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Virigoth posted:Don't forget the driving lessons. I feel that could be important to you. 
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Oct 22, 2015 05:11
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flyboi posted:Discover sent me a SUPER SELECTIVE invite with a printed card that looked like a credit card for an unsecured loan of up to 35k in the mail yesterday. APR of only 15% sign me up
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Oct 22, 2015 05:14
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SmuglyDismissed posted:Uh, they charge 200-800% too. OneWhoKnows posted:Well, that's at their top tier. I stand corrected. I just saw 29% and thought you know that's not totally unreasonable. 200-800%? Burn them.
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Oct 22, 2015 17:02
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I have a feeling that I may soon be a BWM story. I'm in the process of looking at houseboats to buy, dock in a marina, and live on year round. In Minnesota, with winter coming. IF I have done my homework right and I avoid buying a total lemon, steel houseboat I should come out ahead. Really from the research I've done it's all about getting the right boat to begin with. I've already looked at a couple of steel pontoon boats and walked away from them. Aside from trying to get insurance for them almost no one out there will provide a loan for an older steel boat. They just can't be trusted. I'm avoiding fiberglass as well for the most part and really only targeting well maintained aluminum. If I get the right boat, between estimated maintenance costs and monthly slip fees I could be saving over $600 a month in rent. Again, that's assuming I get a boat in good shape that doesnt cause me headaches for the rest of my life. Because this thread loves schadenfreude I will be sure to update you all with my progress. I imagine updates will be slow because I am really trying to take my time and pick the right boat, which could take months. That's on top of the hassle of trying to get a loan for a houseboat to begin with.
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Oct 22, 2015 17:02
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I don't know anything about houseboats so I'll ask the question many readers are surely thinking, namely: where does the poop go on a houseboat. What do you do w the poop. Thanks.
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Oct 22, 2015 17:12
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pig slut lisa posted:I don't know anything about houseboats so I'll ask the question many readers are surely thinking, namely: where does the poop go on a houseboat. What do you do w the poop. Thanks. Into a "black water" tank. Basically a water holding tank for all of your waste water. Those tanks then get pumped out on a regular basis. Similar to what RV's use. In my research I've found that a local marina where I plan on docking charges $20 per pump to empty the tank. Most full time live aboards average two empties a month so I'd be looking at $40 a month. There are also compost toilers that can do a pretty remarkable job in eliminating waster. New models that I'm looking at cost around $1200 so it will be one of my first improvements I make. It would allow me to go about a month before the compost bin fills and then I can just throw it in the trash.
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Oct 22, 2015 17:21
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Next question: where do you shower on a houseboat?
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Oct 22, 2015 17:23
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Horking Delight posted:Next question: where do you shower on a houseboat? All of the boats I have looked at so far and plan on looking at have an onboard shower. The clean water from it comes out of your clean water tank and empties into the black water tank. They are not big luxurious showers by any means. The marina I plan on docking at also offers showers and bathrooms on their dock as part of their monthly fee.
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Oct 22, 2015 17:27
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How the much does it cost to heat a houseboat when it's -40 outside? What do you do when it snows 10 feet and you can't get to the dock to go buy food/whale blubber for your lamps? Is it feasible for you to take up piracy as a side gig, and if so, have you thought through the tax implications?
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Oct 22, 2015 17:29
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Horking Delight posted:Next question: where do you shower on a houseboat? Just take a dip in the water, it's all around you!
