A COUPLE who bought a “mouldy” houseboat on Facebook Marketplace and converted it into their dream home say they are saving £10,000 a year on rent in London.
Nancy Kerina, 26, and her partner, Dale Rankmore, 32, met during a ski season in Andorra and moved in together when the trip was cut short due to the pandemic.
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The couple, who love outdoor activities, did not want to be tied to a mortgage and decided to invest in a houseboat instead.
They found a 1970s houseboat on Facebook Marketplace for £22,000 and spent around £10,000 renovating it themselves.
Now the couple save £10,000 a year by sailing their boat around London’s waterways and enjoy the “freedom”.
Nancy, a Royal Albert Hall crew member originally from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, said: “We loved it.
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“I don’t think I can imagine just buying a house.
“We are so used to the freedom of being able to move if we are not happy with something.
“It has improved our relationship tremendously.”
The couple met in 2020 on a skiing holiday, but had to return to the UK due to the pandemic.
While they figured out what to do, they lived in Nancy’s family home in Essex.
Nancy said, “We both had a similar mindset. We wanted to live in an abnormal way.
“We didn’t want to live with mortgages and be tied to anything.”
The couple began researching tiny houses and Nancy’s stepfather told them about the narrowboat community.
Nancy said, “I was immediately obsessed with it. It seemed perfect.”
Dale, who is originally from Cardiff and works in theatre directing, Walesadded: “It was such a good option.
“Financially, we couldn’t afford to buy a house.
“It was a cheaper way of doing things.”
Nancy and Dale bought their boat in Bath, Somerset in September 2020 and moved there.
The pair took it out and began renovating it, moving it to London.
Dale said, “When we moved, it wasn’t in the best condition.
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“There was mold and a little bit of moisture.
“We took it apart down to the steel.
“We lived on the boat, with nothing but an air mattress.”
The couple have worked hard and raised money over the past three years to renovate the boat, doing as much as they could themselves.
They estimate they spent £10,000 on the renovation.
Nancy said, “It was all worth it.
“It wasn’t all perfect. We appreciate it a lot now.”
Nancy and Dale pay just £100 a month for a cruise ship permit, which means they have to move from their spot along the canal every two weeks.
From November to March they spend just £150 a month to keep their wood burner burning and £1,000 on solar panels to now have free electricity.
They say their friends living in London pay £1,000 a month rent for a house they share and that it is ‘the bane of their lives’.
“I don’t think I can imagine just buying a house.
Nancy
Their total bills and permit cost just £1,950 a year, saving them £10,050 on rent in London.
Nancy said: “London is a great place to be.
“We have in some real Nice luxury homes for £100 a month.
“It’s completely different seeing it from the canal.
“The canals are really busy.
“It does feel safe.
“The bills are really low, which is really convenient.
“We don’t have huge bills to pay.”
The couple also bought a van through Facebook Marketplace in June 2023 for £4,500.
The previous owner had already renovated it, but the couple had installed a fan and solar panels and decorated the house beautifully.
They just rode it on their first festival trip in Croatia – to beat GermanyAustria, Luxembourg and Slovenia on the way there.
Dale proposed to her when the couple arrived at the festival with their friends.
Nancy said, “It looks like a Ghost Hunters van.
“We were in these amazing remote places. I thought, ‘You really should have asked me to marry you.’
“I had no idea the friends would take the ring.”
The couple wants to one day build a tiny house and upgrade their van so they have more room for everyone. future children.
Nancy said, “It’s the most wonderful thing we can do if we can share that with our future children.”
Follow the couple on Tiktok @nancyanddale and on Instagram @__thebeanmachine And @thepigboat.
