We bought a mouldy 1970s narrowboat on Facebook Marketplace - it gives us freedom and saves £10k on rent

A couple who bought a "mouldy" narrowboat on Facebook Marketplace and renovated it into their dream tiny home say it saves them £10k-a-year on rent.

Nancy Kerina, 26, and her partner, Dale Rankmore, 32, met during a ski season in Andorra and started looking to live together when their trip got cut short due to the pandemic. The outdoor-loving couple didn't want to be "tied down" paying a mortgage and instead decided to invest in a narrowboat.

Nancy, who is a crew member at the Royal Albert Hall, originally from Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, and Dale, who works in stage management, originally from Cardiff, Wales, managed to find a 1970s narrowboat on Facebook Marketplace for £22k and say they have spent around £10k renovating it themselves.

The couple pay £100 per month for a cruiser licence which means they move from their spot on the canal every two weeks. They spend £150-a-month in November to March keeping their log burner going and have spent £1k on solar panels to now get free electricity. The pair say they love the “freedom” they get from travelling around London's waterways on their boat. Nancy and Dale say their friends living in London pay £1k in rent a month for a house share and it’s the "bane of their life". Their total bills and licence cost £1,950-a-year - saving them £10,050 on London rent.

The couple also bought a van from Facebook Marketplace in June 2023 for £4,500. They've just driven it on their first trip to a festival in Croatia, where Dale proposed to Nancy. They say they would like to build a tiny home one day and upgrade their van so they have more space for any future children.

The couple can be found on TikTok @nancyanddale and on Instagram @__thebeanmachine and @thepigboat.