A 27-year-old man has revealed the drastic lengths he went to while looking for a new home in a bid to avoid extortionate rents and the pricey London housing market
27-year-old man Lloyd Seaman, a business development executive from Northern Ireland, was gobsmacked by the costs of living in London after moving.
After forking out £900 a month for a houseshare in central London, he decided to see what other options there were to avoid extortionate rents.
But with London property prices even higher - he decided to use his savings to buy a 100-year-old Dutch narrowboat for £29,000 in September 2019.
He then spent over a year doing renovations for an extra £29,000 including labour costs, and now lives on the water in Cookham, Berks.
![Lloyd in renovated kitchen area](https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article26000258.ece/ALTERNATES/n310p/0_PAY-COUPLE-LIVE-IN-BOAT.jpg)
![Ellie and Lloyd sailing on their narrowboat](https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article26000262.ece/ALTERNATES/n310p/0_PAY-COUPLE-LIVE-IN-BOAT.jpg)
Along with his girlfriend, Ellie Williams, 29, he pays a £100 mooring fee a month, along with a boating licence and insurance for roughly an additional £100 per month.
The average selling price of a flat within central London is well over £1 million, meaning the couple has saved a huge fortune by investing in a home on the water.
Lloyd said: “Renting in London was just ridiculous, I was paying £900 a month for a room in a house share, and wouldn't know where to begin with the price to buy outright.
"It made more sense for me to buy a barge to live on.
![Replacing insulation](https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article26000261.ece/ALTERNATES/n310p/0_PAY-COUPLE-LIVE-IN-BOAT.jpg)
![The incredible finished product](https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article26000257.ece/ALTERNATES/n310p/0_PAY-COUPLE-LIVE-IN-BOAT.jpg)
"Mooring at Cookham costs £100 monthly, plus a boating licence and insurance for roughly an additional £100 per month.
“After that, the only other major running cost is coal for the stove, big bags are less than £20 which usually lasts a few weeks.
It isn't just utility bills Lloyd saves on, but the renovation too.
Lloyd managed to save on some labour costs by doing a lot of the work himself with the support of friends and family.
He adds: “I had a welder install an extension on the stern and bow to give us more space, as well as creating that open plan effect.
![The boat moored up on Cookham canal](https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article26000259.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_PAY-COUPLE-LIVE-IN-BOAT.jpg)
“I stripped the entire boat back to the metal frame, I was a bit hesitant at first, but with it being such an old boat, I wanted to make sure it was completely rust and rot free.
“I had all the windows replaced with double glazing and installed a skylight for £900 as well as painting the inside of the boat white to make the boat look airy and bright.
“All of the frames and walls I constructed myself, as well as the bed but had to do a lot of shuffling around when I got the 1000 litre water tank installed.
“There were plenty of ups and downs during the renovations, and I definitely learned several new skills.
![Sunrise whilst moored up at Cookham](https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article26000260.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_PAY-COUPLE-LIVE-IN-BOAT.jpg)
“All the hard work has definitely paid off, I love the freedom that boat life gives you.”
Despite the high cost of renovations, the couple have managed to snag a few bargains and freebies along the way.
Ellie, an accountant from Derbyshire, said: “We bought a fridge on Facebook Marketplace for £40, which fits everything we need and is certainly an upgrade from Lloyd’s original wine fridge.
資料來源 :Mirror
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/i-saved-hundreds-pounds-each-25999797
(20, Jan 2022)
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