This little cottage style floating home is super cute. Of course it has the usual assets of master bedroom with en suite bath, nice kitchen with gas appliances, and adorable enamel cast iron fireplace that heats it. But what sets this home apart are two things: it has a brand new float installed in 2013 AND it has a spacious tender house that can be used as a studio or guest quarters. This home is completely paneled in clear fir paneling, giving it the appearance and feel of a sea worthy boat. It has a great view of the North Portland Harbor (think, Christmas Ships in December). Tomahawk Moorage is a great place to live. It is pet friendly and also the residents own the moorage. That keeps the monthly fee low ($270 a month). The owners manage and maintain the moorage. One great thing about Tomahawk Moorage is that it is perfect for sailors because of its proximity to the Columbia and no bridges in the way between the moorage and the main river.

If you are thinking about a floating home, call me to look at this affordable option or any others that catch your fancy. I live on a floating home and can tell you all about it.

 One type of floating home foundation would be a log and stringer float. These floats support and stabilize the floating home. They have a life of about 40 years, but they can be repaired and updated throughout the life of your home to extend their life. The repairs can include replacing or adding new logs, replacing one or all of the stringers, adding boyancy floatation in the form of bails of foam.

When you buy a floating home, with all the hopes and possibilities attached to your purchase, you will want to have your float inspected by a floating home inspector who can rate the float of your new home and give you an evaluation that will allow the home and float to be used as collateral for a mortgage. On pitfall that buyers and sellers are experiencing today is that the building codes have changed since 2008. A float that may have gotten a positive rating in 2008 may no longer be constructed in a way that is ‘financable’. This means that the float will require some updating to pass the current codes. The updating can include adding floor insulation, increasing the number of stringers, adding a log or two and other expensive but important repairs.

The message here is clear. The purchase of your new floating home needs to be subject to a float inspection, and the buyer’s approval of that inspection. If you are paying cash, you still need to know what it is you are buying. If you ever want to sell, you will be responsible for assuring the next buyer that they have a solid float. When it comes to doing the repairs, get two or three bids from contractors who understand floating home construction and know how to bring a serviceable float up to current code expectations. Depending on the extent of the refurbishment, the cost can be up to $70,000……Yes! more than a new float! The work is dangerous and requires the use of several different contractors who specialize in the various aspects of the repair.

Cover image courtesy of MarketingGoon.com

Mark Even Construction

Channel Island Floating Home Community is a special moorage on the Multnomah Channel. What makes this moorage special is that it has only 18 homes, and all of them are wonderful. The one pictured at left is listed for $690,000, and was constructed by custom builder, Mark Even Construction. The owners designed this custom home to reflect their life style and the beautiful views and location of this particular home.

Channel Island is located just west of the Sauvie Island Bridge on the mainland. The community if gated, and boast a row of gabled garages (one for each home) with added storage above the parking area. The Moorage also has acres of land, fenced by hedge roses that have a lovely fragrance when in bloom in early summer. This moorage has a on site sewage treatment center, a large meadow and secure parking. The owners also manage the moorage, and have accumulated a fat savings account for moorage repairs or replacements, and great maintenance and upkeep.

This moorage is a great choice for people who love the water and  serene, beautiful views of three mountains from the decks of their homes. Although the water is deep, this moorage is fine for power boaters. It is a short distance to the lower Willamette, and then on to the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. Going west, it is a short distance to fine dining on the river at Mark’s on the Channel. The farms of Sauvie’s Island offer a wealth of good local food for the Floating home cook.

The beautiful homes and moorage that make up Channel Island Floating Home Community are a great choice for year around living, a short drive to Portland or Beaverton for work. These homes are more expensive, but they offer some fantastic value for those who can afford a premium home and moorage.

Cover image courtousy of EvenConstruction.com.

