Floating homes: What it costs to live on the water

Floating homes: What it costs to live on the water

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Many people dream of living near the water, but a few people take it to the extreme: Living on top of the water — in a floating home.

“It’s a beautiful lifestyle,” said Robert Oshatz, the designer of a new floating house in Portland, Ore. “You have the beauty of the water. It’s very relaxing.”

Unlike a houseboat, a floating home has no propulsion power of its own. They are merely buoyant platforms or rafts that are docked, plugged in to the electrical grid and receive water and sewage service.

There are only a few floating home communities in the U.S. and most of them are on the West Coast. One of the best known is in Seattle, thanks to the hit movie “Sleepless in Seattle.”

People have been living in floating homes in Seattle for more than a century. But life on a floating home was not nearly as chic back then, according to Melissa Ahlers, a floating home owner herself and member of the Seattle Floating Homes Association.

“It used to be that if you couldn’t afford land you threw a shack on a raft and lived there,” she said.

Back then, the waterfront was used for industrial purposes and for shipping. Often sewage, industrial wastes and other effluvium, including that generated by inhabitants of the floating homes themselves, was discharged directly into the water.

Once the harbors lakes and rivers were cleaned up, living on the water became fashionable — and more expensive. These days, Seattle’s floating homes sell for slightly more per square foot than comparable land-based houses, despite their shortcomings, such as a lack of basement for storage and little outdoor space, according to Ahlers, who is also a real estate agent.

Small floating homes can sell for as little as $200,000, but that’s unusual, she said. Prices can range wildly. Last year, a modern, four-story floating home sold for $2.8 million. More typical, however, is a 1,000-square-foot, two bedroom she is currently listing for $350,000.

Over the years, floating home communities have shrunk — and in some cases disappeared altogether — as waterfront property has become increasingly valuable. Owners of the properties where these homes are moored have sometimes evicted their waterbound tennants and sold the moorages to deep-pocketed developers for expensive condos and commercial developments.

These days, only about 500 floating homes remain in Seattle compared with a couple of thousand in the 1930s.

Ahlers and her husband hadn’t planned to stay too long when they bought their floating home 12 years ago. They were going to leave when they had kids. Now that they are raising two, they have no plans to move. They just love the lifestyle.

“You get ensconced in the community,” she said. “Your neighbors become like family.”

Ideas Abound for for Kitchen Flooring.

Ideas Abound for for Kitchen Flooring

While design, color, and surface appeal are important considerations, you’ll also want kitchen flooring that can live up to your lifestyle and provide the comfort and durability you need. Here are some favorites, with their pros and cons:

Natural Stone Flooring

Durable and easy to clean, stone offers a timeless appearance suited to most any kitchen decor. Choose larger pieces to create a more seamless look with fewer grout lines. Cons? There’s no denying the look is impressive, but you’ll likely need a strong sub-floor and some big bucks to get the job done. Tile and stone can also be cold and uncomfortable if you stand in place for long. (One solution is to place a cushioned mat where you most frequently stand to reduce feet and leg fatigue.)

Cork Flooring

This often-overlooked natural material comes in various colors and patterns and is sustainable, warm, and slightly cushioned. Seal it to prevent water damage and clean the same as you would a hardwood floor.

Linoleum Flooring

Easy-to-clean linoleum is available in sheets or tiles in a broad range of colors. Many consumers confuse linoleum with vinyl, but vinyl is a synthetic material with a pattern imprinted on the surface, while linoleum is all-natural with color throughout.

Vinyl Flooring

This budget-friendly material (about $10-$13 per square yard) keeps upping its image as new technology helps it more closely imitate the look of stone, wood, tile, and leather. Vinyl is available in 6- or 12-foot wide sheets or as 12- to 18-inch tiles that are ideal for DIYers. Easy to clean, vinyl is also soft underfoot.

Hardwood Flooring

Improvements in products and sealers make wood a viable flooring material in kitchens. That’s good news for people with open floor plans, who wish to use the same material in adjoining living areas. Additionally, wood adds a sense of timelessness and warmth that suits any style, from urban loft to cozy cottage to traditional home.

