wow! houseboats??? no sail?

[sailingdog]

Yes, I said one acre of water... but you're taking it out of context...as usual. I also said that the LAND-based portion of the MARINA, if converted to condos would create far more income for a given city/state.

Originally Posted by Yofy

sailingdog, Go back and read your first sentence " Given one acre of WATER" (my caps not yours). Well if you are thinking of complexes such as they are building in Dubai, then you have a point. Otherwise my boat floats whereas a condo sits on land... which is a factor that town planners are using to good use as they build expensive condo complexes that overlook marinas. They figure the boats add to the view...except they want empty boats. No working boats, no liveaboards and certainly no unsightly sunawnings, laundry lines, or heaven forbid someone starting up a sander to have a go at their bright work.

The thing is, I don't OWN my marina slip. As Cruisingdad put it so well, we are renting the use of the space. Much like a parking lot space, but if you prefer think of apartment rental. The taxes are included in the rent.

Really I have to say, that the whole "you're not paying taxes" argument is the one I get tierd of most. I feel like a school teacher friend of mine who has people on his back because he gets summer vacations. He says if you want the vacations, then go train to be a teacher.

Just curious, do you feel the same way about RV's and trailer folks???

[Captsomer]

[QUOTE=sailingdog;278347] They don't pay much in the way of taxes, [QUOTE]


I hear this line all the time from landlubbers and it makes no sense to me. If you think for one minute that the marina owner that owns that premium waterfront property isn't passing along those sky high tax bills to you and the rest of the tenents, you're crazy. We pay our fair share.

I think the biggest thing that hurts us, is the "homeless" liveaboards that live on unkept and unseaworthy eyesores. The sewage thing doesn't help us either..

[sailingdog]

Captsomer-

It is a relative measurement. Most marinas do not pay as much in taxes as a condo complex built on the same piece of land would generate. Given that a two-bedroom waterfront condo is often in the million dollar range, and you might have forty or more of them in the space a small marina takes up, the disparity is fairly large and the statement stands IMHO. [QUOTE=Captsomer;321229][QUOTE=sailingdog;278347] They don't pay much in the way of taxes,

I hear this line all the time from landlubbers and it makes no sense to me. If you think for one minute that the marina owner that owns that premium waterfront property isn't passing along those sky high tax bills to you and the rest of the tenents, you're crazy. We pay our fair share.

I think the biggest thing that hurts us, is the "homeless" liveaboards that live on unkept and unseaworthy eyesores. The sewage thing doesn't help us either..

[chucklesR]

SD,
You assume that the marina would be converted to condo's if not for the liveaboards and the base property value would increase.

While that is the case in some situations it is not in all, mind also that the rent is a ongoing monthly tax base in sales tax that is over and above the property tax.

Live aboards pay their fair share.

As to shabby boats, that's a marina perogative. If it's an eyesore they should evict them.

[sailingdog]

Chuckles-

I'm not assuming anything... I'm just saying that the relative value of the same piece of land to the local government is generally greater to have a nice condo complex there, rather than a marina in most cases.

[Wankel]

Originally Posted by PBzeer

And don't forget, boats spoil the view from all those crappy looking buildings they throw up all around the water. And, we can't have that now, can we?

I thought the boats WERE the view at a marina.

[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by Wankel

I thought the boats WERE the view at a marina.

Some liveaboard boats are less than picturesque.

[partgypsy]

I'm considering going off the grid. Taking my large cruiser (sorry, sailors) and dropping a couple of good anchors and putting up some solar panels and a tow generator to catch the tide and current. The liveaboard marinas here are generally occupied as described above. In 30 years of boating without a claim, I've had two in the last three months from crappy and dangerous marina wiring and a crazy drunk playing bumper-boats with a few of us.
I'm now considered a poor sport because I asked to have $1800 of damaged equipment replaced and the damage to my boat fixed.
I'm not sure I will be able to get all the power I need from renewables, but it's very tempting.
I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who lives at anchor in a responsible manner and how they avoided potential problems from the community. Mid- atlantic climate.

[partgypsy]

I agree about the taxes issue. The marina owner runs a business (hopefully at a profit), pays taxes, utilities, etc. He then rents space to boaters for a price. The boats take up the same amount of space whether occupied or not.