Buying A Waterfront Home Versus Keeping Your Boat In A Marina
This is a very common thought when wanting to live the Florida dream if you are a boater. Waterfront homes come at a higher cost because of access to Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf. It’s all about the location and after wanting to live on the water my entire life in Maryland I finally satisfied the dream over 16 years ago. It’s just as amazing today as it was then and I still can’t believe I am so lucky to live on the water! My backyard is really the harbor, gulf, beaches, intracoastal waterway and the rivers.
Many people come here from around the U.S. that own a large home that is very upscale. Perhaps their home is worth $450k in Texas and they have dreamed of having a sailboat behind their house in Punta Gorda. This amount of money will buy a nice house here but it will not be the “Mcmansion” that they were accustomed to. Some people place more importance on living on the water over having the perfect house and others have to have a spectacular house as to what they always have been accustomed. To have both the water and spectacular house requires an adjustment in thinking on what you will have to spend. If the desire for a house of perfection persists, some will consider an inland home with thoughts of mooring their vessel at a local marina. This is certainly a nice option. The marina’s will be close to your residence so getting there will not take much time but you will sacrifice the ability to tinker with your boat and wander back and forth from your garage with tools in hand. This is pretty special I must say and I get great pleasure in seeing my boat(s) at the dock, I never tire of the water view which includes my boats, never.
Let’s look at the cost of docking your boat at marina’s in Punta Gorda. There are 3 options as shown below. In general you can expect to pay $12.00-$13.50 per foot on an annual basis. So a 40 foot vessel at $13.00 per foot will cost you $520.00 per month to keep your boat in a slip plus electric and taxes.
For my way of thinking, this might be considered a 1/3 of a small house payment that never goes away with no return on investment. If you factor this cost into the inland home you purchase you just might find spending more money up front on the house and have your boat at your own dock might be a better option for you.
Call me and let’s talk it through. Living the dream in Punta Gorda or Port Charlotte is going to be good as long as you are close to the water. These are waterfront towns and we all love it here.
Laishley Marina
| Type of Rental | Slips (94) | Commercial (12) | Moorings (42) |
| Daily – Per FT | $1.75 | n/a | $13.00* |
| Weekly – Per FT | $8.00 | n/a | $72.00* |
| Monthly – Per FT | $13.00 | $24.00 | $226.00* |
| Semi-Annually – Per FT/Month | $12.50 | $20.00 | $1356.00* |
| Annually – Per FT/Month | $12.00 | $16.00 | $2712.00* |
| Liveaboards additional fee per month | $50.00 | n/a | $50.00 |
| Electric – Metered at slip (minimum daily charge applies) | $5.00 | $200.00 | n/a |
| Misc. | Minimum 20′ boat length | Minimum 20′ boat length and 3 month minimum rental term | T.B.D. |
Fishermans’ Village Marina
Daily: $2.25
Monthly: $15.50
Annual: $13.50
Burnt Store Marina
- Daily$2.00 per foot/day + $5.00/day for electric
- Discount for groups of 10 or more transient boats
- Weekly$ 8.00 per foot/week + $5.00/day for electric
- Monthly$16.50 per foot/month + electric per month
- Seasonal(6 months) $14.50 per foot/month + electric per month
- Annual$13.50 per foot/month + electric per month
- Live-Aboard$150/month
- All rates plus 6% tax. Rates are subject to change without notice.