Single-Family Homes a Hot Rental Item.

Single-Family Homes a Hot Rental Item

Are your clients reluctant to sell their homes in a down market? Well, you’re in luck: Fannie Mae reported that the single-family home rental was the fastest-growing sector of the rental market from 2005 to 2010 — and it’s still growing.

While it might not be the best time to sell a home, you can certainly use this opportunity to help your clients rent it out. Becoming a leasing agent involves a smaller commission, but you’ll also be able to nurture clients until they’re ready to buy a home down the line. Here’s how to expand your agency’s service offerings and navigate the world of rentals.

You already know how to sell

Leasing isn’t too far removed from selling – you’re set if you’re already a licensed real estate agent, aware of the laws involved, and how to facilitate a real estate transaction. You also know that closing a deal involves more than writing a listing and holding a showing. Now just apply your knowledge to rentals.

Build your inventory

In order to start advertising and leasing properties, you need rental properties first. Contact local landlords and property managers, browse rental search websites, and use the MLS search engines as a resource. Reach out to landlords and property managers who have advertised their listings to see if they need any help filling their vacancies.

Obtain the necessary documents

Collaborate with the property manager or owner to get the paperwork you need to help them lease the property. Have them sign a contract for your services, and make copies of the lease or rental application as well as any other documents the property owner requires renters to complete.

Add rentals into your online presence

If your brokerage or agency already has a website dedicated to homes for sale, it’s time to add a “for rent” category. Make sure the two are easily distinguishable so there’s no confusion on whether or not a property is for lease. Feel free to share your new service and rental properties on your social media accounts, too. Also remember to notify your existing clients to let them know you’re now doing rentals.

Start advertising

An Apartments.com survey found that 90 percent of renters search multiple websites when they’re looking for an apartment. Close deals faster and make sure your properties are seen by advertising your listings where renters search. Make your listings competitive by writing detailed descriptions, including information about the length of lease, included utilities, surrounding area, and photographs.

When interested renters respond, screen them and schedule a showing with them. Now it’s time to use those sales skills to close the deal!

Foreclosures spike 9% in May.

Foreclosures spike 9% in May

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Foreclosure filings in May spiked 9% compared with a month earlier, according to an industry group.

RealtyTrac reported that 205,990 U.S. properties received filings last month, including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, marking the first monthly increase since January.

Bank repossessions climbed steeply, up 7% to 54,844, after hitting a four-year low in April.

The industry had anticipated that there would be a new wave of foreclosures once the industry resolved the “robo-signing” issues, which came to light in late 2010. A settlement was finalized last April.

Robo-signing put the methods used by the banks to repossess homes under intense scrutiny. That forced lenders to slow the foreclosure process to make sure their paperwork was legal and proper.

Once the banks reached a massive $26 billion settlement with state attorneys general over processing abuses, it was expected that they would step up their foreclosure efforts.

“With the settlement, it makes sense that the lenders would feel more confident pushing delinquencies through to foreclosure in May,” said Daren Blomquist, a spokesman for RealtyTrac.

There was also a 12% jump in foreclosure starts. “The jump in May foreclosure starts shows that it’s going to be a bumpy ride down to the bottom of this foreclosure cycle,” said Brandon Moore, CEO of RealtyTrac.

Georgia had the highest foreclosure rate, the first month since February 2006 that the state led all others. Arizona was second, Nevada third and California fourth.

Riverside, Calif. had the highest rate of any of the 20 largest U.S. metro areas, followed by Atlanta, Phoenix and Chicago.

There has been a gradual change in how foreclosures are ultimately disposed of: Homes with delinquent loans are now more likely to exit the foreclosure process as a short sale than in the past, according to Blomquist.

“Short sales are driving down bank repossession numbers,” he said.

And short sales also produce tangible benefits for both the banks and the market, according to Moore.

Sales of pre-foreclosures aren’t as damaging to neighborhood home values as bank-owned sales can be, he said. And they’re also better for lenders and servicers, since they sell at a higher average price point than bank-owned homes,” Moore added