Option 2. Have your home fitted to your own specification by a top of the range couch builder with all the mod cons to your hearts content. Then park it either permanently or semi-permanently , you simply rent a small plot of land either in the city or in one of the suburbs just outside the main city.

Option 3. Since River Thames runs through the heart of the London city, you can buy yourself a small boat for three people, a luxury one for more people or go for the long river boat with a lot of living space. In this article, we discuss this option in detail, its merits and benefits:-

1)First of all you need a boat and there is a huge number and sizes to choose from.

Consider this scenario and the savings.

? The Cheyne Walk home has very prestigious address as well as a good view of the embankment but the asking price is ?6.5 million. If you opt for the house boat instead, you will have acquired for yourself virtually the same prestigious address and a saving of ?6.5 millions or near that point?.

What sort of boat do I need? Here is an example of a house boat moored in Chelsea with mooring rights till 2020 at the rate of ?9,000 per year or ?750 per month. This is very cheap when you compare this cost to rents of ?500 per week being charged in the same area for traditional home living.

The most common house boat is the narrow one; it stretches 45 to 50ft in length and about 6 feet in width. There is ample living space for a couple and occasional guests. You can buy a brand new narrow boat for about ?90,000 but used ones are available for about ?25,000 to ?30,000.

Buying a house boat is no different than buying car or a home. You need to have your future possession/home checked out properly for value and major defects if any. It is recommended that you have a detailed survey carried followed by a thorough safety inspection. The safety inspection is an absolute must.

2)Mooring costs? Mooring costs range between ?4,000 and ?8,000 per year. These costs very much depend on the location where your boat is moored. The due diligence in respect of mooring rights is important, advised and is highly recommended. Visit the potential mooring site and ask questions of the existing river boat residents. River people are a very close knit community and will help you in your decision making process. Ask them all the questions which you feel need answering. For example, you want to make sure that you can stay there for as long as you want. Therefore, having a 25 year lease will give you the security and the peace of mind. It is advised for you to check that your mooring rights are not for a short period. And, if you are taking over a lease which has a tenure of 3 years still to run, you want to make sure that you have the option to renew it in its present state without any alterations to any of the existing covenants.

3)Are there any additional costs to take into account? You are treated no different than a ordinary resident so far as the local government taxation is concerned. For London, the council tax is between ?900 to ?1,200 per year. The river licence will add another ?1,000 per year to your cost of living. Insurance costs in respect of your possessions and the boat itself amount to ?800 per year. There are maintenance costs of around ?4,000 every 4 years. So, set aside a ?1,000 per year to pay for these essential costs when the time comes to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Finally, this is flexible living indeed because you can move to another place up or down the river. Buying a boat and then paying for everything else does amount to a lot of money it would appear. But, these costs are much less than you would have to pay if you were to buy a house in London. Can I get a mortgage to buy a boat? There are lenders willing to lend although it is a much more risky proposal and therefore attracts a slightly higher interest rate. The point of the exercise is that for about ?1,000 a month, you can be living in the heart of the London city where other people are paying a whopping ?1,000 per week.