent £70000 on a small new house in North Wales.   4 years later sold that for £165000 to buy our house in France plus a new car.

[Momac]

My vote is with the group that say do no give up on a land based property.

You have done well to acquire some equity . Do not throw it away. If you do you will probably regret it  later in life.

A boat big enough to live aboard will cost more than a house to run and will depreciate. Even if a boat holds its value it is effectively depreciating. 

Quite along time ago I met a couple who had sold up their house and bought a narrow boat using the proceeds - for £50k. A few year later he developed a heart condition and could not deal with living aboard in the winter. House prices had gone up considerably . The boat sold for £50k but  they had insufficient funds to buy the smallest house  available.  Therefore had to rent in retirement. Not a happy prospect.

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[thenortherner]

Thanks a lot for the input everyone.

It just doesn't pay to do it, either financially or as far as sense and risk goes.  So I'll be sticking with it.

Instead I've explored a happy medium - releasing/borrowing against some of the equity in my home with my current lender.  I've found some lovely boats for around the £20K mark and it'll still leave me with a decent amount of equity in my home and I'll still keep a foot on the ladder.

[rasputin]

lovely boats for around £20, if steel sounds like a money pit to me ,I would go cheaper in plastic like i suggested earlier

[peterboat]

I have a broads cruiser as a second boat it is by far a better material for boats than steel I have dumped the diesel engine and installed electric, now have to completely refit her. Its a bit of retirement fun for me but when finished I will be selling my widebeam and moving on to the bathtub, as in later years she will be easier to maintain and cheaper run

[Irob]

16 hours ago, Laurie.Booth said:

He actually said "Case me" meaning put my body in a barrel of rum to preserve it.

He could have uttered  " Why me ?  Hardy.  Why the hell me ?"

Hardy might have replied  " I think it was your silly hat sir ! "   

[happyboris]

On 2/5/2018 at 10:47, MJG said:

This is seriously bad advice. I would strongly suggest the OP ignores it.

This is the advice I follow and preach as it is good advice because of this advice I bought a hull for 7k carried out the survey myself fitted her out myself I spent approx 15k on renovating her and now she is now worth in the region 40k. I can't understand why that is bad advice. It's not the path for the faint hearted but by following this course your boat makes you money instead of costing you money. I notice that you call it bad advice however you don't qualify it by saying why the advice is bad, I have owned and operated, bought and sold many boats over the years both big and small in fact i have made a career of doing so are you professionally able to defend what you said about the advice? A close friend of mine has recently bought a dutch barge he paid around 50k he has spent a further 30 k fitting her out she is now worth around 120k, he managed to do the conversion himself has been able to live on the boat since day one and has been able to maintain full time employment and complete the project also he had absolutely no training in boat building or carpentry he learnt as he went along. Another friend of mine was shown a 38 foot springer at a local marina the broker wanted 18 k for the boat my friend did a little research and found out who the owner was he did the deal directly with the owner and got the boat for 5.5k he moved on immediately and has never looked back. Too many people think that because they have lived on a boat for a few years they are somehow experts. The best expert when it comes to boating is to talk to the builders and the enthusiastic knowledgable owners who have preferably done the build or repairs themselves on the particular type of boat you are considering to buy.  Apparently that is bad advice.

[rasputin]

but the OP said he had no practical skills...

[Guest]

21 hours ago, MartynG said:

My vote is with the group that say do no give up on a land based property.

You have done well to acquire some equity . Do not throw it away. If you do you will probably regret it  later in life.

A boat big enough to live aboard will cost more than a house to run and will depreciate. Even if a boat holds its value it is effectively depreciating. 

Quite along time ago I met a couple who had sold up their house and bought a narrow boat using the proceeds - for £50k. A few year later he developed a heart condition and could not deal with living aboard in the winter. House prices had gone up considerably . The boat sold for £50k but  they had insufficient funds to buy the smallest house  available.  Therefore had to rent in retirement. Not a happy prospect.

.

 

 

 

Spot on. We have kept a tiny house for this very reason. Living on a boat is superb, whilst you have your health. Living on a boat is also disproportionally more expensive as compared to a brick built, well insulated house.

Edited February 7, 2018 by Guest