Frequently Asked Questions: (FAQ’s)

How much are the dock fees?

At this time; ZERO. All dock fees have been paid in advance until the year 2023 and therefore no monthly charge is levied.  After 2023, a lease may be offered on the water lot or homeowners may choose to pay a monthly dock fee.

How is your wastewater handled?

All wastewater is pumped up to the mainline sewage facility and into the municipal system.

Do you have to bring propane gas to the house?

No. the house is serviced by natural gas. This is used to heat the house via underfloor pipes, the cooking range and the main floor fireplace.  

Do you have a Strata council and fees (known to Americans as HOA for Home Owners Association)?

There is no Strata Association or HOA therefore no such fees apply.

How close are the homes?

some people describe our floathomes as floating townhouses. In most townhouses however, each home is only six inches (the width of the wall) away from the neighbor.  In our case we are a minimum of ten feet apart and the interior of Waverlee is designed so that the visual impact of the neighbors is minimized.

Does the house move?

Yes. Firstly we are on tidal water and the house will move up and down with the tide: a movement which is not noticed except that the view changes slightly over a course of 24 hours.  Most of the time the house moves very slowly and almost imperceptibly due to tidal effect. (We say the house is breathing). When a windstorm blows from a certain angle (usually Northwest) the house will move more noticeably, but the structure weighs about 85 tons so its movement is quite different to a boat bobbing on the water.  A couple of times a year, with a major storm, the house will move significantly and your landlubber friends might find the experience uncomfortable.  If you’re like the rest of our community you’ll see it as a storm-watching experience.

What holds the house in place?

Steel pilings were driven in when the house was placed on the dock.  These pilings are driven intothe rocksub-sea surface and are attached to the house via steel ‘stirrups’ that allow the up and down through tidal movement.

Under the water, the house is held up by a state of the art, concrete hull which is 5ft. deep and 25ft. by 30 ft. square. This structure, originally developed in the Netherlands, is filled with high-density foam pads and then sealed, providing maximum stability and permanence. 

Tell me about the docks

Our docks are all wide concrete walkways which are hollow and contain all of the services (gas, water, wastewater, cable and hydro) in the same way as any suburban street.

How big is your floating village?

There are 23 floating homes, along with a number of live-aboard boats (many of which are valued in excess of a quarter of a million dollars) as well as a number of pleasure craft used mostly by weekend sailors who take advantage of the incredible sailing opportunities only minutes from the harbor.

Can the house be rented out?

The house can be rented out  - either on a conventional lease to tenants, probably fetching around $2,500 monthly.  Or a peak season rental would probably bring in the range of $5,000 by the month. As a courtesy to the neighbors, shorter rentals are discouraged.

Is it noisy?

 Actually it’s extremely quiet. The exception is the float planes which take off from the middle harbor a number of times each day.  From inside the house they go totally unnoticed. When sitting on the deck, a plane taking off from the water is noisy for about 12 seconds.  Most of the people in the village and all of our visitors find it intriguing to watch the takeoff.  

Next door to the floating village is a high-end motor home park which is largely occupied by Prairie Snowbirds in the winter and Europeans on a west coast safari in the summer. And is never noisy. 

The only other sounds are the cruise ship horn as they leave harbor and perhaps a sailboat raising a sail.

Is there a sense of a community?

Each summer, we gather on the dock for a pot-luck barbeque; Xmas sees us caroling on the dock and Halloween provides an opportunity for a home decorating contest with bribing of the judges encouraged!

Who chooses this lifestyle?

    Some of the neighbors:

Two consultant engineers; a Notary Public; an oil industry executive; an economist; a lawyer and an accountant; the Mayor of the local municipal government and a smattering of just ordinary retired people who simply love the lifestyle; summer and winter.

You have spectacular views, but how protected are they?

They are indeed spectacular with at least three different viewscapes from inside the house; the city, the canal between the colorful houses and the northern shoreline with low tide beaches and the walkway.  Most of all no one can build to block any of our views.

What does it cost, to moor a boat, for my own use?

Again ZERO. A mooring slip goes along with the home’s water lot for a boat up to 22ft. the value of the slip over the next decade is about $30,000 – and this is included in the price of the house.

Is the house damp?

On the contrary. a state of the art, underfloor heating system driven by 'tankless' natural gas heaters keeps the house at a comfortable ambient temperature all winter. A natural gas fireplace adds supplementary heat and all the windows are filled with (invisible) Argon gas, providing superior insulation.

How about security?

As you come home, you'll drive by our neighborhood pub; the Princess Mary at the head of the dock, then input your private code to lift the entrance arm to the parking area. After parking, you'll use your passkey to the dock.

What about exterior maintenance?

As you can see from the pictures of the village, all of the colorful houses are clad in corrosion proof steel, providing a zero maintenance situation, other than an annual spring power wash.

Tell us about you and why are you selling your beautiful home?

Deanna and Ken arethe original owners of Waverlee.  Ken is the regional head of Economic Development and Deanna is with the School of Medicine at the University of Victoria.

 Ken is heavily involved with Royal Roads University, which is located to the Northwest of Victoria and the family will relocate to that region. See also the 'History of Waverlee'.

What is Waverlee?

A number of houses in the floating village have been given colorful names. Ours is Waverlee.