living on a barge...anyone any experience?

moanymoany

My dd and partner lived on a barge. They loved it. They bought it with a loan, it came with a mooring - and everyone is right, that is the important bit.

The boatyard where the moorings were was secure. There were big gates one end and a 'door' the other, all kept locked.

I reckon you should go for it if you want to give it a go. Simply make sure that you are on a secure area and that the boat you buy has a mooring as that is by far the easiest way.

The community where dd lived was lovely. Everyone supported each other, summer bbq's and drinks. It was such a good lifestyle.

They moved to go back to live in Brighton, not because they didn't like the life. There are agencies that specialise in selling boats, look there.

bryanb

PasturesNew wrote: »

No. Something like this is like a mobile home - it has to be a personal loan. And they were always 20% deposit required,

Not quite true; If you go to the expense of registering a vessel on Part 1 register of shipping ( costs vary but about £500 inc) you can then apply for a marine mortgage that is secured on the vessel.

tbs624

My understanding was that unsecured Marine Loans were available for amounts up to £25K, and over that amount you'd be looking, as Bryan says, at a Marine Mortgage via a specialist mortgage broker. Aren't the rates on the latter more prohibitive than other mortgage types? Obviously, none of this may be relevant if you've successfully offloaded a property (or 10) prior to the start of the downturn...;)

Deals_2

or/and any info you have on it? thanks in advance.

lostinrates wrote: »

We looked into it a couple of years ago but found that the ongoing costs were really high. (we were looking at London moorings). Otherwise I'd love it.

lostinrates

If you google for london moorings you'll quickly find stuff. a There was stuff saved about this but that computer is defunct, sorry!

There tends to be a long waiting list as well, and PERMANANt living moorings are especially long waiting lists. (not all the morrings give you the right to live 24/7 in the places)

Austin_Allegro

I looked into this. Purchase and maintenance costs vary, but the real killer is the mooring cost either in rent or buying a boat with guaranteed mooring - eg, in London this costs about the same as a house, and you're not even buying anything - just a strip of land!

The only alternative is to get a British Waterways roving permit (about £500 a year I think) which allows you to stay up to 14 days on moorings, so you'd need to keep moving.

bryanb

Austin_Allegro wrote: »

I looked into this. Purchase and maintenance costs vary, but the real killer is the mooring cost either in rent or buying a boat with guaranteed mooring - eg, in London this costs about the same as a house, and you're not even buying anything - just a strip of land!

Plus the hole in the water to keep the boat in!

MrsTinks

Friends of mine have a barge and love it. They have moorings not far from where we live with parking for their cars and motorbikes, but it's not secure per say. All the other people look out for eachother tho!
If you don't mind living in VERY cramped space with little/no storage then look into it If you like having space in your bed then you're looking at a wide barge and then costs are gonna start mounting!

Kez100

Where is Boatgirl when you need her?

BOATGIRL!!!!

SquatNow

Can I put my oar in?