Page 8 - Real Estate Now Sept-Oct 2021

On the Water: What to Know About

Living in a Floating Home

Marcus Kaulback courtesy REALTOR.ca
here’s always been a romance about the water. From
classic tales of the high seas to memories of quiet
Tearly mornings spent fishing with your parents, the
water holds a special place in our collective experience.
In fact, it’s so special for some people they’ve taken the
plunge and decided to live on the water full time.

Floating homes offer an alternative way of life. Today, we’ll
explore why, delve into some specifics, and help you decide
whether the move might be right for you.

Exactly what it sounds like
When we talk about floating homes, we’re talking about
residences constructed on top of a floating barge. Floating
homes are not houseboats. They do not have motors and
cannot move about on water.

A floating house is just that: a house that floats. Most floating homes are attached to a deck and connected to the land
and public utilities. So, while you get to enjoy the sounds of the lapping water, you’re never far from the amenities
you’re accustomed to.

Then you have communities like Mahone Bay in Nova Scotia, with stationary homes floating in the middle of the
water on top of pontoons. The homes do not move and you will need a boat or canoe to reach them.
They’re beautiful

Floating houses are made of the same materials that regular houses are—insulation, drywall, the works—and are
designed with modern sensibilities in mind. In fact, to look at the interiors of many of them, you’d be forgiven for
thinking they belonged to an updated cabin or a new-age condo.

We took a dive into floating homes a few years ago and found some of the world’s most striking examples.

Floating home communities
Stephen Foster is a Victoria, B.C. Realtor who specializes in digitally marketing his residential listings. Having sold his
fair share of floating homes, he doesn’t hesitate when asked what sets them apart. “When you move into a floating
home, you immediately become part of a special and inclusive community.”

This is the opposite of condo living, he says, where anonymity is the norm. Foster stops short of using the word
“family”, but the message is clear: floating home communities are examples of true neighbourliness, where everyone
looks out for everyone else.

In Canada, mention floating homes to anyone in the know, and chances are they’ll bring up Vancouver or Scarborough’s
Bluffer’s Park.
Vancouver, Victoria, and Vancouver Island are all choice places to live—in any kind of house. Add to the equation the
fact that—due to being hemmed in by the mountains and the U.S. border—land is at a premium, and it’s not hard

8 | REAL ESTATE NOW | denise@BCislandhomes.ca