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What if your dream home didn’t come with any dirt, but did have an outsize waterfront view and a price tag that’s, oh, about $1 million less than most detached houses in North Vancouver?
The North Shore’s tiniest detached home for sale comes with harbour seals among the neighbours and a price that’s considerably lower than you’d pay for an apartment.
The catch: it really is detached, as in detached from any actual land.
For the right person, however, the unique float home could be a tiny slice of North Shore paradise.
Tiny float home less than 340 square feet
Even by float home standards, the float home just listed at North Van’s Mosquito Creek Marina is small – less than 350 square feet over two “floors.”
It looks a lot like a boat. Legally, however, it’s designated as a permanent home, says Doug Taylor, a real estate agent who's sold most of the float homes in the marina and who also lives on a float home there. That's an important distinction.
“People can’t live on their boats,” he says. There’s no motor in it, so it’s not going anywhere and like other float homes at Mosquito Creek Marina, it’s hooked into city water and sewer systems.
The floating home was last bought by a friend who planned to turn it into an office, says Taylor.
“And then as he got going, I think he said ‘No, I don’t want to make it an office. But then he just got creative and went, ‘OK, how can I turn this into a place you could live in?’,” says Taylor.
Inside, the very small space has a TARDIS-like quality of seeming bigger than it appears. In the main living area, a fridge, microwave and two-burner induction cooktop round out the kitchen, and a shower and macerating toilet provide live-aboard comforts in the bathroom area.
Laminate flooring covers four recently installed automatic bilge pumps.
A queen-sized bed is tucked forward, where it pays to be aware of limited head room.
“That’s boating,” says Taylor. “You’re used to having something over your head.”
Vinyl windows, canvas roof on upper 'deck'
On the home’s upper deck, recent additions include a canvas roof and vinyl zip-up windows, to make the area usable for more of the cooler months.
It’s a great place to take in the waterfront views across Burrard Inlet to the downtown Vancouver skyline. “At night the city really lights up,” says Taylor.
Admittedly, the small square footage makes for very close quarters. Anyone considering living in this tiny floating home with a partner would want to make sure they’re getting along, says Taylor.
Often, buyers of float homes tend to be downsizing baby boomers who may already own a condo elsewhere, he says. Without land attached, there’s no guarantee a float home will appreciate in value, although Taylor says the very limited supply in Metro Vancouver has tended to bolster prices.
Most buy for the lifestyle
Most people buy float homes for the lifestyle, rather than as an investment, he adds.
Getting financing to pay for a floating home can be less than straightforward, with currently only one bank usually willing to take it on.
Moorage fees paid to the marina, which cover utilities like sewage tank pump out, electricity, water and garbage collection, also run about $1,000 a month, on top of any mortgage payment.
