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Licences for living on house boat?

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  1. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by HK_Katherine:
    What a heap of crap. Lived in Gold Coast marina for 8 years no issues. Registered to become PR at this address no issues. There IS an issue with getting a maid living on a boat but that's mainly driven by the anti Philippine lobby. No other issues I have come across. Got driving license no issues etc etc.
    Have you registered as a voter yet?

  2. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by bravizzel:
    ]I read somewhere previously there were only a few marinas where residing on a boat was legal but I can no longer find where I read this!
    Many marinas will not allow you to live aboard. RHKYC, HK Marina Club, Clearwater Bay, Marina Cove, AMC are good examples of this. HHYC has several live-aboards, but will not allow any new ones. Gold Coast and DB - a large part of these marinas are live-aboard boats. There are lots of live-aboards on moorings in Pak Sha Wan and Aberdeen.

    It is considered 'illegal' to live on a boat in a marina permanently, as no 'land premium' has been paid on the marina, as it would be on a residential building. Many people live in industrial and commercial buildings around HK and this is considered 'illegal' for the same reason. Long term, the government may clamp down on this - they will do it by putting pressure on the marina owner.
    Last edited by MrRotavator; 14-10-2015 at 01:49 PM.
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  3. #13

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    I think it has more to do with the raw shit into the water, but that is another tangent.

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  4. #14

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    Sorry, a bit off topic but this is the latest house boat thread with some actual owners I could find here... has anyone here thought of/went ahead with purchasing a house boat to rent out as an investment? Would appreciate your thoughts and experiences.

    I understand the rents in HK are dropping for land based units; would it be a mistake to assume people rented house boats because of the nature of living on a boat vs cost considerations compared to land based units?

    If a used boat is properly maintained, does it keep its value well (well enough to justify it as an investment)?


  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Titus:
    If a used boat is properly maintained, does it keep its value well (well enough to justify it as an investment)?
    The key to all this is the mooring, with such limited wet berths available in Hong Kong, buying the boat is useless without a fixed mooring (if you plan to live aboard). And there is only a few places with fixed moorings that allow liveaboards: DB, Gold Coast and some of Hebe Haven.

    So investment wise it is only as good as the mooring is, generally you buy the boat + mooring rights (monthly fees). Supply is very limited and demand is very high, so the maths is easy.
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  6. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by emx:
    The key to all this is the mooring, with such limited wet berths available in Hong Kong, buying the boat is useless without a fixed mooring (if you plan to live aboard). And there is only a few places with fixed moorings that allow liveaboards: DB, Gold Coast and some of Hebe Haven.

    So investment wise it is only as good as the mooring is, generally you buy the boat + mooring rights (monthly fees). Supply is very limited and demand is very high, so the maths is easy.
    However the proportional supply of a live-aboard berth can be increased relatively quickly and cheaply - for example, one more marina and you could increase the total supply by 30% or so ... you can't do that with housing. So the risks associated with relying on the high demand for berths (which I agree, exists right now) are high.
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  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by emx:
    The key to all this is the mooring, with such limited wet berths available in Hong Kong, buying the boat is useless without a fixed mooring (if you plan to live aboard). And there is only a few places with fixed moorings that allow liveaboards: DB, Gold Coast and some of Hebe Haven.

    So investment wise it is only as good as the mooring is, generally you buy the boat + mooring rights (monthly fees). Supply is very limited and demand is very high, so the maths is easy.
    slight off the subject, if you have restricted area pass in sha tau kok , i note that stk has a pier as well as mooring, do you think this place can offer cheap mooring cost?

  8. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by imparanoic:
    slight off the subject, if you have restricted area pass in sha tau kok , i note that stk has a pier as well as mooring, do you think this place can offer cheap mooring cost?
    STK is only for fishing/smuggling boats to moor. No government swing moorings in that neck of the woods, certainly no marina berths sadly.

    If the gov had half a brain we would have a marina with moorings in Tolo harbour, but that would be too logical.
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  9. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by emx:
    STK is only for fishing/smuggling boats to moor. No government swing moorings in that neck of the woods, certainly no marina berths sadly.

    If the gov had half a brain we would have a marina with moorings in Tolo harbour, but that would be too logical.
    Yea whatever happened to that? Tolo Harbour marine centre proposal still in motion - News - Asia-Pacific Boating

    I remember seeing a news article about 2 years back calling incompetence for the lack of public marine facilities in a coastal city like HK. There was some grunts and feet were shuffling but then silence?

    Have thought about it from an income point of view.... if they promoted living on the water, then they'd lose out on land unit sale taxes? But then they never think about creating a new industry that is self reliant on HK instead of mainland tourists... think of all the marine jobs that could come back to HK if the gov only allowed, let alone promote it.

    And there seems to be a public perception that anything marine is "for the rich guys" (to a certain degree, one wouldn't be thinking about boats if they haven't sorted out the land under their feet yet), and if the gov does anything "for the rich" then there's general shouting and screaming these days... like the tax exemptions for electric cars is going to be scrapped next year as people complained "why are we subsidizing rich man's toys" (when it's like "why are we subsidizing better air?")

    On another note, I saw a few yachts in that tyhoon shelter next to the Kai Tak cruise terminal that dropped anchor. Can anyone just drop anchor in a tyhoon shelter and "park" there indefinitely/months at a time?
    Last edited by Titus; 26-02-2016 at 12:46 PM.
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  10. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by emx:
    STK is only for fishing/smuggling boats to moor. No government swing moorings in that neck of the woods, certainly no marina berths sadly.

    If the gov had half a brain we would have a marina with moorings in Tolo harbour, but that would be too logical.
    damn, that ruins my dream of owning a boat!