Waterfront property or big boat?

I absolutely love boating and will have a boat till my health won’t allow it. But if I had to chose one or the other…. I wouldn’t.

A waterfront property is much more enjoyable for more of the year and much better for having fun with friends and family all year round. Boats are weather dependent and not conducive to large groups.

I just retired and we decided to tear down and rebuild our cottage to be a home on Georgian bay. It won’t depreciate and will be a great place to be. I could have bought a larger boat but decided my money was better spent on land based extravagance. And I will make some upgrades to the 330 and have fun with both.
 
The nice thing about these decisions is they're not permanent. You can make a change and if it doesn't agree with the way you want to boat, change back.

In Dallas we live on Lake Lewisville but kept our 420 on Lake Texoma, 75 miles away. We've owned some type of cabin boat for 30+ years with the last 11years on Texoma. We loved that life for a very long time and could easily enjoy it again. Made life-long friends there.

Circumstances, opportunity, and a sense of adventure had us purchase a small condo in Florida at the very beginning of Covid. When we bought it we had every intention of keeping it and the 420 but after a year or so the 420 was used less and less and the market to sell it was hot. So far we're almost 3 years in and have no regrets. Maintenance on the condo is practically non-existent. HOA fees are marginally less than our old slip fee. We have CC that we can hop on anytime and be in the Gulf in minutes and at a sandbar in 15. Maintenance on the boat is typical, and even though I bitch about it, enjoyable and keeps me out of the wife's hair. Also, you can lock and leave the condo without all the elements beating down on it like you do with a big boat.

We're on the mouth of a busy little river so we watch boat traffic and sea life go by daily. Spending the nights in the condo is far more comfortable than the 420 was and our plan is to use the CC to hit ports and stay in hotels when the time comes.

But, we're still considering moving up a bit when we retire and can spend more time away and have the opportunity to cruise for longer periods of time. That's theory anyway, at least for now, ask me again tomorrow and the vision may have changed.

Which is exactly the point, if your curious, give it a try.
 
Or …just Champagne problems…

IMO….it would depend where the water is and what the view is like. With a boat you can always cruise to a better view/scenery…with a property you are stuck with it.
On the other hand, they aren’t making waterfront anymore.
 
Timeflys said:
Or …just Champagne problems…

IMO….it would depend where the water is and what the view is like. With a boat you can always cruise to a better view/scenery…with a property you are stuck with it.
On the other hand, they aren’t making waterfront anymore.
Click to expand...

Agreed. To us, view vs budget, was a very big consideration. There are definitely other areas we think we'd like to be but we'd have to lose view to stay within budget. Everything in life is a compromise.

Just got back from St Pete boat show on Friday and realized I should've worked harder in life :)
 
A bit different, but we raised our kids on 10 acres of riverfront through their early years, along with several different critters. We were younger then and didn't mind all work that came along with it, but it definitely took away from our free time. Kids got older and it seemed we were always shuttling them back and forth from their own sport and social events. That often left us (or me for better part) for all the to-do's .
We sold and moved into a double suburban lot 10 years ago. Big enough that we could still keep to ourselves somewhat and it has pretty much freed up our weekends and evenings. We went with a couple different trailered boats. One for the ocean and one for the rivers.
The acreage we had came with the drawbacks of seasonal heavy snow packs, high water levels and occasional power shortages to deal with but we really miss the isolation and privacy. We are keeping our eyes open for the right piece of land with or to build a smaller home on once we get closer to giving up the ocean boat and suburban living. It will have waterfront of some kind.
Another thread reminded me of the fun we used to have and places we went with our old square bodies. In the process of buying another (ex US CUCV) to build up for our off grid adventures with the jet boat.
Sorry if this did not contribute to what you were asking, but reading some these posts got my deflating wheels turning.
 
sbw1 said:
Bought this for $104,000 in 1977. Taxes were locked in at $7,800 per year. Lived there for 42 years. Very enjoyable memories and an excellent investment. Slip fees at marinas nearby for 55 foot slips are around $6,000 per season. So, the taxes are higher, but not by much. If you were inclined, the rent on the guest slip could almost pay your taxes. We did not do that. Nice waterfront property is a very good investment that gives you a nice living experience.View attachment 139195

Click to expand...
Gorgeous!
 
Yup, definitely first world problems. Our new lake home is on wide open Georgian Bay beach facing west. Weather is part of the charm. All 4 seasons are great up there. Its just as nice to watch a sunset in the dead of winter as it is in July. The swimming is better in July though. Can't have a dock or keep the boat there. Too shallow and wave exposed. That's the downside to beach front property. But we love it. Being able to walk the beach for miles offsets the fact that the boat is in a marina in a sheltered bay 12min drive away. Up here boating season is May to October, with the prime months being June to September.

Not all of our friends/family are boaters or boat lovers. So having people over for a few days at the cottage, with a day trip on the boat is a blast. I relax more once we are back at the cottage after a trip with them. And they can go for long beach walks, swim in the lake, have a fire in the fire pit. Like I said, its the best of both worlds.

