London Houseboat

[ILookedintheWater]

In the estate agents bumph it says 'live surrounded by like minded people'. What does this mean?
The quay looks nice enough, mooring covers basic costs, it's definitely doable compared to a midweek flat or room-let. The boats are centrally heated, have stoves etc.
So what is the down side?
Has anyone been a houseboater in a city? Would you recommend it?
Thanks

I love the idea of this - how much are they? I imagine mooring charges are pretty high.

Is the price really comparable to a mid-week room let? Wow.

Modern houseboats in a secure mooring would be nice I woudl think.

What fuel do you need? Are you on the mooring electricity and water supply so hot water any time and stuff?

I thought mooring fees were like £1k a month in most London marinas

Yep, 15K per annum average on St Katherine's.

OP are you thinking of renting or buying?

St Katherines is mega posh though, there are surely cheaper areas. There are dock areas in Battersea that are probably cheaper (for now.)

@BigYellowJumper yeah but then you could also have a cheaper mid-week room to rent

My ex lived on a sailboat at St Katherine's Dock for 1.5 years. He loved it. Loved his neighbours, loved his boat, loved getting dinner from the restaurants there and walking it over to a boat. I liked visiting in spring/summer (sitting outside on the deck with a glass of wine was lovely!) but it was miserable when the weather was bad. I remember getting soaked in torrential rain as I clambered aboard a slippy sailboat with (cold!) bare feet in my office clothes (had come straight from work) and desperately trying not to drop my office laptop in the Dock as I clambered up. I imagine a proper houseboat would be a bit more civilised than an ocean-going sailboat though.

You'd need a special mortgage if you're not a cash buyer - look for marine mortgages, they are usually quite expensive compared to a standard one. You'd need to be able to find the mooring costs separately.

I live on a boat. Happy to answer questions!

Empting out the toilet tank?

My brother lives on a boat. I am pretty hardy but Christ I hate it. Don't do it if you're not willing to have a conversation with every person who walks past.

£1k for the mooring PLUS the boat costs. I doubt you can rent a 1 bed boat for £1k

"My brother lives on a boat. I am pretty hardy but Christ I hate it"

Depends on the boat!

Eldest is heading off to London for Drama school in 2018 (all being well) so I was googling property and cost of student accommodation and came across several boats: cheapest (not necessarily the one we'd pick) here:
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-65329826.html
I was just pondering the options really. They love the idea of it but I'm not sure of the practicalities. Not necessarily for the first year, as I think it's probably better to be close to other students etc until they get their bearings, but a practical investment opportunity and safe haven for second year onwards?

Doesn't look like there is a toilet???

haha! That was just the first example I came to:
next on the list
I'm just musing at this point: not getting the chequebook out!

Also boats depreciate in value don't they? They don't keep or go up in value like houses do so you can't view it as an investment. You need to view it as a cheaper than renting (if it is)

Plus students get drunk, have parties and get drunk, I would be worried that someone would fall over board and drown.

Check the council tax, some of those moorings can be a lot.

So it would be for your DC? Boats are high-maintenance as there is always something going wrong and needing fixing. So your DC would need to be pretty handy and resourceful. Not a typical student of the type to let everything collapse round their ears because they were too busy drinking, having essay crises and arguing about the meaning of life.

OMG I think I've just come up with my retirement plan - totally impractical but I love these and if I was single in London I'd do it!

@ILookedintheWater that is pretty cheap and the residential mooring fee isn't as much as I thought.

On the one hand it could be super fun and a really relaxed lifestyle.

On the other hand I am not mad about that poplar mooring location for a student, and I'd worry that there is quite a lot of boat and living maintained that would need to be done. Also might be quite lonely unless you get a 2 bed and they share? Where is the washing machine? Is there like a marina laundry or something?

But then again I do think it's quite romantic and trendy and a bit of a statement and could be a big adventure :-)

I bike past lots of boats on my way home (continues cruisers not residential mornings) and there does seem to be a super cool relaxed and outdoor living lifestyle. Everyone is always doing boat maintenance tho. But then I only go past in good rather, not sure how fun in winter.

Can I just say: if the DC is lax at making sure the sewage tank is emptied regularly... and if they host a party with dozens of attendees and lots of beer and cocktails... they could end up with an Unpleasant Overflow Situation.