This Gorgeous $1 Million Houseboat Is Selling for Less Than the Price of a Beer

Obviously, there's a big catch to this very low asking, and, no, it has nothing to do with the houseboat being in terrible condition. In fact, the floating home itself is a beautiful conversion, one that's been featured heavily in the British press, including appearances on home improvement shows, since its completion in 2020.

The catch is that the home is being raffled by its owners, who are also the people responsible for the astounding conversion. Previously listed for sale with an asking of £750,000 (approximately $947,000 at the current exchange rate), the home is now being raffled, with a ticket costing just £5 ($6.31), less than what you'd pay for a beer in the UK. The only condition is that 200,000 tickets must be sold before they can pick a winner.

For those of us not on the market for a new home, whether floating or not, this houseboat is a gorgeous example of alternative – and mobile – living. Completed in 2020 at the height of the international health crisis, it started out as a former 1960s Belgian Spitz cargo barge.

Back then, it was longer by 10 meters (33 feet): 40 meters (131 feet) in total length on water, which was useful for hauling stuff but longer than what is allowed on the canals in the UK. Christina Miles and partner Rohan Tully bought it for under £100,000 ($126,200) and sailed it from Belgium to Holland, where they'd found a shipyard willing to cut it in half to remove a section, thus making it legal for mooring back home in the UK.

After a couple of months in Holland, the barge made its way into the UK, in a journey that Rohan once described as an unexpected adventure because of bad weather and some documents that got lost along the way. As it turned out, this rocky journey would be a harbinger of things to come.

The 20-month conversion, including the time spent in the yard, was challenging and riddled with delays. Everything from pouring 40 tons of concrete as ballast to putting a 300-kg (661-lb) skylight on the upper deck to create more light in the rooms below was difficult because the ship was on water when work was underway, which meant taking into account the tide and the logistics of transporting the materials onboard.

Once construction work was eventually over, Christina started decorating, inspired by Pinterest mood boards and her idea of what a perfect family home should look like.

In the end, the once-decrepit barge became a true family home, boasting features you'd be hard-pressed to find on any other houseboats, which eventually earned it the nickname of "one of the best homes" ever. For one, the interior is filled with natural light thanks to the skylight and oversize windows throughout. Secondly, it's very spacious, with the modern, chic styling helping to create a welcoming space.

Named Vuurland but best known for its social media handle of @thisonefloats, the 2-level houseboat offers a total of 1,621 square feet (150 square meters) of total living space, divided between three bedrooms, two and a half baths, a large kitchen, a proper wheelhouse, and that superb terrace that can easily host large parties directly in the open air.

The bedrooms are all on the lower deck, together with an entertaining space built around a gorgeous fireplace, with a drop-down projector screen. Two of the three bedrooms have ensuite bathrooms, and all three feature super-king beds and gorgeous views out on the water. The bathroom in the main bedroom has a jacuzzi and a large porthole window you can look out of as you're soaking.

The upper deck holds the open-plan kitchen, which features a breakfast bar and panoramic views, and the wheelhouse. One step through bi-folding doors, and you're out on the terrace, designed around the skylight that shines into the living room below.

Because no expense or effort was spared in the conversion of this barge, a Vimar Smart home system allows full remote monitoring and control of the lights and heating.

Christina and Rohan say they decided to sell the houseboat because they've since moved "abroad," but they admit in an interview with one of the local outlets that they've decided to separate and, as such, need to find separate homes.

Because no cash buyer would come up when they listed the houseboat at the end of the year, the decision to raffle it made sense. They're even covering mooring expenses on the Thames for the following year for the new owner, and 10% of the proceeds of the raffle will go to charity, which is their way of giving back to the community they've been welcomed in four years ago, when they moved into their conversion.