Keeping a Boat in Florida vs Buying a Home There

rickalan35 · Post by **rickalan35** » Fri Aug 27, 2010 6:49 pm

I am considering buying a property in Florida. I usually rent a place down there every winter for 5 weeks anyway and with the current property deals available I might as well buy a place blah blah blah.

Thinking about various options.

1. Get a good deal on a small house or condo and shut up.

2. Another option is to buy a place on a canal with access to the big water i.e. Fort Myers.

3. Same as above but also get myself a 24 foot boat for the dock and have the best of both worlds.

4. Finally, every once in a while I begin to consider the scary 4th option which would be to stick the house money into a big boat and keep it in a marina. Storage on the hard when I'm not there and in the water when I'm planning to be down there. (In other words a depreciable asset with high carrying costs)

Comments ????

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Fri Aug 27, 2010 7:55 pm

I am thinking over the same thing and have looked at a '79 53ft Hatteras as my winter home but we plan to spend the entire winter there and then make the trip to the Great Lakes in the spring for the summer on our boat here and return to the Florida boat in the fall.

Haven't made up my mind yet and have a couple years till retirement so have a little time.

I would prefer living on the boat since I really love it. My wife is mixed and thinks she needs a home somewhere that is an actual house on property. I understand that so we continue to discuss it.

sehord · Post by **sehord** » Fri Aug 27, 2010 8:59 pm

The folks that i bought my trojan from lived up state and would come down and stay on her when they came... they loved it. You've got general boat maintenance costs and worries while she sits, and dock fees. On the flip side with a house or condo you have HOA fees, and taxes, but if you want to rent it out while you are not there you can get some income to cover some of your expenses, and it usually will appreciate in value which unfortunaltey our floating friends do not. Fixed rate 30 yr is 3.95% hard to beat.... and if you've got money in the bank its not getting squat right now... just some points to ponder

Big D · Post by **Big D** » Fri Aug 27, 2010 10:16 pm

Friends of ours got a good deal on a mobile home in a trailer park not too far from Fort Myers. Seen pictures, great place. They go down for a month in the winter and rent it out for the rest of the year. No problem booking it up solid. Pays someone in the park less than $100 to cut the grass all season, and look after anything else that needs repair. Absolutely no out of pocket expence. Rental pays for mortgage etc. They're looking into options for boating down there too. Pretty tempting!!

rickalan35 · Post by **rickalan35** » Tue Aug 31, 2010 12:38 pm

Hi Mike,

I've put together a "favorites" list at this point that does include some foreclosures (both homes and condos) in Cape Coral. I have also added Estero and Bonita even though they are further inland, although convenient to the airport.

If I did buy inland, I would be considering a smaller, rack and stack boat (up to 28 feet long) although the canals do look good.

I toured Cape Coral rather extensively last Feb and some regions are virtually a deserted, wasteland of unfinished and vandalized new homes. A shame really.

I guess I kind of lean toward a foreclosure in a gated community because of the alleged security benefits when I'm not there. (although higher monthly HOA fees).

On the flip side - I also looked at a 12 meter Trojan (1997) in Stuart, Florida that appealed. Low hours on the diesels. All the options and $109,000. price tag before negotiations. You needn't ask why I would be considering a Trojan over a Bayliner of the same size, for a much lower price. Two Trojans in every garage sounds like the American way to me.

tsawyer · Post by **tsawyer** » Tue Aug 31, 2010 2:35 pm

I've got a buddy that's a RE broker in Cape Coral. He's a boater and lives in a condo there on the water.

If you're interested in his contact info let me know.

rossjo · Post by **rossjo** » Tue Aug 31, 2010 11:01 pm

Wait for hurricane.

Snap up a deal.

DaddysGirls · Post by **DaddysGirls** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 9:01 am

Funny, I have been pondering buying a boat as a floating condo as well. Here is my experience with Florida condos. I have owned 2 (not at the same time) in Deerfield Beach Fl over the last 20 years. I used them as a vacation spot. I have sold them both. Condos are a pain in the butt in a few ways, the people that are there complain about everything & there are a lot of personalities to deal with. In my experience the ones that live there full time tend to not like those that come down from time to time for a vacation. Also with a condo if your neighbor doesn't pay their condo fee you may have to make up the difference. With a condo there are special assessments that can knock your block off. In one of my units I was specially assessed for a new roof... $2700 per unit, whamo, one shot... Another time we needed to tent the building for termites, $750 per unit... After a hurricane the insurance only covered so much. There was a huge difference of about $8000 per unit that need to be collected. It was put for a vote & mostly everyone voted to just use the insurance money for now & pay up later... The place looked like hell & hurt the resale value. I'm going to give the boat thing a shot. This is just based on my opinion & my experience. I'm not looking to offend anyone or make any waves so to speak. Let me know if you want me to explain anything further.

rickalan35 · Post by **rickalan35** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 4:01 pm

Hi

To TSawyer - Thanks for the offer of a realtors name and info. I currently have a guy who I like but you never know. If I'm looking for a second opinion I will contact you.

To Daddysgirls - Yeah, I know what you mean. I own a number of conds in Canada and we have been special assessed three times. The last time was $7,500 per unit tacked on but collected only upon selling. So that took the heat off the cash flow but knocked the heck out of the resell value. Last year I toured a condo development of single story homes (townhouses) that at least gave some independence etc. They are now selling at about half price.

Regarding the option of buying a boat instead - I'm still trying to figure out what style of Florida boating I would like best. I stayed on my friend's 44 Searay at Salty Sam's Marina in Fort Myers and enjoyed it very much. Didn't take the boat out for the whole ten days. The next season we left Salty Sam's and journeyed up to Sarasota via Sanibal and Captiva, Cabbage Key etc. Lots of fun but expensive and swimming sucks because you don't know what's down there. In Canada, during the summer we swim a lot.

Looked at a 44 foot Trojan (Stuart Fl) and a 45 foot Sundancer (Ft Myers). 1990 vintage.

No decisions necessary as of yet, but within 6 months I want to have made some kind of move.

Rick

sehord · Post by **sehord** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 6:22 pm

Damn the luck.... do I buy a condo in florida or just a 45' yacht..... oh the days just seem to get tougher and tougher...... good for you.... we should all be so troubled!

rickalan35 · Post by **rickalan35** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 9:38 pm

You know what, I guess a 100,000 mortgage or boat loan all runs together.

Still a lot of discussion in this home about the correct decision. But it's looking more and more like only Rick wants the boat. Wife and grown kids lobbying for a chunk of real estate where grandkids can hang out.... naturally.

I think they have a vision of me riding around Fort Myers Beach on a Seedoo.

R