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Oct 22, 2015 17:35
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Nail Rat posted:How the much does it cost to heat a houseboat when it's -40 outside? What do you do when it snows 10 feet and you can't get to the dock to go buy food/whale blubber for your lamps? Is it feasible for you to take up piracy as a side gig, and if so, have you thought through the tax implications? Heating and winter maintenance are my biggest concern. Most people will have their boat wrapped in a thick plastic sheeting to keep snow from piling up and weighing down the boat. In addition you have to run "bubblers" which are small little props that run around the hull of your boat to keep the water moving and prevent your boat from getting iced in and crushed. These aren't %100 reliable though so most people end up having to go outside their boat with a big steel rod and break up the ice around their boat a couple of times a winter. The majority of boats I have looked at have terrible insulation and wont retain heat well at all. In addition you have to worry about condensation from the heat causing a huge mold and mildew breakout in your boat if it's not properly ventilated, which it probably wont be because it's wrapped in plastic. To be honest I don't know %100 yet on how to handle the heating situation. Most boats have small electric or propane heaters to run to keep them warm. The nice thing is that the cabins are generally small enough that they will heat up quickly, even though they'll lose that heat quickly too. Complicating this is the fact that I have a dog, and I dont want her to freeze to death while I'm gone at work. So whatever I figure out will have to be reliable and safe for her. Snow is to be expected, the dock isnt to far of a walk to my car. So as long as the streets are plowed I should be able to get food and supplies quickly. I have not thought about traditional piracy, but maybe I could start some sort of Sealand type business and advertise off shore web hosting or something. The nice thing about a houseboat is that you dont have to pay property taxes on them! But I will end up paying sales tax on whatever boat I buy.
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Oct 22, 2015 17:38
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From what I can gather you're going to be spending at least 4-5 months of the year trying very hard not to freeze to death or have your house ice over and break/sink. Spending $7k a year rent seems like a small price to pay not to have to worry about dying in an icy black abyss.
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Oct 22, 2015 17:40
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BaseballPCHiker posted:Heating and winter maintenance are my biggest concern. Most people will have their boat wrapped in a thick plastic sheeting to keep snow from piling up and weighing down the boat. In addition you have to run "bubblers" which are small little props that run around the hull of your boat to keep the water moving and prevent your boat from getting iced in and crushed. These aren't %100 reliable though so most people end up having to go outside their boat with a big steel rod and break up the ice around their boat a couple of times a winter. The majority of boats I have looked at have terrible insulation and wont retain heat well at all. In addition you have to worry about condensation from the heat causing a huge mold and mildew breakout in your boat if it's not properly ventilated, which it probably wont be because it's wrapped in plastic. To be honest I don't know %100 yet on how to handle the heating situation. Most boats have small electric or propane heaters to run to keep them warm. The nice thing is that the cabins are generally small enough that they will heat up quickly, even though they'll lose that heat quickly too. Complicating this is the fact that I have a dog, and I dont want her to freeze to death while I'm gone at work. So whatever I figure out will have to be reliable and safe for her. Seems like a loving stupid idea.
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Oct 22, 2015 17:43
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Gabriel Pope posted:From what I can gather you're going to be spending at least 4-5 months of the year trying very hard not to freeze to death or have your house ice over and break/sink. Spending $7k a year rent seems like a small price to pay not to have to worry about dying in an icy black abyss. No not necessarily. If I can get the heating situation figured out and a way to keep the boat from getting iced in I should be good. You could say I'm sailing away to the land of savings and early retirement!  And as part of being a licensed boat you have to have life jackets in every room and for every passenger. So at the worst my dog and I wouldn't drown we'd just freeze to death out on the ice while watching our home sink along with my dreams.
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Oct 22, 2015 17:46
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You ever heard of a rich guy living on a houseboat?
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Oct 22, 2015 17:47
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Top Bunk Wanker posted:You ever heard of a rich guy living on a houseboat? Yeah - Do you know the prices of the houseboats in lake union, Seattle? loving half mil to a mil.
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Oct 22, 2015 17:49
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The two greatest days in a boat owner's life are the day he buys his boat and the day he sells his boat.
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Oct 22, 2015 17:49
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BaseballPCHiker posted:No not necessarily. If I can get the heating situation figured out and a way to keep the boat from getting iced in I should be good. You could say I'm sailing away to the land of savings and early retirement! You could probably save $7k/year doing the same amount of extra work and giving up amenities on land too, without having to worry about what happens if your heating/de-icing solutions falter in the middle of the night in January.
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Oct 22, 2015 17:50
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Gabriel Pope posted:You could probably save $7k/year doing the same amount of extra work and giving up amenities on land too, without having to worry about what happens if your heating/de-icing solutions falter in the middle of the night in January. Doubtful but I'm all ears. The only alternative I can think of would be to move to a lovely apartment in a bad neighborhood to get cheap rent. But then I'm just trading heating and boat problems for crime, bad neighbors, bugs, etc. I'm probably overstating the heating and ice in issues. They are legitimate concerns but people do this just fine year after year. And most of them aren't crazy floating hobos trying to escape the law. I know it wont be easy but this will all be part of the fun of owning a houseboat. I should just start my own thread I think and quit derailing the BFC derail thread.
