Ever rent a slip from a neibor? / community docks

[jake069]

Here's the skinny:<br /><br />moved into a subdivision last year. parts of the subdivision have water access (channels running to the fox river) <br /><br />There are some " community " docks. After talking to several neibors, no one really "owns" them, but the people who maintain them claim them, kinda like a first come first serve. The guy who lives next to them (does the grass cutting) says thier all filled up, I even offered to help with the cutting... but thier filled up, He mentioned some people who live on the channel might be interested in renting thier docks to me. What should I offer? This is a blue collar neiborhood. Anyone do anything like this?

 

[michael-lagrange]

Re: Ever rent a slip from a neibor? / community docks

First come first serve If its community property it would be like the parking lot at wall mart one car leaves another takes its place,(as long as your a part of the community) if there is no where to park you drive around until you find one. if someone owns it just ask about a parking fee or offer help keeping it up.<br />If there is a office to the community i would start there asking questions about it and your rite to it.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Ever rent a slip from a neibor? / community docks

get a copy of the the community organization's bylaws. should have gotten when you bought the property. there should be a board that oversees the community property. or it this just somthing the developer did to attract buyers, someone (person-organisation) has title to the property and pays taxes on it. find out who.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Ever rent a slip from a neibor? / community docks

I'll tell you from the other side of the equation. I have a dock, and rented one side of it to some people that lived across the street. I knew them fairly well, which was the only reason I did it. There were rules though. They could not sit on the dock, they could not bring people through my property that I didn't know or hadn't at least met. They could not park cars in my driveway, and they could not leave my dock cluttered. They were responsible for their boat, and if it happened to sink, that was not my responsibility (I still checked on it anyway and let them know if something was wierd, I'm not totally heartless).

The one thing I didn't like was if I was wanting to sit on my dock and relax, that was about the time they wanted to go out on their boat, so I had to wait for the boat loading and the kids and all that and for them to leave. You start to feel like it isn't your dock any more.

So basically what I am saying is most people who pay to live on the water don't really want people they don't know walking through their property. You can give it a shot, but don't be surprised if you are met with resistance. Good luck....

 

[AJ168]

Re: Ever rent a slip from a neibor? / community docks

My friend rents a dock from a private owner. I know I always see ads in the boating classifieds in the newspaper about guys wanting to rent out their waterfront.
It's worked out pretty well for him so far, and he even got a great deal on it too. Far less mone than a marina and it's right on the river.

 

[woodduck17]

Re: Ever rent a slip from a neibor? / community docks

A friend of mine lived in a community with access to ramp and several slips. Supposed to be "all owners access" and first come first served. He used to tell some real stories----I've lived here longer--my boat is bigger,I need more space---you can't make me move. One hassle after another.

 

[jake069]

Re: Ever rent a slip from a neibor? / community docks

I've lived here longer--my boat is bigger,I need more space---you can't make me move.

Yea, Thats the soprt of stuff I'm talking about

 

[tommays]

Re: Ever rent a slip from a neibor? / community docks

haveing lived in one of the early condos in NY before they realized how to write good rules It sounds like a mess that will allways be messy

Kinda like my condo the roof was not common property troubble is ONE roof for every TWO owners and if the other owner did not want to reroof FUBAR

tommays

 

[salty87]

Re: Ever rent a slip from a neibor? / community docks

disregard

 

[studlymandingo]

Re: Ever rent a slip from a neibor? / community docks

I'm not sure where you are located, but here in Florida the state actually owns the land under the water. So in that respect no one actually owns the dock. People can have "riparian rights" to the docks, meaning they are a transferable property that must be maintained. Check with city code, and with the subdivision rules.

 

[gstanton]

Re: Ever rent a slip from a neibor? / community docks

To answer your "how much should I offer" question, here's what I can share. I own slips on a freshwater lake and get $500/month or $1500/season. I also have a slip in Florida (salt) with a lift and get $125/month. Hope that gives you some $$ info.

 

[Scaaty]

Re: Ever rent a slip from a neibor? / community docks

Somebody owns that land under the docks. Go to the Tax Assessors office and look it up. Then go to the owner.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Ever rent a slip from a neibor? / community docks

studly, have to disagree with you about Fla law. there are many areas here in jacksonville where people own as far as 600' feet from shore, in the St. Johns, and it is transferable.

 

[studlymandingo]

Re: Ever rent a slip from a neibor? / community docks

HMMM... It may be different on the rivers. I redevelop properties, and for sure on tidal waters the underwater land is state owned. An individual can own a dock, but they only have riparian rights to that dock up to 25% of the waterway in front of the seawall. The river may be different. It is a sort of ownership as the riparian rights can be sold or transferred, but ultimately the state has the final say. It's really tricky here in Saint Petersburg as the city has it's own rules that often seem to conflict with the state. Creates quite a headache for me whenever we try to refurbish a dock that is deed attached to a property we buy.