As for the money... I didn't work my ass off for 40 years to not spend on what I worked hard for. Life is short.
 
[QUOTE="Creekwood, post: 1381412, member: 7610"All 4 seasons are great up there.[/QUOTE]
Ya right. 1 week spring, 1 week summer, 1 week autumn, 49 weeks winter!
upload_2023-1-23_15-35-20.jpeg
 
copb8tx said:
The nice thing about these decisions is they're not permanent. You can make a change and if it doesn't agree with the way you want to boat, change back.

In Dallas we live on Lake Lewisville but kept our 420 on Lake Texoma, 75 miles away. We've owned some type of cabin boat for 30+ years with the last 11years on Texoma. We loved that life for a very long time and could easily enjoy it again. Made life-long friends there.

Circumstances, opportunity, and a sense of adventure had us purchase a small condo in Florida at the very beginning of Covid. When we bought it we had every intention of keeping it and the 420 but after a year or so the 420 was used less and less and the market to sell it was hot. So far we're almost 3 years in and have no regrets. Maintenance on the condo is practically non-existent. HOA fees are marginally less than our old slip fee. We have CC that we can hop on anytime and be in the Gulf in minutes and at a sandbar in 15. Maintenance on the boat is typical, and even though I bitch about it, enjoyable and keeps me out of the wife's hair. Also, you can lock and leave the condo without all the elements beating down on it like you do with a big boat.

We're on the mouth of a busy little river so we watch boat traffic and sea life go by daily. Spending the nights in the condo is far more comfortable than the 420 was and our plan is to use the CC to hit ports and stay in hotels when the time comes.

But, we're still considering moving up a bit when we retire and can spend more time away and have the opportunity to cruise for longer periods of time. That's theory anyway, at least for now, ask me again tomorrow and the vision may have changed.

Which is exactly the point, if your curious, give it a try.
Click to expand...
I think you addressed the waterfront home maintenance/upkeep issues others have mentioned here, with a condo with HOA. Smart man :) one gives up land and privacy though with a condo IMO.
 
Buddy of mine has a modest townhouse here in Richmond, VA where we both live, a modest house in the mountains on Smith Mountain Lake and he owns a live aboard boat slip in Baltimore, MD. He's kept more boats in it than I can count, and never started the engine(s) in any of them. He's now talking about buyer a camper for a lot he is looking now at the beach.
 
mrsrobinson said:
I think you addressed the waterfront home maintenance/upkeep issues others have mentioned here, with a condo with HOA. Smart man :) one gives up land and privacy though with a condo IMO.
Click to expand...
We went the same route. Thought about building a house in our development but the thought of maintaining 2 homes was unacceptable to me. The condo is easier. I just make sure it is kept spotless, no junk accumulating and always clean. Plus, our condo is right next to our marina. It is just a 2 minute walk down to the dock.

I also love having a place to go in the off-season as well. We went to the condo a couple weeks ago just to hang out and watch the wildcard round. I do have to plan though, because it is a 3.5 hour drive. But if I forget something, I can buy anything I need down there.
 
Grew up a lake boater in the family cabin for the summers. Bought two lake front cottages.on the same day for $62,500 & $82,500 in I think 1995. Decided I wanted to do a little bit bigger water and bought the my first SR 2001 420AC in 2007. Sold my cabin around six years ago for $389k after I’d put 140k in it over the years.

Had a contract on water front home in Port Charlotte on the West coast of Florida in 2021 after playing Russian roulette with everyone else buying over priced properties having bidding wars & cash purchase contracts. Walked away after 36hrs & pulled the plug on FL for awhile.

Purchased another lake front fixer upper the past August and hope to move in mid May after 10 months renovation. Not a big home but 187’ water front with a beautiful lot and can’t see my neighbors out of anything but the road side windows. This will allow us the opportunity to sell our home when we are ready as the new home will become home.

Still have a 52DB and to many other boasts as well but options are always beneficial. Own a 39AC as well I bought from a friend so the 52 will probably go on the market when I’m ready but not right away unless someone really wants her.
 
I have a friend who has a 460DA. He got tired of the marina fees on Lake Michigan in Northern IL. He is a construction guy, so he started looking for properties to fix up. Turns out he found a high rise in Milwaukee along the river where the developer went belly up and only had a few units finished out of the whole building. He bought a unit with parking spaces and 2 50’ slips along the river. He kept 4 parking spaces for some cars. I think he told me his investment in that building covered 10 years of slip fees in Chicago marinas, and he’s got a getaway for the family they can use just an hour from their house. He built out his unit into a small but nice place with bedrooms for his kids, and the master. His 460 is the same driving time away from his house as before, but now he’s got the condo set up for if the family doesn’t want to sleep on the boat or if they have guests. I don’t know if he still has both slips but I hope so.
 
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