I’m interested to hear the pro’s and con’s of purchasing a dry stack slip. I’m sure some of you Charleston Fishing members have some input and I’d like to hear it. The one I’m looking at is treated like a condo and has HOA dues (regime fees) and taxes. What is the good, bad ugly on these things? Can you rent them out and make money? Are they like time shares that you can never get rid of? Any and all discussion is welcome. Trying to learn more.
Check for a “catastrophic event assessment” clause.
What are the HOA fees? What size boat will it accomodate?
quote:
Originally posted by skinneejWhat are the HOA fees? What size boat will it accomodate?
Around $180 plus taxes which will put it at about $200/month. It is a non T-top spot. It will hold up to a 25 foot boat. They have insurance for catastrophic events and a reserve fund, but need to read the fine print and look at a current balance sheet. I’m not really in the market for one, but I ran across the slip by accident and it has peaked my interest.
I pay $11 /mo per foot in dry stack… So, for a 25 foot boat, you would pay $275 /mo. No tax on that… So, basically to purchase a slip, you could potentially save $75 /mo. or $900 /yr… If you were going to put a 19 foot boat in dry stack, then you would pay $209 /mo and save about $108 /year. That assumes that they NEVER raise the HOA fee on you…
Factor in the fact that it’s an “asset” that holds some sort of value (maybe). If you get it at a good price and you sell it for what you bought it for, then you saved $900 /yr (on a 25’ boat) or $109 /yr on a 19’ boat. That being said, if they raise the HOA fee much higher, the price to own is almost as much as the price to rent which would push the asset price down… The theory being “who wants to own a boat slip when you can rent one for the same monthly fee?”
Sounds like a risky investment to me, unless they can guarantee you that they will always be in business and that they will never raise the HOA fee, which they can’t do either.
quote:
Originally posted by skinneejI pay $11 /mo per foot in dry stack… So, for a 25 foot boat, you would pay $275 /mo. No tax on that… So, basically to purchase a slip, you could potentially save $75 /mo. or $900 /yr… If you were going to put a 19 foot boat in dry stack, then you would pay $209 /mo and save about $108 /year. That assumes that they NEVER raise the HOA fee on you…
Factor in the fact that it’s an “asset” that holds some sort of value (maybe). If you get it at a good price and you sell it for what you bought it for, then you saved $900 /yr (on a 25’ boat) or $109 /yr on a 19’ boat. That being said, if they raise the HOA fee much higher, the price to own is almost as much as the price to rent which would push the asset price down… The theory being “who wants to own a boat slip when you can rent one for the same monthly fee?”
Sounds like a risky investment to me, unless they can guarantee you that they will always be in business and that they will never raise the HOA fee, which they can’t do either.
Skinnee - These are all the things I’m evaluating. It’s in Mt. Pleasant, so the rates are bit higher than what you are paying. I think it’s around $18/foot. I “think” I can get a good deal on this one. And it’s not a matter of when the HOA dues go up, it’s by how much each year. Inflation will increase costs just like everything else. Still kicking it around. Thanks for the info.
Cool. Glad to help put things in perspective. Also, out of curiosity, what happens if the marina goes insolvent?
quote:
Originally posted by skinneejCool. Glad to help put things in perspective. Also, out of curiosity, what happens if the marina goes insolvent?
If that happened, I guess you lose your investment. I think it would probably be unlikely for that to happen. My understanding is that each slip is fee simple with an actual deed at transfer, just like an actual condo.
I guess in reality if everyone stopped paying the HOA dues, the marina couldn’t pay for labor, insurance, fork lift, etc and it is possible they could become insolvent.
In isolated incidents of people not paying the HOA, I think a lien is placed against the slip. If there is any debt involved (bank loans) on the slip, I think the bank would require the HOA fee to be part of the monthly payment and if the owner didn’t pay, the bank would take the slip.
I really don’t know all the answers, that’s why I’m asking for the good, bad and ugly based on experience.
I’ve owned one for years east of the Cooper. Great service, insured, etc. Had it for 10 years now and plan on keeping it forever. We used ours for years (it was cheaper than renting), and have rented it our for the past several. Rental rates have consistenly risen since 2008 -we make plenty of money on the rental to pay the taxes, regime, and still have money left over. We did not finance our slip - we paid cash. That makes a huge difference.