It's no secret that the cost of housing in South Florida has skyrocketed in the past few years and many South Florida residents are wondering what options are available.
From taking in roommates to switching to the ‘vanlife’, people are doing everything they can to escape the burden of the housing crisis.
Well, for some South Floridians it’s become such a burden that they may want to ditch the idea of living on land and live out their best #saltlife.
But is moving to water abode really the cheaper option against owning a home?
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BOAT OR HOUSE
Off the bat, you can’t rent a boat to live, you must buy a boat and dock it at a marina that allows liveaboards.
Sure, there may be plenty of pros to look at when comparing living on the water versus living in a condo.
No nosy neighbors, no HOA’s. Forget waiting for the elevator when you’re carrying up your groceries, and sure, there’s “peace and quiet” when you’re docked in the water.
But nothing in this world is free. So, let’s look at the numbers.
"The interest rates for boats are higher than the interest rates for buying at home," said Ian Gelerman, a real estate agent with OneSothebys in Miami,
"And when you you know, when you just take it straight up at face value like that, your monthly payment on a boat is already higher than the monthly payment on a house, not to mention the astronomical costs of maintaining that boat."
BEFORE BUYING A HOME
DOCKING YOUR HOME
One such number is the cost of the dock, and some docks can be just as or less expensive than the average Florida mortgage payment, which stands at $2,275 per month, according to RocketMortgage.
Typically, houseboats can cost between $250,000 and $750,000 and the monthly finance payments could be on par with mortgage prices.
For instance, LendingTree calculates that you could pay $3,033.19, with an interest rate of 8% on a 10 year term for a boat priced at $250,000, without counting the price of the dock.
And keep in mind that any houseboat should be around 40 feet or longer to have enough space for adequate living, according to boattrader.com.
For instance, in Fort Lauderdale, you can find a 65-foot dock for rent at $1,750 that allows for a boat of maximum 57 feet long.
While in Miami, finding a dock is a little bit harder as the demand is greater and size makes a huge difference. For instance, this 100 foot dock can house a 70-foot boat for $4,341 a month.
The cost of the dock will also vary depending on the location, the season, and even the length of the boat.
With Miami’s median home price at $549,154, the lure of buying a $300,000 houseboat may seem like a good idea but it’s not just the price of the boat that you need to keep in mind as there are also costs of maintenance.
MAINTENANCE
While you may think that living on a boat shouldn’t require much maintenance since you won’t be moving it from the dock, you’d be terribly mistaken.
Routine maintenance tasks like cleaning, replacing filters and so on are critical for the boat home to run smoothly and those costs can run up to $2,000 per year, according to improvesailing.com.
"The boat is just sitting in saltwater and every day the saltwater is eating away at the boat and you're constantly having to maintain it, repair parts," said Gelerman, "and once a year, you're supposed to repaint the bottom of the boat."
Then you must talk about engine maintenance, which can be very costly, something along the lines of $500 to $1,000 per engine for things like changing the oil and replacing spark plugs.
Meanwhile, for homeowners, maintenance costs can also be expensive but the fixes generally last longer, and State Farm recommends that you set aside 1% to 4% of your home’s value for a maintenance fund.
Fixing or replacing general household appliances usually tend to run for $400 to $1,000 for most items, but those high-end options could go higher.
And if you keep regularly changing the filters on your A/C properly, then you could avoid the $3,000 to $7,000 costs to fix.
The costs of keeping a house well maintained can be expensive if you add them up, but that’s just going to up your value come time to sell.
In terms of maintenance, while it is cheaper to maintain a boat, owning a home gives you the possibility of raising its value and benefitting from a wise investment.
HOUSING CRISIS
INVESTMENT
One major difference between house boats and regular land homes is that boats are not investments.
Boats have this annoying caveat that they depreciate the second the exchange is made.
That $500,000 boat becomes $499,999 the moment they hand you the keys for the very first time. Real Estate on the other hand, appreciates over time.
"At the end of the day to a boat is a depreciating asset. And a home historically always appreciates it," Gelerman said.
For instance, a new boat is expected to depreciate in price from anywhere between 7 to 10 years, on average, according to themariner.com.
While a single-family home in Miami-Dade sold for 64% more in 2023 than it would have in 2018, according to the Chief Economist at Miami Realtors.
"Honestly, I would say that real estate at the end of the day is always going to be the way to go, even with the crazy prices that we're in right now with the way the market's going, thankfully, it's shifting a little more towards a buyer's market now," said Gelerman.
In the end, while living on a boat may sound like a peaceful way to live out your golden years, the sad reality is that it’s just as expensive as owning a home and to make matters worse, you won’t get a solid return on investment.
