[pl1]

Markxjr, on Aug 14 2009, 10:11 AM, said:

Ooh! Forgot the most important bit, I asked one couple how much the mooring rates were, it was a beautiful setting. They said £350.
.

.
A quarter

That's good?
I heard mooring fees were the biggest issue with living on a boat as they can be very expensive?

[workingholiday]

We were thinking of doing that.
8K p/a for a mooring in Zone 1 London, plus freehold boat - say 30 - 40K.

Sorta made sense to me; particularly now that BW moorings are moving to an auction system.

[CrashConnoisseur]

6538, on Aug 14 2009, 10:14 AM, said:

Did Richard Branson live on a boat on the Thames at one point - or did I imagine that?

Indeed he did; first on Alberta and then Duende which sank in 1979.

'Sir Richard Branson: Me and my money':
http://www.thisismon...mp;in_page_id=1

Quote

How Much Did You Pay For Your First Home?

When I was 16 years old I bought a house boat in Little Venice, London, which cost me about £2,000. There was a girl living on it who was about to be kicked out so I bought the boat and moved in with her. I basically acquired a girlfriend called Monday and a dog called Friday.

I've no idea what it would be worth now, but I'll never sell it as it has huge sentimental value to me. I set up Virgin from it and my children love it.

'Virgin Group Business Information, Profile, and History':
http://companies.jra...rgin-Group.html

Quote

...he operated his unwieldy holding company from the bow of his private barge, relying on telephones, fax machines, and a personal secretary to keep him in touch with his managers. The barge, named Duende, was located in the industrial Regents Canal.

This post has been edited by CrashConnoisseur: 14 August 2009 - 02:34 PM

[clv101]

daddybear, on Aug 14 2009, 09:07 AM, said:

We want to work less and live more

Anyone who cannot get their head round this is the loser

Very well said! Totally agree, that has to be the whole point of life doesn't it, to work less and live more. If you have to work an extra three years for that 4th bedroom you've made the wrong choice somewhere in your life.

[daddybear]

Daddy Bear, on Aug 14 2009, 04:08 PM, said:

Buddy - you certainly ain't me.

There are many cheap imitations but only one Daddy Bear.

fight fight fight fight

[acer]

I think it's a great idea too, and I did some research a while ago, when rents seemed to be going up and up, to see if I could live a little cheaper and in a nicer setting. I found that, like a lot of great ideas, it tends to be a lot easier if you have money for the boat purchase in the first place. If you haven't got a wedge to spend from downsizing, it's more expensive than renting a house of similar size.

Markxjr, on Aug 14 2009, 10:11 AM, said:

Ooh! Forgot the most important bit, I asked one couple how much the mooring rates were, it was a beautiful setting. They said £350.

A quarter

Yes, although there are some other costs: The annual licence for a 60' boat would be £750; another £62 per month. Whether you would avoid council tax is a moot point. If you had a long term mooring, I think a lot of councils would regard that as enough to make you liable. Also what about Insurance? Maintenance? So it works out around £220 per month, based on moorings near me, in the East Midlands, and does not include the fact that the boat will almost always be a depreciating asset. Guessing that the £60k boat mentioned earlier lost half its value over 15 years, this could add an effective £166 per month to the costs: £386 ish per month

..that's all assuming you're wealthy enough to buy the boat outright. If you have no money, you used to be able to get a marine mortgage. These would be typically for 10-15 years, but at quite a higher interest rate than a house mortgage. What would happen now, I don't know, but guessing at 7.5% interest over 15 years for the £60k boat mentioned earlier, my spreadsheet tells me that they'd want £565 per month. At the end of the 15 year term, the interest you'd have paid would have been £231 pcm; if the boat had lost half its value over that time, depreciation would have cost £166 pcm: that gives a total monthly cost of £617 per month.

[eightiesgirly]

I hate maths, it's totally depressing.

[brianjamesos]

CrashConnoisseur, on Aug 14 2009, 03:31 PM, said:

Indeed he did; first on Alberta and then Duende which sank in 1979.

'Sir Richard Branson: Me and my money':
http://www.thisismon...mp;in_page_id=1


'Virgin Group Business Information, Profile, and History':
http://companies.jra...rgin-Group.html

Was just about to say that. So did Lawrence Dalalglio, and Bear Grylls does too I think. Each to their own, but 'loser' is more a reflection of the OP attitude and snobbery than the relative achievements of boat dwellers.

[blankster]

When asked what the downside to living on their boat was, the reply was something like ' nothing really, except the cats have fallen in the water a couple of times - but they can swim!"

[Jessica Rabbit]

Did you actually see the item on the BBC this morning though? I nearly fell off my chair when the BBC reporter allowed, and they didn't edit out, the lady boat owner to say "It's great, the boat cost us £40k and we did it up ourselves, we have no outgoings we paid cash. We'd rather do that than be a slave to the debt of a mortgage."

Are the Beeb on the turn? Prepping the Sheeple for the downturn and resulting anti-debt sentiment?

Editing for wine based spelling

This post has been edited by Jessica Rabbit: 14 August 2009 - 07:03 PM