How much is a residential mooring worth?
The interesting thing with this vessel is that nearly 70% of its cost was a premium for the residential mooring. In places like Oxford residential moorings are few and far between so boats are normally sold on residential moorings and the price of these boats can be very high.
This boat my friend was looking at was not a particularly well fitted out vessel but it was on the market for quite a high price, like I say about 70% of the cost of the vessel was a premium for the residential mooring. Premiums on these moorings were running in at approximately £10,000 to £15,000 just for the mooring alone but you could not buy the mooring alone, you would have to buy the vessel that was moored there and then transfer the mooring agreement over to the new purchaser.
My friend really wanted to live in Oxford and also works there so the location and status of the mooring was very important. The vessel itself can be renovated and will make a very nice home. It's worth bearing in mind that if you come across a boat that is rundown and does need renovating on a very desirable mooring you should not discount this as you could purchase the rundown boat on the mooring and then put a new boat on the mooring at any time you wish. The important bit is that you have the rights for that residential mooring. In places like London and other major cities where people really want to live and residential moorings are very hard to find this could be a real option if you can find a project boat up for sale.
A fully fitted out vessel on a desirable residential mooring could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds but a similar vessel that is rundown on the same mooring could be half or even a quarter of that price. The art here is to find those vessels on the good moorings.
If you are looking for a mooring in a particular area and you really want to stay in the area then the only way to find these moorings is to go out and look at the local boat yards, marinas and moorings on the tow path and find out whether these residential moorings are. You should speak to people and find out if there are any boats for sale. If residential moorings are within marinas and boatyards and you could always leave your name and telephone number with the marina office and get them to contact you if any suitable vessels come up for sale. Again it does not matter if it's a rundown vessel that needs lots of work because you can always purchase another suitable vessel and move it to your mooring and sell the old vessel for a cheap price.
It's really interesting to see how much premium there is on residential moorings. As residential moorings are getting so few and far between particularly in the sought-after and desirable areas then purchasing a project boat on a suitable mooring could be a real option. Once you have rights to that mooring then you can move the old boat off and a new boat on.
I guess what I'm trying to say is don't discount a project boat if it's on a very sought-after mooring, you could end up getting a real bargain and then move a suitable vessel on that mooring.
So if you really want to live in one particular area go out and find those residential moorings. Don't think about the type of boats, think about how you're going to get your hands on this desirable residential mooring at the cheapest possible price. Again purchasing a project boat on a desirable mooring can be a real option to secure those very hard to find residential moorings.
Of course please don't forget that if you can find a residential mooring available without a boat already on it then you will not pay a premium for the mooring. It is more common to find this type of mooring in a Marina or boat yard that is licensed for residential use so this could be a good place to start looking. If you already have sourced your mooring then you would only pay the market price for the boat you are looking for.
Happy Hunting
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© 2005. Living On Boats.
www.livingonboats.co.uk
Martin Chinery has lived on boats for over 7 years. He writes articles for and runs the Living On Boats website.
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'Bargain Basement'
I often look around for boats that are for sale at a reasonable price and could make a suitable liveaboard boat. It is surprising what you can find so I thought I would feature one vessel in each edition of the newsletter to show what can be found. I'll call this 'Bargain Basement' and see what little jems we can come up with.
This months 'Bargain Basement'Beautiful 78' Thames Barge £130,000
Beautiful 1905 Braby and Son's Thames lighter converted and restored in 1995. Moored at High Line Yachting Northolt Narrative and Photographic account of all resoration work plus we still have the original 101 year old workbook listing everything that has ever been done to her. 40' Open plan Living / Dining / Kitchen space. Large bathroom with cast iron bath. 1 Large double cabin. 1 Further cabin at stern. Solid fuel stove powering central heating throughout. Lenght 78' Beam 13' 6" Displacement: 40 tonnes. Located at Northolt Greater London UK.This looks like a great Thames Barge and if the mooring is a suitable residential one then you would be close enough to London for an easy commute. There would be lots of space in a boat of this size for comfortable living. At the price I would say this barge is a good buy subject to a survey.
If you are interested I found this vessel on the Apollo Duck website under Advert ID: 52693
