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Renters cash in by selling boat slips

Those deals may look fishy, but they are legal in St. Petersburg and some other cities.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published June 1, 2007

Editor's note: This story has been modified with additional information about the cost of renting a slip in the St. Petersburg municipal marina.

ST. PETERSBURG - It wasn't the $360,000 townhome for sale in the city's Old Northeast community that caught Ken Wilson's attention.

There are plenty of those.

It was the print under the yard sign in the community just north of downtown: "Boat slip."

How did someone, he wondered, find a dock for a home blocks from the water?

He e-mailed the real estate agent.

"The boat slip is in a public marina in downtown St Pete," she replied last week. The owner "is willing to transfer the slip with a full price offer for his townhome ... this is designed to be a perk for boat lovers."

To Wilson's dismay, the owner was selling his claim to public dock space as part of a package to sell his house.

As unseemly as the idea of selling a public boat slip for private profit may sound, it's occurring with increasing regularity at some Tampa Bay area public marinas, boaters say.

For sellers, it's a way to cash in on an asset you never really owned, sell a boat for maybe twice what it's actually worth or, as in the case Wilson stumbled upon, make a townhome attractive in a dulling real estate market.

For buyers, the motive is far simpler: It's a way to avoid waiting lists three years long or more.

And while sellers cash in and buyers enjoy the water, everyone else is stuck on land, in line.

"It put me over the edge," said Wilson, who had tried to rent a space at the municipal marina, but was told the wait was five years or more. He ended up selling his 45-foot boat.

"It's a policy that helps the rich," he said. "And the regular people are left out in the cold."

Of seven municipal marinas in Pinellas County, four allow slip renters to transfer their rights to a new owner - bypassing the city's waiting list.

St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Tarpon Springs allow dock renters to transfer their slips to anyone. A transfer happened in Tarpon Springs two weeks ago, officials said. The city of Gulfport allows transfers to city residents.

Clearwater harbormaster Bill Morris said transfers account for perhaps 30 percent of his 220-slip marina's turnover.

He tried to have the practice stopped in 2005, but the Clearwater City Council would not immediately agree to the changes. He said he plans to bring the idea up again as part of the marina's next business plan.

"People are maneuvering very, very aggressively," said Bill Frantz, Dunedin's harbormaster. Frantz said he has had to kick people out of his 182-slip marina for violating the city's rules against swapping slips.

"They will manipulate the rules," he said. "They will do everything they possibly can."

One boat owner, for instance, tried to say he had a new partner on a boat when he in fact sold it to him, Frantz said.

In Gulfport, a boater was advertising a public slip for rent on the Internet, said Harbormaster Denis Frain.

David Marsicano, Madeira Beach's marina supervisor, turned someone down last week who was trying to transfer his slip.

In St. Petersburg, which has the largest municipal marina in the state at 610 slips, officials say they are aware slip transfers happen.

But "it doesn't happen every day," marina supervisor Ron Williams said. "Somebody will come in, decide to sell their boat. The owner has a right to do this."

The admission, however, is ironic given that Mayor Rick Baker tried to take over a privately managed, city-owned marina this year after hearing boat slip rentals may have been tied to nearby condominium sales.

The cost of renting a slip varies at the marina, depending on the type of boat, the length of the slip, whether it's covered or not and whether the renter is a city resident. A city resident renting a 30-foot uncovered slip for a motor boat will pay $300.39 a month, city officials said.

Beth Herendeen, St. Petersburg's downtown enterprise facilities director, said the city is beginning to re-evaluate its marina policies, including slip transfers.

Herendeen had not heard about a slip being tied to a townhouse sale.

"That's certainly not something we condone," she said, adding that it may be a policy the city considers changing.

Until then, landing a 30-foot-long boat slip may take 38 months, St. Petersburg marina officials say - unless you're in the market for a townhome.

Aaron Sharockman can be reached at asharockman@sptimes.com or 727 892-2273.

Fast Facts:

Policies vary

Of seven Pinellas County municipal marinas, four currently allow slip renters to transfer their spot to another boater:

Clearwater: 221 slips.

Gulfport: 251 slips (to city residents only).

St. Petersburg: 610 slips.

Tarpon Springs: 21 slips.

Three do not:

Dunedin: 182 slips.

Madeira Beach: 83 slips.

Safety Harbor: 44 slips.

[Last modified June 1, 2007, 11:07:35]