Marina Q&A

Owning a condominium (dockominium) boat slip at Glen Cove Marina is like owning a ‘condo’ in a residential development: you own and control 100% of your individual, private boat slip; you also own permanent rights to use and enjoy, along with your fellow slip owners, the common areas including the docks, the deck areas, the parking lots, the sidewalks and landscaping, the bathroom building, etc. One of the main benefits of owning a dockominium is ease of repair and maintenance. Glen Cove Marina’s common areas will be repaired, maintained, insured and managed through a non- profit property owner’s association (Glen Cove Marina Dockominium Association, Inc. or the “Association”). As a slip owner, your only obligation regarding maintenance is to pay your monthly Association dues. The Association’s staff takes care of the rest. Other than Association dues, your only additional cost to own your boat slip is Solano County’s real estate taxes. Like real estate taxes on your home, boat slip taxes are based on market value and are billed directly by Solano County. Thus, slip ownership is virtually carefree and your cost to own and use your slip is very economical since Association dues cover just the actual cost (both present and future) to keep Glen Cove Marina insured, managed, and well maintained; there is no markup or profit paid to a marina operator. Another major point, our dockominium boat slips at Glen Cove Marina are unique in that you own fee title to the slip, not a State land’s ground lease like other marinas. When you own property in ‘fee title,’ your ownership rights never expire. Thus, the market value of your slip will not decline due to a fixed expiration date on a State tidelands ground lease.

Pricing will be from $900 - $1,200 per linear foot depending on slip size, location, and whether it is uncovered or covered.

There is no greater status of property ownership than ‘fee’ or ‘fee simple’ ownership. When you own property in fee, as will be the case at Glen Cove Marina, you own a permanent and perpetual right to use and enjoy your slip – not a ground lease. At most other San Francisco Bay marinas, the water-based real estate is subject to a State ground lease for anywhere from 30 years to 50 years, and the marina owner is merely a leasehold tenant of the State. A ground lease loses value every year as the lease termination date gets closer and closer. Glen Cove Marina is unique in that individuals can buy and own a perpetual, fee simple interest in a small piece of the San Francisco Bay, including all related water rights.

Saving money is the biggest reason to buy. Rental rates for slips in the bay area are rising as the demand continually increases while there is a lack of new supply; rental rates will almost certainly continue to increase in future years. It’s just like a home or apartment: when you rent, you have nothing but 12 canceled checks at year’s end and the prospect of higher rents. When you buy, not only do you lower your after-tax berthing payments for the slip but you are now in a position to enjoy future appreciation in the value of your slip along with protection against future rent hikes.

Yes, buying a slip at Glen Cove Marina is just like any other real estate purchase. At the close of escrow, you receive a Grant Deed in your name which is recorded in Solano County and a policy of title insurance from a title company ensuring your exclusive ownership in fee title to your boat slip plus your non-exclusive rights to use and enjoy the common areas at Glen Cove Marina.

One of the few tax ‘shelters’ still available to taxpayers today is the deductibility of mortgage interest and real estate taxes by homeowners against earned income. Slip owners who use their slip and boat as a “second home” as permitted under the tax code are allowed to deduct all mortgage interest paid on both slip and boat mortgages, as well as all real estate taxes paid as an offset against their other income.

Like a residential condo, so long as you responsibly use your property, you can do pretty much as you please. Your slip can be used to berth your boat, or you can rent it out to another boat owner. To protect values, commercial uses are not allowed in the marina. Your slip can be freely re-sold, traded, inherited, mortgaged, rented, gifted, etc. Other than standard title conditions, the only restrictions on your slip will be those which are set out in Glen Cove Marina’s rules and regulations, and these relate primarily to mutual safety and are, in general, plain common sense. These rules will be set out in the Association’s Articles, By-Laws and CC&R’s and their goal is to govern the day-to-day operations of the marina and to control or, if necessary, act to prohibit behavior that is contrary to everyone’s mutual enjoyment of the marina.

There are no restrictions on the sale or transfer of a slip. You can sell it, trade it, gift it, bequeath it or mortgage it at any time on any terms you may agree upon, and no permission is required from any person or entity.

No, there are no limitations, restrictions or approvals required from any government agency or the Association for resale of a slip. You are free to sell it to any person at any time. Live- aboard status does not attach to individual slips and use of slips for living aboard is not automatically transferred; this is governed by the Association.

Boat slip prices vary according to the asking price of the seller but are generally based upon location. Extra wide berths carry a slight premium due to greater ease of vessel docking; also, prices of slips closer to land and parking also carry a small premium. We are unique in that we will be the first marina in the bay area’s history to sell covered slips, which may be priced differently than open slips.

You are free to rent your slip to anyone for any length of time, as long as your tenant abides by the marina rules & regulations, your right to be a slip landlord has no limitations.

Permanent live-aboard status is at the discretion of the Harbor Master and Glen Cove Marina’s BCDC permit; they are not specific to any particular boat slip. The harbor office can advise you as to the details. Weekend use and periodic overnight occupancy by you or a guest will always be permitted at Glen Cove Marina.

Slip owners run the Association for the benefit of slip owners. The Association is managed according to permanent, recorded rules which will be set up at the beginning of Glen Cove Marina Dockominium formation. These permanent rules are called “Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions,” and the CC&R’s are standards set up for the common good to keep Glen Cove Marina running smoothly. Every slip owner is an automatic voting member of the Association, and the membership annually elects a panel of five unpaid volunteers to serve as members of the Association’s Board of Directors. The Board works with the marina staff and with various outside consultants to set up annual operating budgets and to monitor marina operating costs to keep Glen Cove Marina running well and looking good. After the estimated costs have been determined and the yearly budget set, monthly dues are calculated on a per-lineal-foot basis and are assessed against all slip owners. The system is very democratic – everyone can vote, and anyone can run for a position on the board. Board meetings are public and are held about four times a year to discuss and analyze various issues affecting marina operations.

None. All items of common area maintenance, insurance, management, etc. for Glen Cove Marina’s docks and grounds are handled by and through the Association.

One of the best features of dockominium ownership is freedom from repairs; this is why vacation condos are so popular. Upkeep of the docks and the other marina areas are handled by the Association and is paid for by slip owners out of monthly dues assessed and collected by the Association. Every November, the Association’s board of directors and the marina staff work together to establish a maintenance budget for the next calendar year, including sinking funds for future repairs. The budget is evenly spread amongst all slip owners on a per-lineal foot basis. Glen Cove Marina’s staff members handle most of the minor repairs and the daily maintenance tasks. Special maintenance and repair tasks are contracted out on an ‘as needed’ basis and are supervised by the staff.

At Glen Cove Marina, the “management system” is the judgment and self-interest of the slip owners themselves who govern and oversee the operations of the marina under the permanently recorded rules of operation called CC&R’s via the Association’s Board of Directors. Unlike the management of other marinas, the Association’s goals are merely to do what is in the best interest of the slip owners; there is no other agenda. In simple terms, it is the slip owners acting in concert through the Association who are in control of the marina. It is the slips owners themselves (each slip has one vote) who have the ultimate power to correct problems, if any, affecting Glen Cove Marina and thereby to protect the value of their slips.

Please contact (707) 552-3236 thegcmassociation@gmail.com, to request additional information or to make an appointment. If you have any questions, the marina staff will be happy to answer them for you.