Trade a House for a Catamaran

[zz4gta]

lol, sell the house. Any home owner in No VA knows that the market ain't moving. Period. Houses have been trashed, now being auctioned off at lowball prices with plenty of back taxes and HOA dues to be paid from the previous owner.

Good luck in selling, but I'd concentrate on saving right now, and it 2 years, then sell, and buy the boat. I don't know anyone who is selling something outright right now. Most have been foreclosed. Hard to compete with that. My old mail man said there's 65 foreclosures just on his route!

[tradersailor]

Have a look at the website goswap dot org
This type of trade is quite common. I have a 37 catamaran listed there.

[Sailmachine]

Looks like everyone is assuming that the house is paid for which would allow the full $400k or so, that the house is worth for the boat. However I doubt this is the case. Depending on the amount of equity is in the house the trade for the Hobie 16 may be a fair deal.

[GboyCruz]

Overall this is not such a crazy idea for a temporary trade. Many people want to cruzing and many are wanting to return to land for a while. Location as always the biggest issue..while I want to go cruz the Caribbean, how many just happen to need a home in Atlanta for 2-3 years ..not too many, but many maybe willing to comprimise.

Naturally a trust and legal arrangement must be set-up..but I would very much like to see such an idea work ??

Gboy

[zeta]

Houses are at a ten year low, I know, just sold one appraised at 465K for 325K.....but if you price it lower than comps it will sell. Boats are much worse than houses, so you should be able to get a great boat for say 300-350K, but upkeep costs on such a boat is something not to be overlooked. Like others have mentioned, a 150K boat will probably fit your needs and 200-250K will give you quite a few years of cruising. Not sure what your house would rent for but that or owner financing will give you a nice cruising kitty, but then there's the cost of the boat.
Good luck and remember it's only money....if you lose a little on your house, you will recoup it on your boat, and if you worry about your house losing too much money, wait till you try and sell that 350K boat

[getwet]

I have to agree with everyone here. Sell and buy rather than trade. It just seems to be the smarter way to go. But I admire your ambition to take on a Cat. They are they way to go. I also have a Hobie 16 in case you're interested!

[aztucwatson]

You may want to explore all options. With a "soft" market, we have decided to buy a smaller boat and offer our house as a vacation rental. All the pieces of the puzzle aren't together yet, but we are enjoying the boat!