Living on the water might seem like an idyllic life: Dining on a dock, sightseeing from a lofty perch and sleeping in a bed inside a gently swaying floating house.
After sinking during the recession and housing bubble, the floating real estate market is rising again, just like homes on terra firma, says real estate agent Graham Marden, a broker with with Premiere Property Group LLC who is licensed in Oregon.
In this week’s real estate gallery, we look at floating homes — don’t call them houseboats — on the market or recently sold.
What’s the difference between a floating home, house barge and a houseboat?
A floating home is built on floats anchored to a semi-permanent location on the water.
A house barge can be used for towing or navigating the water if the owner wants to relocate, but it does not need to comply with the construction and utility requirements applicable to floating homes.
A houseboat is a live-aboard vessel that has its own motor and is free to travel the waterways.
There are four custom-built floating houses for sale in Columbia Ridge at 18525 NE Marine Dr., a moorage that is unique in that there is water access on both sides of the house.
A single-level floating house at slip D3 has been lived in less than one week since it built in 2014. There’s a dock on the east side and a covered deck on the west. The two bedroom-two bath house is priced at $430,000. Nearby is a three-level house slip B6 for $925,000, a two-level at slip B1 for $659,900 and another two-story at slip A9 for $525,000.
Before you take the plunge and move everything you own to a bobbing abode, know there are challenges of living in a home anchored to a moorage.
According to Marden:
- Hauling groceries down the ramp and walk garbage back up.
- Floats — the foundation of floating houses — are parked about 10 feet apart so neighbors are nearby.
- There are only four moorages with fully owned garages that are transferable upon a sale. There are two moorages with rented garages and one with carports and storage units, which all have wait lists.
- Floating homes have to be docked somewhere and each of the more than 40 moorage facilities in the Greater Portland Area has unique rules and fees. Most homeowners association fees range from $200 to $400 a month. Moorage rental fees are about $500 to $850 per month.
- Slip prices range from about $100,000 to $250,000, depending on the moorage, the exact location of the slip and whether a garage is included. You don’t pay taxes on the assessed value of the slip.
- Lenders require a float inspection, which cost $600 to $1,000 to check on the condition of the logs, stringers, shims, pins, flotation and chaining to the mooring slip. Cement floats have less maintenance than a log and stringer float.
- The deterioration of the materials that comprise the float is the most pressing issue for floating homes on salt water. But Oregon floating homes are moored in fresh water.
- Floating homes are considered personal property and there are fewer lenders that offer loans. Interest rates are usually about 1 1/2 to 2 points higher than for real property loans and require a 20 to 25 percent down payment, with a term of 20 to 25 years.
- Homeowners insurance is easy to obtain but is slightly higher than for homes on land.
- Due to the strict financing requirements, it usually takes longer to sell a floating home than a house on land. Marden says the average time is three to six months compared to a land average of 30 to 60 days in the Portland area.
– Janet Eastman
jeastman@oregonian.com
503-799-8739
@janeteastman
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