Marina Berth in Mannum - South Australia

I'm considering buying a Marina Berth in the Marina at Mannum Waters - South Australia. They start from $46,500 ($42,227+gst) & upwards, they are being sold off the plan with a 10% deposit & no more to pay until the completion of the development (approx mid 2011). I've conducted quite a bit of research myself, but as this would be my first marina purchase I thought I would throw it out to the SS members looking for the pros & cons to this type of investment.
 
Leaving aside whether marinas are a good investment (no idea), I can't help but think of Clayton Bay Marina downstream:

http://www.loeckenhoff.net/sa/photo...des/02 - Clayton Bay Marina with no water.JPG

Of course the river would have to get a *lot* worse for Mannum to be affected. One hopes the Governments will get their schnit together well before then!

This was a concern for me when I first looked at this as an investment. The developers will be digging this Marina deeper then any other along the Murray (1.5m deeper) to overcome any further deterioration of the river. I also read the EPA report which stated even if the river was to continue to deteriorate at the same rate as it currently is, the marina at the planned depth would still be accessible for over 100 years. fingers crossed
 
Matt, what sort of return are you looking for on your investment?
Are you after rental from it or future capital gain?

Looking at a 5 year loan at the moment then interest will set you back over $60 a week alone. What other fees are there for the berth?

I just can't see it having the same appeal as a Holdfast Shores or Wallaroo type berth. The typical river boat is a lot smaller than the ocean boats and therefore most users are happy enough to use a trailer to get their boat out of the river rather than leave it at a berth.

I like the idea of the development but I'm just not sure the town is ready for that many blocks of land at that price. What have they been selling like?

Gools
 
Matt, what sort of return are you looking for on your investment?
Are you after rental from it or future capital gain?

Looking at a 5 year loan at the moment then interest will set you back over $60 a week alone. What other fees are there for the berth?

I just can't see it having the same appeal as a Holdfast Shores or Wallaroo type berth. The typical river boat is a lot smaller than the ocean boats and therefore most users are happy enough to use a trailer to get their boat out of the river rather than leave it at a berth.

I like the idea of the development but I'm just not sure the town is ready for that many blocks of land at that price. What have they been selling like?

Gools

1. There were several rental options. The most likely and the path I would feel most comfortable was considering renting the berth long term to a house boat owner that lived on the river, then the expected weekly rent would be approximately $90-$100 p.w. (appraised by a local agent). There could also be a possibility to rent it to a commercial House boat Hire company. The intention was to try to achieve a slightly + geared investment but to eventually use the Berth myself on retirement in 15-20 years.

2. The outgoings including water rates, sewer rates, council fees & community fees/sinking fund have been estimated at approximately $2000 p.a. Note: You can depreciate a part of the berth.

3. The idea is to rent it to a House boat owner to moore & live full time not a casual river boat owner, as the berth comes complete with mains sewer & pump, mains water, power & telecommunications, the area to house the house boat is 10m wide by 21m deep + included on the title is 100sqm of land (10m x 10m) for parking of vehicles, this equates to a total of a 310sqm community titled allotment.

4. I feel the demand would increase once the proposed government legislative amendments to the house boat/river act took effect, these changes are to prevent house boat owners from mooring the boats on river and forcing them to use the off river marinas and also to prevent the house boats owners from discharging the grey/black water into the river & must pump into a mains sewer.

5. The developer has sold a few of the Berths off market & I've been told that at least 4 of the on market Berths have been sold. I'm not looking to buy any land in the development but have been told the sales of the land have been slow but steady.
 
Mannum Waters

Matt,

Thanks for the research you have done. I am also looking at investing in a berth or land in this development. Here are some of my thoughts.

1) As I understand it, the Govt's plan is to get houseboats off the river into controlled marinas & once this becomes law then the demand for marina berths must increase as owners will have no choice & with the other marinas in the area too shallow (Kia/Long Island) at times with low river levels then Mannum Waters will be their only option.

2) I read that Mannum Waters has been in the planning for over 10 years & given that the Govt has set the bar at the highest environmental standards & that lack of other suitable sites to co-locate housing off the flood plan I don't see any other river marinas being built this close to Adelaide in the forseeable future.

3) I like the idea of getting my own title, rather than just say a 99 or 150 year lease as is the case at some sea marinas.

4) I am considering purchasing a boat & mooring at a berth as a live aboard weekender. No problems with permanent living on boats.

5) These berths seem "cheap" to me. I expect that the housing land is subsidising the marina hole & facilities.

6) The waterfront land looks attractive at around $400K and is about 65% of the cost of blocks on River Land ($650-$700) so maybe I can stag a profit. The way Adelaide land fringe land is skyrocketing, these prices will be more attractive as the river mess is sorted out with the weir.

7) Mannum is an attractive commuting location & will attract jail workers from Murray Bridge when the expansion goes ahead, once the GFC is out the way & the Govt can borrow again without upsetting their AAA credit rating.

8) Mannum is just a nice spot, close to Adelaide & has good facilities including a hospital. This type of development is really going to give it a kick along, so maybe just the right time to get in on the ground floor? If only I had a crystal ball!

Bob
 
Financing for the Marina Berth

Not much action on this thread for a while...

I have also signed up for a marina berth at Mannum Waters, did it some time ago on the same deal where the balance of the 10% deposit was not due until completion.

I have recently received a letter from them stating they will be looking to settle on the berths in January 2013, as that is the scheduled completion date for the actual marina.

Has anyone investigated the finance options with banks on these berths? Will the banks lend against them?

Would rather use the bank's equity than my own if possible....
 
Quick update on Mannum Waters, the marina is now full of water, several allotments have now settled and a few homes have now been constructed to final completion.
Belvedere road heading in to the development has now had the bitumen laid providing access via a sealed road all the way to the development.
I still haven't had to settle on the Marina Berth which I purchased at the end of 2009, however the latest is this will happen around March-April 2013. Check out the latest photos posted by the developer on their link here..... It's looking good.

Most of the Berths have sold, I believe the latest advertised prices for the Berths are as high as the high $80,000's to low $90,000's

Re the land component of the development, I believe they are now onto selling stage 4.
 
Last edited:
That's good news almost doubled your money

A bit of a shame the bank will still only fund 50% of the contract price as it's deemed a commercial investment + as all the Berths will settle at once and the evidence of others selling for a higher price wont be available until after I have had to settle mine.... Oh well, be nice if the higher selling price for the later berths flows through to a higher weekly rent.
 
How much rent do you get out of curiosity?

On purchasing the berth in 2009 I thought I might get between $90-$100 per week, now I would hope market rate would be around $125 per week. I purchased a berth where the rear deck off of the House boat gets the cliff views towards the river, also its located at the end of the marina, easy to park & a reasonable distance to the opposite berth, which hopefully either provides more rent per week or at the least makes it easier to rent.
 
When they were selling the berths at Holdfast in Glenelg,a mate bought one,and suggested i do too.Cant remember for the life of me what he paid,but hes laughing now.And i laughed at him at the time............who would pay that for a patch of water.Ugggghhhh
 
As there will be around 140 Berths settling at around the same time, I will be interested to see how many will be owner occupied and how many will flow through to the rental market. Maybe vacant for some time if the rental market gets flooded as soon as they all settle.
 
Back
Top