Tomahawk Floating Home Community is located on Hayden Island / Jantzen Beach. The moorage is one of the best moorages in Portland because it offers some great amenities. Of course, the most important factor in choosing YOUR floating home moorage is the location you prefer. With over 3000 floating homes registered with the Marine Board, you have some great options and I am going to write about some of them so you can get a good idea of what is offered.

Tomahawk Moorage is located on the East end of Hayden Island. It faces South, looking across the North Portland Harbor to the floating home communities in Bridgeton area. Tomahawk Moorage is charming, with two long docks splitting off from the ramp to the docks. The East docks are arranged in fingers, so that the houses face each other. The West end is arranged with half the houses facing directly South and onto the front of the open water of the harbor. The other half are facing the riparian bank with quiet views of wildlife, and enough room to bring both boats and dingys back to your private dock or swim float.  The homes in Tomahawk moorage vary from large to small; there are a very few boat houses….most of the homes are single family.

The amenities offered in Tomahawk Moorage are what makes it one of the premiere moorages in Portland. The moorage is all slip ownership, meaning the price of a home in this moorage includes ownership of the slip and partial ownership of the moorage community. The management of this moorage is done by the owners who live there, and this keeps the monthly fees among the lowest on the river. They include water, sewer, waste management, secure parking in a gated parking lot, and a healthy contribution to the savings account for moorage repairs.

Another factor to consider is what type of boating you plan to do. A moorage like Tomahawk is an excellent choice for sailboat owners because the access to the main river does not require opening bridges or long trips through the channel to open water. This moorage does not have a history of ‘grounding’ which means the water beneath the homes is deep.

Tomahawk Moorage was purchased by the Tomahawk Destiny Association (the members who live there) in 2000. It is a wonderful moorage and a great place to live. The people are friendly and responsible. Each house has capacity to dock a boat.

Best tidings to all of you! The Christmas Ships have paraded past our floating home in North Portland Harbor, the moorage was decorated to a fare thee well…..brilliant lights adorned the docks and boats, decks and windows. The gates were thrown open, and guests to the moorage trooped in to see their friends, muffled and gloved, bearing steaming pots of meatballs, Yule Log cakes and jelly jars of gifts from the summer seasons.

Christmas on a floating home is wonderful. Friends visit, potluck dinners are festive. The darker side is all about the weather. Snow and ice are not the friend of floating homes. In 30 feet of water, the weight of heavy water in the form of snow and ice can lower your level! Neighbors pitch in to  shovel and scrape any frozen water from the surfaces; docks, roofs, railings. The moorages have systems in place to help with cold weather too. Faucet drips are necessary to keep the flow of water through the pipes moving.  Big containers of salt are placed along the docks to spread out when they get slippery after heavy rain or when the temperatures dip.

I love the winter months on my floating home. I enjoy watching the storms come up the harbor, the sky bruising from dark gray to purple, a squall on the horizon. I love the Canada geese flying in formation, the loons dipping beneath the water surface and the huge Cranes hunched on one leg, fishing in still life for carp.

Now the new year is beginning and the sun sparkles off the frost and water. We will begin January with the boat show and move on to sailboat racing season. Life is wonderful on the water!!

Cover image courtesy of Tripod and Spray Bottle.

I just found this cool site for buying discounted stuff for your home remodel. The deals will work well in either floating or traditional land homes.Check out the ‘buys’ on stainless steel kitchen sinks! Explore this site for special space saving cabinets and decorative items for your kitchen too. Portland Floating Homes are very cool, but need updating and decorating…..and of course, a great deal is on the top of every floating home owners list!!

Cover image courtesy of SesshuDesign.com.

