Is a property market crash coming? And if so would it affect liveaboards?

KiraLB

Hi,
We are considering to take out a loan and buy a barge to live on. A friend of mine warned that a property market crash might be coming after Brexit which would also affects the prices of boats and thus it is not the best time to buy a boat.
However we have been renting for a while now and cannot seem to get on the property ladder if we don't start to save up for ourselves and also reduce our monthly living costs (living in London this means a huge amount). Also living on a boat when there are only two of us yet seems to be a great experience and something that would be the best to do now.
Any thougths or views on the property market's current stagnation and a possible crash?

AnotherJoe

I think its more likely that once its done so theres certainty and everyone realises that the world hasnt ended, whenever whatever Brexit means, happens, that life will carry on, and that everyone whose been waiting will be looking to buy / move /whatever it was they were looking to do and the housing market will do whatever it was going to do which is unknowable.

KiraLB

Yes, I'm kinda thinking the same. I don't really think the present stagnation would lead to a crash, more like people are just waiting and will be buying like craze after Brexit.

getmore4less

You are buying a boat because you can't buy a house.

If house prices drop there will be fewer people like you.

If it is cheaper than renting you break even eventually even if selling is tougher.

KiraLB

And I can save more on the go. So this is what I have calculated and it seems legit. I think I'm just nervous because I'm not too familiar with the property market ... and generally economics.

AnotherJoe

KiraLB wrote: »

And I can save more on the go. So this is what I have calculated and it seems legit. I think I'm just nervous because I'm not too familiar with the property market ... and generally economics.

If by "not familiar with the property market" you mean "what will happen to property prices in the future", no one is.

00ec25

KiraLB wrote: »

I'm not too familiar with the property market ... and generally economics.

so what do you know about the economics of boat owning?

boats lose their value, they don't increase their value

AnotherJoe

I think houseboats with a mooring where the mooring is on a long lease, would.

Cakeguts

Boats need a lot of maintenance. They aren't necessarily cheaper than buying a house because of the levels of maintenance.

Cakeguts

Your basic problem is that you are trying to live in London on Birmingham or Manchester earnings. Unless you can find a way to earn more you are always going to be short of money because your earnings are too small compared to the living costs.



If you moved to Manchester or Birmingham you would earn less than London but the living costs are much lower so you would actually be better off while earning less and you should be able to buy a house. In some parts of the country 2 people working on minimum wage with savings can buy a house. London is not one of those.

Finchy2018

I lived on a boat for 2 years prior to buying a house.

Trust me, only live on a boat if you want to live on a boat and the lifestyle that comes with it. It's hard work, it's expensive, there is always something that needs fixing.

London is over crowded with boats, it will be very difficult to find a residential mooring which would be expensive so if you want to CC you'll need to adhere to the rules, which again is effort and time and in certain areas tricky to find moorings.

Boats are hard to sell so if there was a crash and you wanted to sell to get on the property market it could take months or years to find a buyer for your boat, more so if lots of people have the same idea.