Buy a boat slip?

Skybolt

Well-Known Member
Nov 11, 2014
6,266
Kent Narrows, MD
Boat Info
Reel Nauti
460 EC
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Detroit 6v92TA
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Alison Gears
Westerbeke
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Has anyone bought a slip for their boat?

I am considering this now, Safe Harbor has raised their rates ~38% for the coming year. To put this in to perspective, last year for an annual contract was $6250. Next year it is going to be $6250 for summer and $50/ft to stay in for winter or another 2300, that is for this year. I mean that isn't the end of the world to pay $8500/yr for a slip.

My real concern is what is it going to be next winter and the following summer. I watched a SH marine on Long Island go from 8500 to 14000 in two years. That is where the rub comes in.

They are replacing the stationary docks with floating ones that will support 50/60 and 70 foot boats or so they think. I say think because their run way is very tight and right now two 45' boats can not pass by each other in a couple of spots and one must back down and pull into another run way to pass each other. That isn't going to work with 60' or longer boats.

Ok so sorry for my typical long winded post.

My question is has anyone bought a slip instead of leasing one. and what are some of the short comings you have encountered? Like assessments and so forth, dock work and the like? I have an opportunity to get a 50' slip for under 40K. My math says I will be a head of the game in 4-5 years. O what has your experience been?
 
Guy I bot my current boat from had two slips in his marina. What was nice is they could set them up however they wanted. Most had little patios with bars and things for entertaining. Another guy, I almost bot from had one in the next marina over from me. Left due to the politics.
 
A dock mate's brother has 2 slips in a nearby marina. They have a special assessment of (IIRC) $30K for each slip that they must pay....
 
Many years ago a local real estate broker bought some land and showed the plans for the marina he was to build. It was a "dockaminium". Initial costs as I recall for pre-build was $11K for a 25+- foot dock. The deal was in addition an annual fee for maintenance.

The next year construction started and the price went up to about $25K.

All the advertising was done at the annual boat show.

The 3rd year, it was obvious that clay had to be removed from the site, so he needed a permit. Couldn't get it,

The next year previous owners were selling their "docks" for as low as $3k, just to be rid of it, and not stuck in a legal hassle.

Fast forward a few years and the marina finally opened. The original owners went bankrupt and the new owners got everything right.

Fast forward a few more years and the new owners were not satisfied to accept the annual maintenance fee, so they "encouraged" the owners to sell the docks back to them.

The marina now has no privately owned docks and they price seasonal rentals thru the nose.

If I was so inclined I would but buy a single lot and pay for a dock to be built.
 
Owning a slip is not cheap. You have real estate taxes, ongoing maintenance, and the ones I have watched over the past 45 years have not gone up in value very much. So not much of an investment.
 
Has anyone bought a slip for their boat?

I am considering this now, Safe Harbor has raised their rates ~38% for the coming year. To put this in to perspective, last year for an annual contract was $6250. Next year it is going to be $6250 for summer and $50/ft to stay in for winter or another 2300, that is for this year. I mean that isn't the end of the world to pay $8500/yr for a slip.

My real concern is what is it going to be next winter and the following summer. I watched a SH marine on Long Island go from 8500 to 14000 in two years. That is where the rub comes in.

They are replacing the stationary docks with floating ones that will support 50/60 and 70 foot boats or so they think. I say think because their run way is very tight and right now two 45' boats can not pass by each other in a couple of spots and one must back down and pull into another run way to pass each other. That isn't going to work with 60' or longer boats.

Ok so sorry for my typical long winded post.

My question is has anyone bought a slip instead of leasing one. and what are some of the short comings you have encountered? Like assessments and so forth, dock work and the like? I have an opportunity to get a 50' slip for under 40K. My math says I will be a head of the game in 4-5 years. O what has your experience been?
I purchased a slip previously, and ended up selling it. Be prepared to pay condo fees as well as being billed for improvements... piers, bulkheads, roofs if covered. If you have the stomach for it go for it. It's a lot like the stock market, you may make money or you may pay a lot for that ownership.
Good Luck
 
We bought our slip. When we got the 360DA three years ago my wife only wanted it on one dock in our marina which is a dockaminium. We were able to buy our slip, not necessarily as an investment but more so we could keep our boat there without worrying about a slip owner taking it back. Our maintenance fees are $525 a quarter and taxes $600 a year, $2700 total which is a little less than half of what the rent would have been. The only individual cost I am responsible for is replacing the finger if needed which is about $2000 split with the adjacent slip owner we share it with.
 