Floating homes are built on foundations called floats. There are several ways to construct a float. The original way might have been to build the home on top of a barge, but we don’t see that too often in Portland. The most common construction of a float is logs and stringers. Older homes have wonderful old growth fir logs, some as large as 6 feet in diameter. Once submerged, they don’t rot. You might notice some deterioration on the top of the logs such as in the photo at the left. But the logs are still serviceable. If they begin to get waterlogged, or lose some flotation, bales of Styrofoam can be inserted beneath the house to help in buoyancy. The stringers are beams, wide enough to fit completely beneath the home across the logs. The Stringers are not laminated. They are 6″ or 8″ by 10″ or 12″.  The sub floor of the home is laid across the stringers, with insulation and wire animal fencing incorporated. Soome stringers are constructed of steel. They never rot and, while expensive, they are a good replacement for wood stringers.

Cover photo By Art Grice/Courtesy of Studio Hamlet Architects.

The gardens are fading glory, the end of summer on the river has arrived. And ….ARGH property tax bills are in the mail!!  Here is some helpful information if you want to appeal your property taxes this year. Remember! Appealing your taxes is not a guarantee of getting a reduced bill! The process is kind of arduous, but the tax department is surprisingly helpful (call David or Joan at the Multnomah County Tax Department 503-988-3326). Your floating home is taxed as Personal Property!!

To file a property tax appeal, you will need to download and file a Personal Property Tax Appeal form. You can access the Department of Taxation for Multnomah County this link. You will need to provide evidence to support your claim. The evidence needs for be for the time period of January 2010 because that is the month that they use to make the assessment bills for the upcoming bill that is generated in November. The evidence should be either or both an appraisal by a licensed property appraiser or a market valuation done by a Realtor or both of these. Pay close attention to the date you must file the appeal: This year, it needs to be filed no later than January 3.

2011.

FYI: At the time of purchase or sale of a floating home, the State Marine Board collects the information to submit to the county. As you all know, personal property requires an annual filing notice of value. If you fail to answer this notice (even if you fail to receive it) you will receive a ‘special assessment equal to 50% of the assessment bill as a penalty. Everyone has their own idea of how to fill this form out, but if you would like to know what I advise, please feel free to contact me.

If you would like additional information don’t hesitate to call me. If you decide to appeal your taxes, don’t wait till the last minute to compile your evidence because appraisers and Realtors are all working on this. Thanks! Let me know if you find this helpful!

Floating home financing is available. Refinance options are also available. Here is a list of lenders who are participating in the 2010 market. I expect others to get involved by Spring or Summer of 2011.

Banner Bank: Fixed rate 6.25%, 15 year balloon with a 25 year amortization. This loan can be reduced to 6% with an automatic payment from a checking account at Banner. Call: Lenny Severs 971-255-5640 or Laurel Buncak 503-534-1000.

Other lenders are:

Rivermark Credit Union: They can do refinancing at 7.875 % with a 70/30 loan to value. No cash out…they will allow only refinancing of present lien on the home.

NW Resource Federal Credit Union: refinance funds only. 5.875 fixed or 5.375 ARM. They hope to offer purchase funds in 2011. Call Cody Hager:  503-220-2592

If you are looking to purchase a floating home, ask if the seller will consider financing your purchase for a term of one to five years. This may be a good alternative option. All floating home loans require a down payment of at least 20% unless you can make other arrangements with the lender (like you might have your entire 401K invested with them). Your financing will depend on your stellar credit rating of 7.2 or better. You will have to have a float inspection done on the property when you obtain a loan. A float inspection costs about $400 to $500 and is well worth it. The float will have a rating of between one and five, with five being super excellent. I will talk about floats in a separate posting.

Don’t hesitate to call me if you have any questions on financing or on floating home lifestyles! I would love to talk with you and help you enjoy this cool life on the water. Cover image courtesy of www.Shelterness.com.

Floating Homes

I am not complaining!! Banner Bank finally responded to floating home Brokers to re evaluate their mortgage rates and terms! This may loosen up the market for fabulous floating homes in the Portland area. The new rates are in line with the super rates available for on land homes.