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Oct 22, 2015 17:54
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Jesus just get a lovely apartment in a bad part of town, at least your poor dog wont freeze 
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Oct 22, 2015 18:00
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It's also a lot harder for an apartment to sink.
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Oct 22, 2015 18:07
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Tigntink posted:Yeah - Do you know the prices of the houseboats in lake union, Seattle? loving half mil to a mil. Those don't really count. They are valuable because of where they are and they never move.
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Oct 22, 2015 18:21
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I think houseboating is more of a lifestyle than a financial decision.
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Oct 22, 2015 18:23
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Tigntink posted:Yeah - Do you know the prices of the houseboats in lake union, Seattle? loving half mil to a mil. They're not trying to set up shop on a frozen hellscape.
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Oct 22, 2015 18:26
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BaseballPCHiker posted:Doubtful but I'm all ears. The only alternative I can think of would be to move to a lovely apartment in a bad neighborhood to get cheap rent. But then I'm just trading heating and boat problems for crime, bad neighbors, bugs, etc. If enough people do this you get the dreaded spectre of GENTRIFICATION and rents go up 
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Oct 22, 2015 18:26
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Don't buy a houseboat to save money.
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Oct 22, 2015 18:29
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BEHOLD: MY CAPE posted:I think houseboating is more of a lifestyle than a financial decision. Pretty much this. It's water based RV lifestyle which is really not for most people.
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Oct 22, 2015 18:31
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Come back here and link the thread if you do decide to do it. Take pictures of the setup and daily poo poo you have to do to not die/freeze/have a dogsicle. I'd read that.
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Oct 22, 2015 18:33
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Guinness posted:I'm dying of curiosity; just how brazen are we talking? Pretty bad, they implied they were out of office visiting with a client but later revealed it was absolutely not a client they were seeing. Inexplicably they defended the time charging when asked. It is defense related but fortunately for this person it wasn't a DoD charge so it's not going to be prosecuted. Unfortunately for this person the dollar amount of that repayment is north of $50k if the company decides to terminate them.
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Oct 22, 2015 18:59
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cowofwar posted:Don't buy a houseboat to save money. You gotta spend money to make money
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Oct 22, 2015 19:36
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BaseballPCHiker posted:The only alternative I can think of would be to move to a lovely apartment in a bad neighborhood to get cheap rent. But then I'm just trading heating and boat problems for crime, bad neighbors, bugs, etc. I also have a feeling you're overestimating how bad some neighborhoods are if you're honestly saving $600/mo by living on a boat. Or else you're underestimating how expensive living on a boat is. Haifisch fucked around with this message at 20:03 on Oct 22, 2015 |
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Oct 22, 2015 20:00
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I have a cousin that lived on a houseboat for several years, but that was in perpetually sunny Long Beach, CA. He saved a bunch of money during that time, so it was pretty GWM (and GWWomen too). Starting a career as a traditional 2D animator in the early 90s was pretty BWM though (although he did work on Space Jam and Futurama, so that's cool)
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Oct 22, 2015 20:03
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Providing he doesn't spend too much on the boat and doesn't freeze to death, it could be an interesting experience. Boat life is definitely a lifestyle choice and he seems to be looking forward to it. The dog's going to die though. There's no loving way a houseboat newbie in Minnesota survives the winter without killing his dog. And unlike Crockett or Tubbs he won't get laid on his houseboat.
