pros and cons of buying a marina berth

[pcatterall]

Our owners group have been offered a serviced berth by our marina in Spain ( Its 12K euros for a 10 m berth)
Considering our annual fee is 3000E and we expect to be there for at least 2 more years could we not buy the berth
and if we do move in 2 years then 'just' sell the berth?
If we stay longer then in 3 years we would, in effect, have a sellable commodity fully paid for.
There must be loads of pitfalls possible but would it be worth further investigation?

 

[Heckler]

Our owners group have been offered a serviced berth by our marina in Spain ( Its 12K euros for a 10 m berth)
Considering our annual fee is 3000E and we expect to be there for at least 2 more years could we not buy the berth
and if we do move in 2 years then 'just' sell the berth?
If we stay longer then in 3 years we would, in effect, have a sellable commodity fully paid for.
There must be loads of pitfalls possible but would it be worth further investigation?

I always look on these offers as being like time shares. Dont like them, too restrictive.

 

[maby]

Read the small print very carefully - we were offered a long lease on a marina berth in England and were seriously considering it until we looked carefully at the terms and conditions. There was an annual service charge which was non-trivial and ill-defined plus provision for them to request one-off (again ill-defined) contributions towards major maintenance work such as pontoon replacements and dredging. We came to the conclusion that the savings over renting the berth annually were not enough and the risk of getting hit with significant unexpected bills was too great.

 

[Graham376]

Not sure where your marina is or, level of occupancy. The Andalucian Junta ones we've visited over the last 2 - 3 years have had many empty berths, unlike a few years before so, what's the demand going to be if/when you want to sell it on or rent it out?

 

[rszemeti]

€12,000 .. for how long? forever?

 

[colind3782]

€12K sounds very cheap unless there's a catch. You won't anything for less than €50K in Empuriabrava.

 

[rogerthebodger]

I own a lease for 2 walk on moorings in different locations.

As Mayb says look at the small print.

Also consider what happens to you mooring when you are away sailing for some time.

Mine can be put in a rental pool one pays my monthly levy fee weather occupied or not. The other I get rent - 10% admin fee only when occupied so if occupied I make a profit but it not occupied I still have to pay levy.

Also look at mooring company's lease and what happens if their lease expires.