Houseboat- affordable way for young person to get their own place?

[BecomeStronger]

Very small boat with a mooring on a London canal, close to Canary Wharf. Basically one room and a tiny shower room but quite nicely laid out, with an outside (decktop?) terrace for a table & 4 chairs witha canvas canopy. The mooring has a nice covered outdoor social area and showers and toilets, immaculately clean and well maintained.

The boat is for sale for £40k but can probably be got cheaper. The cost of the mooring, including electricity, wifi and cleaning and maintenance of the communal area is £750pm

What's the catch?!

Emptying the loo and refilling the tank has to be done. It will depreciate if not looked after which is a skill a young person is unlikely to have. Therefore see it like rent rather than buying an asset. And the mooring itself will keep its value.

From the only conversation I ever had with someone who lived on a boat, mooring fees and maintenance were the main issue. I'm sure you can have a PO box for letters, mobile communications (much easier now), and as for cold in the winter, if you have to stay in a hotel for a few nights a year, not a big deal.

However, the person concerned was moored well out of London- when I have been along canals in London, they get very busy with dog walkers, joggers, commuters and others, and I wonder about noise?

I do think it’s a good option, I know lots of families that do it. It won’t appreciate like a brick property but it is something you can sell, unlike renting. It’s not completely dead money

The people that I know have post that goes to the mooring office ( boat name c/o mooring) sky tv and broadband is better than mine, parking, gardens, pets. It’s on a private bit of the canal so no joggers next to the boat.
Some marinas have showers, launderettes and other extras.

I used to live next to the river in Canary Wharf and chat to loads of people living in house boats. You do it because you love the community and the lifestyle, and not to save money. There is not that much money to be saved and it is very hard work. You need to constantly keep on top of maintenance, repairs, it’s obviously quite small inside, everything like bills, licences etc takes a lot of organising.

Do it for the lifestyle and blog about it. An investment in tales to tell down the pub in ten years time. If the mooring and boat can be sold on relatively easily then there's not much to lose from doing it for a year or two.

Swings and roundabouts. We own a Freycinet barge, moored in France. It’s very comfortable with heating and a log burner. Ours isn’t a chemical loo as in France everything empties into the waterways.
I’d think a young person might struggle with the daily jobs and maintenance can be quite a lot of money and effort. We have a group of friends, including two engineers who holiday for free in exchange for maintenance.
Things can get quite damp inside. Fine for a couple of weeks but mildew clothes and bedding over longer period.
Communal facilities fine in the middle of a sunny day, but less so in the rain or snow. We rarely moor in marinas apart from start and end of trip.
Never noticed seasickness. A Thames mooring is hardly the fastnet or the Round the island.
Decks are lovely in summer; less so in winter.
Laundry can be an issue with good summer drying, but less easy on rainy a November days. We have a washer dryer aboard but some things still need hanging up to dry.

I’m not sure it’s a sensible investment but might be quite fun.