Shared Ownership of Powell Houseboat

[turbonine]

Does anyone have any advice or experience with the shared ownership companies for Lake Powell houseboats?

Doing the rental thing every year is getting pretty expensive. So if I am getting bent over on price, I would rather be getting bent over and have a nice 75' house boat in return.

[walkers2rad]

The ownership agreements vary widely on how they are set up, probably every one is different. Make sure you read a bunch of them and pick what works best for you first before you fall in love with the boat. It depends alot on if the boat is in a slip, bouy or dry dock. Each has its advantages and disadvantages as to how it works out for you. Generaly the more you pay into the ownership the nicer the houseboat but probably not always. There are some amazing deals out there right now with this economy that has alot of high rollers liquidating assets. Generally you are going to pay at least 2 to 3k or more a year in maint fees plus the cost of ownership.

Some get you one week.. others two but if you buy into one you can usually pick up another week for the annual maint fee, the number of owners is limited by the park service or something so most owners have more than one week and sometimes owners cant make their week so they offer it up to cover the maint fees. The day of week it starts will be fixed and is sometimes not always convientent for you or your guests.

Some like the convience of the launching and retrieving service set up because you can load and unload on land and the gas is cheaper. Downside is that you have to have your party ready at a certain time to load or have to pick them up on the courtesy dock. The launch and retrieval is quite expensive and more than the extra gas cost but then again you are not paying a portion of slip fees so it kind of evens out. If its dead hot summer the boat may be hot cause it may not be plugged in and gen wont run on land.
In a slip you either have to haul all your stuff by boat or hump it yourself so how far out in the marina may make a difference. Everything will be nice and cool and you can allow your party to straggle in whenever they get there and leave at their convience. You can always do the gas can brigade but that takes a ton of time.

On a buoy the boat is going to be hot in the middle of summer, not just the boat but everything... reefers, freezer etc and that stuff takes a while to get cool and your are going to have to run the gen.... you pretty much have to ferry your stuff by boat or take it to the dock.

Hope that helps some....
My houseboat may have some open weeks, my week is first week of june and I am wide open at this point for guests to help share the costs if you are interested it would be on the the cheap.
Ray

[LovinPowell]

I bought into a share this year, used it this summer, and couldn't be happier. It is not the most luxurious, but it is practical for our usage. The costs to get into them vary widely as well as do the annual maintenance fees. But it is definately cheaper than renting (which we have done for 27 years). The variables are the type of houseboat, number of owners, the week that you secure plus other stuff that I am surely forgetting. There may be weeks available on this one, if you want more information send a PM and I'll see if I can get it for you. There are other Tigeowners on this board that are on the same houseboat.

[Moki]

I bought into a timeshare this year as well. It is an older boat, but very functional and very well maintained. My boat is in a covered slip and I really enjoy that because you have shore power and it is pleasant to just go down and stay in the slip sometimes -- not having to worry about setting up your campsite. My friend owns one that he keeps on a buoy. It is much cheaper, but a bigger hassle to load and unload.

It is way cheaper than renting and make sure that you have good partners that take care of the boat.

[turbonine]

I am looking at a 2008. So it is in its first season and only have a few shares left. One of them is the last week in September, which is my preferred time and is also the cheapest. The annual maintenance fee is $1,200 and then the launch and retrieve fee is $1,400(feels like a lot but gotta do the fuel savings and slip fee savings and it makes it better).

The thing I am most concerned about is getting one that has a reputable management company.

Thanks

[talltigeguy]

LP, Paublo and I are part owners of the same boat. I think it is a terrific older boat. For the most part the owners are very good and keep the boat up well and that is nice. I don't worry about having kids on board, but I would stress if it were one of those new 2008 models.

Desert Service seems to be very good. They were also the company that managed another boat I have been on and both groups are very pleased with them.

[Paublo]

I act as the manager of our shared ownership houseboat, and as LP and Tall have indicated, it is not the newest and fanciest, but is taken care of and very functional for our needs. It is just like with your Tige or other brand of boat- the newer ones are always nicer, but if maintained the older ones can be a bargain. A houseboat is also like our other boats- it is not an investment, other than maybe an investment in your family, stress relief or whatever excuse you use to rationalize it. Whatever boat you get into, talk to other owners on that boat, with the management company and other clients of that company. There are a number of good outfits in Page and some that don't have as good of reputations. The biggest advantage of an older boat is a very significantly lower buy in cost, but with maybe a little higher maintenance cost.

For example, on our boat this winter we will probably replace the engines and outdrives. We'll upgrade to larger engines with fuel injection and go from Alpha to Bravo outdrives. This will cost each owner an extra $1600 assessment. This gets done about every 6-8 years and the generator replacement is about half that cost and is every 10-12 years. Otherwise the annual dues are around $1400 to 1600 which will covers maintenance (oil changes, etc.), insurance, slip fees at Wahweap ($650/mo.) wear and tear, and regular replacement of furniture, carpet, etc. needed to keep it nice enough. With each share you get two reserved weeks per year, but could use the boat anytime it isn't be used by another owner. Each time you take it out it costs $500 which pays for check on/off, cleaning, gasing and pumping it out. A share that has a summer week could probably be purchased for $2-3k plus this years dues and one with 2 off-summer weeks could be bought for $1k plus dues. It is only 55' long but has 4 sleeping berths, 1-1/2 baths, and all the normal ammenities. The last time I saw a new 75' boat, the shares were going for over $20k. It really is like your pleasure boats- if you look at the total cost per trip it is hard to justify, but if you just think about the good times and memories, who wouldn't do it.

[turbonine]

Interesting points about buying into an older one. I also see a huge value in knowing and trusting the other owners in the same boat.

I am not looking at this as an investment or to keep any equity in it. I see myself going to Powell every year for at least the next 5 years, but just can't do it throwing $8,000 at Aramark every time.

This is the boat I am looking at but know nothing about the company.

Thanks.

[LovinPowell]

Buying a share in a houseboat is, in at least one way, similar to buying a car. If you buy new, you are going to be paying a premium price for that new boat (probably above market value, since you probably couldn't get what you paid for it), whereas if you buy used you are buying in at a much lower cost (probably closer to what the market value actually is), plus you are buying into a boat with all of the bugs worked out whereas a new boat will still have to work out the bugs.

[dtown]

plus you are buying into a boat with all of the bugs worked out whereas a new boat will still have to work out the bugs.

That is a very good and accurate point. New houseboat does NOT mean no problems. Usually takes a year or two to work out all the bugs. We have a share on an old 59' "admiral" class rental. It was a wheelchair accessible boat that only left the dock when needed. Not the fanciest boat on the lake, but it is bullet proof. Another upside is that we left the rental numbers on the side... now when we go to the gas dock or poop dock people get the hell out of our way... haha!

[LovinPowell]

Another upside is that we left the rental numbers on the side... now when we go to the gas dock or poop dock people get the hell out of our way... haha!

Very funny. Just curious, as we have rented those admiral style houseboats for years, have you had a problem with odors on that boat? Especially towards the end of your trip?