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Oct 22, 2015 20:23
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Tigntink posted:Pretty much this. It's water based RV lifestyle which is really not for most people. This is a big part of it yes. The sense of fun and adventure that comes from an alternate living situation like this. cowofwar posted:Don't buy a houseboat to save money. Again, provided I do the groundwork first and have a thorough boat inspection done this will save me quite a bit of money. Haifisch posted:Get roommates so you can live in a slightly less lovely apartment? Buy a small house? Move out of the city? All of these are better than living in a boat in a place that freezes during winter. I see you havent had the pleasure of paying Twin Cities rent. I live out in a nearby suburb which is a little cheaper and as far as I want to go commute wise and my rent is approaching $1000 for a one bedroom. I could move to North Minneapolis in a bad area or Payne-Phalen and save probably $200 a month or so at best. %20 for a down payment on a house anywhere around here would be at least $40k. I dont have that but I do have $8-9k to throw down as a down payment for a boat loan. Krispy Kareem posted:Providing he doesn't spend too much on the boat and doesn't freeze to death, it could be an interesting experience. Boat life is definitely a lifestyle choice and he seems to be looking forward to it. The key really is doing the homework on getting a good boat to begin with. Not some boat that looks cool topside only to find out later that it's hull is rotting from the inside or about to rust to pieces. It may be months before I find one like that. I've already looked at a few and walked away. And the dog will %100 not die and am not a newbie to brutally cold temperatures. I'm not going to move in until I know I can get the place properly and reliably heated. My thought initially was to use a ceramic blue flame fanless heater similar to what you see in RV's but the moisture output of those would be worrisome on the boat and mildew problems could surface. Right now I'm leaning towards electric space heaters and some sort of propane blower hooked up to a thermostat with an oxygen monitor to make sure I dont die in my sleep. Worst case scenario the heat goes out right after I leave for work and the dog has to go into her kennel which has an old 0 degree sleeping bag in it. I lived in Western Alaska out in the bush for several years and made it just fine out in a cabin without running water. That was a fun money saving time too. Although not really I guess because everything cost a fortune in rural Alaska. Really at this point I'm just going to start a thread when I get home. It will be disappointing though because it could be months before I find the right boat.
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Oct 22, 2015 20:48
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Gold and a Pager posted:And the final bit of the saga with the BWM teacher. We told him that we were releasing him from his contract as of the end of September and he sends this response: Any updates on this market ronin? Any clue where he ended up?
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Oct 22, 2015 20:50
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Top Bunk Wanker posted:You ever heard of a rich guy living on a houseboat? I've never heard of anyone living I. A houseboat except down-on-their luck private investigators on TV. But those bastards are smart enough to do it somewhere like San Diego where women in bikinis need regular assistance solving murders and busting their wealthy husbands banging the maid. You'd be better off living in your car.
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Oct 22, 2015 20:54
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BaseballPCHiker posted:This is a big part of it yes. The sense of fun and adventure that comes from an alternate living situation like this.
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Oct 22, 2015 20:59
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I disagree! The winter is going to be a pain but you sound like you've got a good idea what to expect and if you're in a community of people also living on their boats you'll be fine. This is probably going to be easier than 'western Alaska', depending on how far south you were. The students I knew who took small loans and lived on the cheap to save money in Fairbanks had a very sourdough-esque experience (yay, outhouses at -40!) that came hand-in-hand with the reduction in debt. This could can be good or bad feature depending on your personality - apparently goony personalities need not apply! I wouldn't want to do it forever, but I think a year or two would be awesome regardless of how much money you saved.
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Oct 22, 2015 21:06
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BaseballPCHiker posted:boat equity It is a bad idea. I was looking into doing a houseboat or sailboat liveaboard for two years while I did my Master's, and in an area with a *much* milder winter than Minnesota (low is basically freezing), it just did not make sense. You aren't finding well-insulated boats, even on a lake in MN, because as a general rule boats are not well-insulated. You will spend a grip of money if you're using an electric space heater for heating, your dog will be miserable when you leave it there in a box with an old sleeping bag for company. You will also need to be handy at basically everything (plumbing, electrical, woodworking, etc) to keep it going, or pay someone $$$ to do it for you. I am guessing you didn't grow up around boats (I did; my old man's side hobby was fixing up sailboats, enjoying them for a few years, then flipping for a profit and buying a slightly bigger one), but new owners always underestimate the costs of maintenance and other incidentals. IMO the only way you'd get something that wasn't miserable to inhabit in the icy north would be to buy a pontoon boat base and basically build your own well-insulated shell, but good luck with that on 8-9k, plus IDK what sort of inspections you'd have to pass.
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Oct 22, 2015 21:15
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Armacham posted:The two greatest days in a boat owner's life are the day he buys his boat and the day he sells his boat. You know what a boat is? Its a hole in the water you throw money in.
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Oct 22, 2015 22:17
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