Affordable Waterfront View?

That seems like an oxymoron these days, right? Well yes and no, really. Portland and Vancouver offer some neighborhoods with actual waterfront living in a diverse array of houseboat communities. I wrote about some of these back in 2015 here is that article. This can be an affordable alternative to the high priced traditional waterfront living.

Originally posted March 17th, 2015, by Rod Sager

Floating views? You may be thinking I am taking advantage of Washington State's legal marijuana with a headline like that. No, I assure you I am quite sober. The Portland metro area however does have a pretty large collection of floating homes. I would say the lion's share is in the inside channel of the Columbia River between Hayden Island and North Portland. This channel is protected from the main Columbia River traffic and flow through clever engineering. There are a variety of yacht harbors and marinas in and around Hayden and Tomahawk Islands in North Portland. Of course there are hundreds of permanent floating homes in the area as well. These vary from cozy little ensembles well under $100,000 to elaborate floating mansions approaching a million dollars.

Over here on the Washington side of the Columbia we have floating homes as well. Although our collection is much smaller since the Columbia River's main channel is not suitable for such housing. Our shore of the Columbia features more traditional and very expensive river front property. There is Caterpillar Island however, that creates a narrow inside channel. It has a marina and house boats. These floating homes look over the water into a recreation area on the island.

Here in the 'Couv' we have the beautiful Vancouver Lake and it is drained by a tributary called the Lake River. The Lake river carries water from Vancouver Lake to the Columbia River. Unlike the Hayden Island urban style of floating homes, the Lake River features homes that look across the water and into a National Wildlife Refuge. In Vancouver and Ridgefield are two more such places to buy a floating home with a view. The upside to the Lake River is that it is a very slow flowing tributary. There are strict 5 mph speed limits and no through traffic at all. Motorized vehicles are strictly restricted on Vancouver Lake and heavily regulated on the Lake River.

Here is an opportunity to own waterfront view property starting at entry level prices. I have seen listings as low as $20,000. There are of course some issues to be considered. First and foremost is the very name of these properties; floating homes. Yes they are floating and there is some mild swaying that happens in this type of home. It is not as bad as you might imagine however. There is also the marina fees. Just like a manufactured home in a park, these homes occupy a rented space. In this case a marina slip and those will having monthly fees ranging from $200-$500. These marinas sometimes offer a variety of services included with the slip fee.

There is some special maintenance requirements with this type of home and they are less forgiving than a traditional home when it comes to neglect. All of this aside many people enjoy the dockside living afforded to floating home owners. Although the views are sometimes limited due to the close proximity of the homes, they can be quite enjoyable.

The Columbian newspaper ran an article on houseboats here. Due to Washington State's more strict laws governing navigable waterways it is more difficult to build houseboat communities than it is in neighboring Oregon. This could be a factor in why we have fewer such facilities on the Washington side. Houseboat living is yet another way to enjoy the view.