I love @GypsmJim with his story in post 4. I wouldn’t ever buy a slip, too much potential for baloney like this to wipe out the marina, and hence your investment. Paying rent sucks big time, and the increases make me see red, but that is the cost of having a Sea Ray in the water. I just think there are too many on known to make the extra investment for a purchase IMHO!
 
I own the rights to two slips. One is currently valued at 2x what I paid for it, and the other is 2.5x what I paid. I expect that slip values will tank very quickly if the market ever tanks. So now probably isn’t the best time to purchase. On the flip side, it’s extremely difficult to build more marinas now, so maybe that fact will keep slip values high,

if you buy one, it is very important that you verify the financials. Dock repair is extremely expensive. If there isn’t at least $1,000,000 in a saving account, run away, quickly.

Also, you most likely won’t own the slip. You will own the rights to use it, but the slip generally belongs to who ever owns the land it is attached to.
 
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We owned a slip 35 years ago. Sold it when we moved out of state. Bought again last year (same marina). No brainer for us. Our yearly costs (dues, electricity, property tax) are about half the cost of renting. We really like the marina and it is obviously run well as it has been around for more than 35 years as a dockominium. The marina is half dockominium and half seasonal rental along with inside rack storage.
 
Has anyone bought a slip for their boat?

I am considering this now, Safe Harbor has raised their rates ~38% for the coming year. To put this in to perspective, last year for an annual contract was $6250. Next year it is going to be $6250 for summer and $50/ft to stay in for winter or another 2300, that is for this year. I mean that isn't the end of the world to pay $8500/yr for a slip.

My real concern is what is it going to be next winter and the following summer. I watched a SH marine on Long Island go from 8500 to 14000 in two years. That is where the rub comes in.

They are replacing the stationary docks with floating ones that will support 50/60 and 70 foot boats or so they think. I say think because their run way is very tight and right now two 45' boats can not pass by each other in a couple of spots and one must back down and pull into another run way to pass each other. That isn't going to work with 60' or longer boats.

Ok so sorry for my typical long winded post.

My question is has anyone bought a slip instead of leasing one. and what are some of the short comings you have encountered? Like assessments and so forth, dock work and the like? I have an opportunity to get a 50' slip for under 40K. My math says I will be a head of the game in 4-5 years. O what has your experience been?
Get out of Kent Narrows, come to Middle River. fees are $1800 - $4000 a year with winter storage on land about $25 a foot. Lots of marinas cause competitive pricing here.
There is no reason to pay those prices on the bay.
Ask Techmitch and Darkside what they pay. They in some of the fancier marinas.
 
Get out of Kent Narrows, come to Middle River. fees are $1800 - $4000 a year with winter storage on land about $25 a foot. Lots of marinas cause competitive pricing here.
There is no reason to pay those prices on the bay.
Ask Techmitch and Darkside what they pay. They in some of the fancier marinas.

No kidding. My 37 footer is in the largest slip (43' I believe) on floating docks at my marina and the cost is around $2,750 for the season and $16 / foot for in-water winter storage ($592). I have been at my marina (Parkside) for 10+ years and the rates have not changed yet.
 
Get out of Kent Narrows, come to Middle River. fees are $1800 - $4000 a year with winter storage on land about $25 a foot. Lots of marinas cause competitive pricing here.
There is no reason to pay those prices on the bay.
Ask Techmitch and Darkside what they pay. They in some of the fancier marinas.

Now that is funny. I live five miles form my boat could you imagine what it would take for me to drive up to Middle River? The bridge alone is enough to stop me. I like where I am very much as this area has a lot to offer. But yeah going else where would probably save a lot.
 
Thanks to all for posting all this information. Yeah it's not perfect to buy a hole in the water to put yet another hole in the water in. Until I moved to the Chesapeake I had properties that I kept renting and it was a PITA and turned into a second job at times, it was always something. I get all the aspects discussed here and thank you for posting them.