Banner is offering 6% purchase loans if you have excellent credit and a down payment. Folks who are looking at the floating home life style are typically good credit risks. They are conservative financially, employed, have some money (because it just costs more to buy into this cool lifestyle) and pay their bills.

If you have ever considered living on the water…now is a great time to take a deeper look! There are some fantastic prices of these unique, historical homes.

Cover image courtesy of EvenConstruction.com.

Sailing in San Diego

In sail boat racing, heart and commitment are as true as in a marriage or any relationship. You become part of a team, you sign on “win or lose”. There is no guarantee that your boat will win, no matter how much you invest in mylar sails, bottom racing paint or matching shirts. You show up and try hard to do your share. You are at the mercy of wind, experience and tactical expertise.  If you win, champagne , high fives and fly by. If you lose, cold beer and mental replays of every tack and jibe maneuver…..get ready to come at it again tomorrow.

I recently had an experience that I am trying to learn from. I hired a marketing expert to help me configure my business presence. He wanted to get paid for his work, so he brought along a contract for me to sign. I had my needs in mind. I wanted to refresh my logo with some color, update my look on my blog and other internet sites to be more congruent with my business intentions, learn some new marketing techniques that would communicate my expertise in the real estate business to new clients.  We made an agreement. I was the buyer. He was the seller.

I wrote up all my insights into my business, providing a lengthy and in depth look at my commitment to my clients, my knowledge, my business ethics, my target audience. I wrote it all down and gave it to the marketing expert who copied it into a document that he returned to me along with a bill. When I asked him where the ‘new’ marketing ideas were, he referred me to the contract I had signed. He just kept on saying, “according to the contract …..” over and over until I got it! He was not looking at my business as a long term relationship. He was only looking at my business in terms of a transaction by contract. He did not build into his plan a way for me to refer other businesses to him or to secure me as a repeat client. His business was all contract…..and our relationship would end when our contract ended and the bill was paid. He didn’t really care if I was happy or not. My happiness with his work was not addressed in his contract.  Neither of us got what we wanted from this arrangement. For me, there was no heart and no committment from him. For him, I would not be finishing out our contract although I did pay my bill.

So the question of the day is, “What is included in the price?”  Clearly, each of us saw different things included in the price.  I saw a commitment to my business. If I was not happy, I saw someone who would drink a cold beer and come back to the table ready to see what was missing and make a new plan. I didn’t plan for someone who would tell me that if I was not happy, I would have to pay the bill and then agree to pay more until we came to agreement. Client satisfaction was and is top most in my goals for my business, and I (as the buyer) simply built that in to my expectations of someone else’s business. But it isn’t always true.

When you hire a real estate broker, I hope your expectations will be be included in the price. In my opinion, you should expect to get what you pay for. Your experience should include an ongoing relationship with your Realtor, whether you are buying or selling, commitment to your happiness and satisfaction as a client, ongoing information that will keep you informed and that will help you plan how to maximize your investment in your home or other property. You shouldn’t feel that when your contract expires or is paid in full, your relationship with your Realtor is finished until you need to sell or buy again. You should never feel that you have to pay extra for ongoing advice or information from your Realtor. It should always be included in the price as a lifetime guarantee.

Oh…and as the buyer of the real estate services? I hope you will agree that your loyalty and your referrals will be  to your Realtor. If you are happy, telling your friends is a good way to support your Realtor’s business. No strings attached. In this business, you get what you pay for on both ends.

What happens to unspeakable in floating homes? No, it doesn’t go into the river. Floating home toilets are handled with Honey Pots. These are barrels of fiberglass or steel that are under the floating home. They usually (and should) have an access panel through the deck that can be lifted up in case something goes wrong and you need a plumber to work on the honey pot.  How it works is this: you flush, the contents of the toilet bowl are flushed into the honey pot. The honey pot has a small pump that pumps the contents  to a main sewer line that runs under or next to the docks.  All the honey pots in the  moorage are pumped to a large holding tank usually located near the bottom of the ramp that comes down from the land into the moorage. That larger holding tank is serviced by a powerful pump that pumps the contents into the main sewer system for Portland. Thus, you have public sewer for your home.

