Having spend a career looking at more marina financial statements, analyzing more marina deals, and speaking to more marina owners than I can count , the thought of establishing a marina consulting company seemed, like a logical progression. Sure, emotion is frequently a part of buying commercial real estate, but with marinas it takes on a whole different life of its own. Waterfront real estate is expensive, so its no wonder that there seems to be almost an infinite number of ways to justify an overly height purchase price. By overly high, I mean a purchase price that incurs debt that is not supported by the income present at the time of sale. For many marina purchases, this is their only investment, so buying wrong affects their personal financial future and that of their families, directly or indirectly. There just has to be a better way to look at marina investments.

No one would argue that marinas are business-occupied properties. The operative word here is business. Yet there is a very great disconnect between marinas and how they are viewed by lenders, REITs and commercial investors.

One reason why marina investing is so varied and subjective is that most marina owners have little or no investment analysis background. Conversely, many lenders and commercial real estate investors have little knowledge of the marina business. Marine Project is the bridge that connects both camps.