The place I am considering has been around for a long time. The slip prices are lower then then they have been in years. Strange since the boating market took off with covid. I am only considering this since I think even with all of the expense of what may happen is probably enviable. If planned for right it could still be less money then throwing away 10K a year on rent and possibly get your money back in the end. That would be a win in my book and if need be I could always rent it out and go back to where I am now, hopefully.
 
@Tripsdad @jmauld @Jus Cruisin - Great info and glad things have worked out for you guys in this arena. The place I am considering is also all dockominium and some are investment that are rented yearly and some are just boaters looking for a slip. I am not looking at this as an investment and more of just looking to not through so much away on rent. I have never been able to "rent" anything, I have always been a buyer . At least you are putting money into your own things and not someone else's pockets. I would be fine with this costing half of where I am at now or will be and it looks to be something close to that. I guess I will see if they accept my offer or not.
 
Good friend of mine keeps a sailboat in Baltimore in a slip he purchased. He sells and buys boats frequently so he rents the slip when he does not have a boat in it.

Fairfax Yacht Club on the Upper Potomac sells slips. I looked at one there before I picked my current marina/slip.

https://www.fairfaxyachtclub.com/
https://www.fairfaxyachtclub.com/Slip-Listings

I pay $7k annual where I am and have thought about purchasing a slip as well at some point.
 
So another benefit of owning is it gives you a vote in the doa meetings. If that’s important to you.

we recently rebuilt one section of our docks and most of the renters were booted out for six months, while the dock master was able to find a temporary slip for the owners. This saved me $4000 in rental fees.
 
Our marina is a condo association and I've owned two different slips there over the past 20+ years. Back in the early 2000's a 60' covered slip was worth $60k, now that same slip is worth $25k. The plus side is that you never get bumped from your slip and all of our friends are our permanent neighbors. We can also rent them for the winter or any other length of time and collect the income. The marina also offers haul out, winter storage and fuel discounts to owners.

The downside is the assessments to repair the pool, pave the driveway, repair bulkheads, replace the fuel tanks etc... Luckily our assessments have stayed the same for the last 20 years but they do make owning vs renting pretty much a wash. Our property taxes are only $230/year. You should ask the owners over at Piney how much they were all assessed to replace the covered shed. I heard it was in the $80k range!

A condo marina is only as good as the board of directors, that you help to appoint.
 
Thanks to all for posting all this information. Yeah it's not perfect to buy a hole in the water to put yet another hole in the water in. Until I moved to the Chesapeake I had properties that I kept renting and it was a PITA and turned into a second job at times, it was always something. I get all the aspects discussed here and thank you for posting them.

The place I am considering has been around for a long time. The slip prices are lower then then they have been in years. Strange since the boating market took off with covid. I am only considering this since I think even with all of the expense of what may happen is probably enviable. If planned for right it could still be less money then throwing away 10K a year on rent and possibly get your money back in the end. That would be a win in my book and if need be I could always rent it out and go back to where I am now, hopefully.
You're definitely in a great area, 12 miles to St Michaels, Rock Hall, 19 miles to Annapolis. I actually bought a slip with your same intention of getting my money back at the end, which I did. You're ok until there is an assessment. Then all bets are off. It's like poker or the stock market, know when to walk away and know when to run. If you really like the slip you're buying, much like your boat, it's worth it. There's very few if any making any money on either one.
 
Our marina is a condo association and I've owned two different slips there over the past 20+ years. Back in the early 2000's a 60' covered slip was worth $60k, now that same slip is worth $25k. The plus side is that you never get bumped from your slip and all of our friends are our permanent neighbors. We can also rent them for the winter or any other length of time and collect the income. The marina also offers haul out, winter storage and fuel discounts to owners.

The downside is the assessments to repair the pool, pave the driveway, repair bulkheads, replace the fuel tanks etc... Luckily our assessments have stayed the same for the last 20 years but they do make owning vs renting pretty much a wash. Our property taxes are only $230/year. You should ask the owners over at Piney how much they were all assessed to replace the covered shed. I heard it was in the $80k range!

A condo marina is only as good as the board of directors, that you help to appoint.
You at Bohemia River? They only one with covered slips that are owned that I know of.
 

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