If you notice sewage backing up in your toilet or shower, call a plumber. Not all plumbers work on floating homes but I can refer you to a good one. The maintenance of the honey pot is that periodically, usually every 5 years or so, the honey pot pump will need servicing or replacing. Cost is from $600 to replace. You should ask the diver who inspects your home when you buy it to take a look at the honey pot and tell you if it is in solid condition under the water. Your home inspector can take a look at the top of the tank and let you know if it appears to be working correctly. If the home inspector doesn’t know anything about honey pots, and you are concerned about it, ask a plumber to take a look.

Maintaining a well working honey pots insures that you can swim and eat the fish that you catch from your very own dock!

Once you find the perfect floating home is definitely NOT the time to call a lender. Call the lender before you begin to look! Loans to purchase floating homes are available from your credit union or from some small local banks. This year, it looks like the best rates are available from Banner Bank. By best rates, I am talking about 7.1% with a 20% down payment. Get friendly with the lender you choose so they can keep you informed about any changes in the loan market or terms available as you look for the perfect home.

When you make an offer to buy a floating home, it should be subject to both a property inspection and a float inspection. The property inspection will tell you all the good, the bad and the sinkable in your potential home. The float inspection is very important. I will write more about the float of a floating home in another post! The main message here is to get your money ready by finding out exactly what is expected of you by the lender you choose.

Floating Home loans are different than traditional or conventional mortgages. They are not usually offered by mortgage banks. Instead, you will shop for a floating home mortgage from a credit union or a smaller bank. The interest rates are higher than conventional mortgages. Right now, you can get a conventional mortgage for around 5% if you have excellent credit. Floating home interest rates today range from 7.1% to7.9% depending on the lender and the way you agree to repay the loan (like an automatic deduction from the lender’s bank). The term of the loan will be about 20 to 25 years. You will need a down payment of at least 15% to 20% of the purchase price.  Floating homes are considered ‘personal property’. Never the less, you will enjoy the same benefit of owning a home as other homes; the interest on your mortgage is tax deductible. Cover image courtesy of © Thomas Stankiewicz/Look/age fotostock.

So beautiful, the line of blooming Cherry Blossom trees. Spring in announced by these delicate, fluffy blooms. People are out taking walks, children are playing, the grass is getting ready for Easter eggs.

Cherry Blossoms on the West Bank

Wow! Look who moved in to the East end of Hayden Island! The beautiful pair of Bald Eagles was noticed by me when we returned from a day of sailing on the Columbia. I am looking forward to watching them through the summer. I wonder how they will get along with the Osprey who live on the Dolphins across the channel.

Cover image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Bald Eagles On Hayden Island

The Portland Floating Home season is upon us! Bulbs are beginning to bloom and the sail boats are heading out to the river. Financing is available for your purchase of a floating home for you main residence or for a summer fun second home. The Island Cafe will open soon too. Interest rates are in the 7% range, and yes, floating homes do qualify for the first time homeowner tax credit if you close before June 2010. Cover image courtesy of Seattlepi.com.

Quaint Community of Floating Homes

I just returned from an all women’s Sailing Seminar in Seattle. Along with docking, anchoring and sail trim, we enjoyed a gorgeous day along Alkai Beach in West SEattle and some fresh fish from Pike Street Market.

Dew Drop Inn sail to weather on the Columbia

Peaceful floating homes

REad about the Federal First Time Home Buyer tax credit that may qualify you or someone you know to receive this (basically) free money when you purchase a home before December 1 2009!http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/2009/home2.html

The spring is here and summer is on its way! Time to talk to your credit union, or one of the small banks that make loans to purchase a floating home. Financing is available and the interest rates are pretty good! Cover image courtesy of Seattleafloat.com.