A step-by-step guide to the floating home purchase process — what's different from buying a regular house, what to watch for, and how to avoid the mistakes that trip up first-time buyers.
Floating homes in Sausalito operate under a fundamentally different legal and financial framework than land homes. Some of these differences are minor adjustments; others are significant and need to be understood before you make an offer. Here's the key comparison:
This guide walks you through the full process. If you have questions at any stage, Paul and Roman Bergeron at Paul Bergeron Real Estate are the specialists to call.
Most buyers approach this backwards: they find a home they love and then discover whether they like the dock. Do it the other way around. Each dock in Sausalito has a distinct culture, community, price range, and physical environment. Walk the docks. Spend time in each. Talk to residents if you can. Decide which community feels right for you before you start looking at listings.
This matters because you're not just buying a home — you're joining a community. The community is often the thing people end up loving most (or least) about their decision.
In most Sausalito floating home communities, you own the home but you lease the slip — the berth in the water where your home floats. The slip lease is a separate agreement with the harbor, typically the harbor management company (Waldo Point Harbor, for example, manages the largest cluster of docks).
Slip leases have terms, fees, and conditions. Monthly slip fees typically run $800–$2,000/month depending on the dock, the size of your slip, and what utilities are included. When you purchase a floating home, the slip lease transfers to you — but the terms of that lease matter enormously. Have an attorney review the slip lease before you close.
Floating home financing is significantly different from conventional mortgage financing, and if you wait until you've found a home to figure this out, you will lose deals. Get pre-approved before you start shopping.
There are only two lenders in the country that regularly do floating home loans — and Paul Bergeron Real Estate works directly with one of them. Getting connected to the right lender early is one of the most important things you can do before you start shopping.
See our full Financing Guide for a complete breakdown of your options and which lenders specialize in this.
Standard real estate agents — even very good ones — typically don't have the knowledge to represent you effectively in a floating home purchase. The nuances of slip leases, the marine inspection process, the title and transfer requirements, the harbor politics — these require a specialist.
This is not a sales pitch. It's practical advice. A general agent who doesn't know the territory can cost you a deal, miss critical inspection issues, or fail to identify problems with a slip lease that would have been red flags to someone with experience. Work with someone who has done this many times before.
Paul and Roman Bergeron have closed over 50 floating home transactions — and have personally bought and owned more than 20 floating homes themselves. That means they know what it's like to be the buyer sitting across the table, not just the agent. Paul Bergeron Real Estate is the specialist team in Sausalito.
When you've found the right home on the right dock, your agent will help you structure an offer. Floating home offers include contingencies you won't see in standard land home contracts:
Financing contingency — ensuring your lender can fund this specific home. Some homes don't qualify for the loan type you've been pre-approved for, so this contingency is critical.
Inspection contingency — covering not just the home itself but the hull and marine systems (detailed in Step 6).
Slip lease review contingency — allowing you to have an attorney review the slip lease terms before you're committed.
HOA document review — reviewing the dock association's rules, financials, and any pending assessments.
A floating home inspection covers everything a land home inspection covers — plus the marine systems and infrastructure that land homes don't have. Use an inspector who specializes in floating homes and marine structures. A general home inspector will miss critical issues.
Key items a floating home inspection should cover: the float or hull (the pontoon or barge structure your home sits on — condition, remaining life, flotation systems); bilge systems (pumping systems that remove water from the hull space); shore power connection (the electrical connection from the dock to your home, which is a unique vulnerability); water and sewer connections (flexible connections to dock utilities that must be in good condition); dock and gangway condition (your path to and from your home).
Don't skip or rush the inspection. The cost of a thorough inspection is trivial compared to the cost of discovering hull damage after you close.
Most docks have a homeowners' association or dock association that manages shared infrastructure, common areas, and dock rules. Before you close, you should receive and review:
Community association records — dock communities hold regular meetings and keep written records of what was discussed and decided. Those records (often called meeting minutes) can reveal planned dock repairs, upcoming assessments, or disputes brewing between neighbors. Ask for the past 2 years. Financial statements — is the association financially healthy? Is there a reserve fund for major repairs? Rules and regulations — understand what you can and can't do on the dock, from noise rules to modification rules to subletting policies. Any pending assessments — upcoming special assessments for dock repairs can be significant and should be disclosed.
The closing process for a floating home involves a few extra steps compared to a land home. Title insurance for a floating home is handled by specialized title companies; make sure yours has experience with floating homes specifically. The slip lease transfer must be approved by the harbor management — this is usually straightforward but takes time, so don't assume it's automatic. Any outstanding slip fees owed by the seller must be resolved at closing.
Budget extra time for the close — floating home closings typically take 45–60 days from accepted offer, longer than a standard residential transaction.
Welcome to the water. A few practical notes for your first weeks: introduce yourself to dock neighbors — this community will matter to you more than any neighborhood you've lived in before. Learn the dock's systems — where your utility connections are, where the bilge pump access is, how the dock's gate system works. Find your inspector's report and any items they flagged as near-term maintenance priorities. Set a reminder to do an annual check of your hull access points. And finally: get a deck chair and use it. You didn't move here to be inside.
"Buying a floating home is more complex than buying a land home — but it's not difficult if you understand what you're doing and have the right people around you. We've done this over fifty times for clients and over twenty times for ourselves. We know where the surprises hide."— Paul Bergeron
Paul and Roman Bergeron have guided buyers through every step of this process more than fifty times. They know what to watch for, which lenders to call, and how to get a deal done on the water.