Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Helping someone a time or 2 is one thing but it's asking too much to ask an agent to pull your Husband up & down many stairs. There is a huge liability risk and risk of injury to the agent also.
You need to find a home by yourself. Your husband needs to trust you.
In the first place, why would you be looking at a 2-3 story house where it was necessary to "pull the wheelchair up and down the stairs?" My wife has 'only' had a knee replacement and would not even consider a multi-story home (although, we do live in an upscale multi-story Condo that, of course, has elevators).
IMO, you should provide the Realtor with a pretty specific list of 'handicap accessible' requirements. At the very least, you should start with wheelchair-sized door widths and limited stair-transitions. Modifying a home and adding a 'stair lift' or even an elevator, will cost a significant amount of money, even in a home that otherwise includes certain basic requirements.
A major factor to consider, when spending big sums for very narrow-market modifications, is resale value. Why not look for someone who has already dealt with 'the wheelchair issue' in the home they are selling?
It appears you have made some assumptions about me, or my request. While I appreciate the advice, it isn't something we haven't considered. And by "we" I mean my husband and I. Because he is working and I am not currently working (also something "we" decided), I am in charge of collecting the information about our future move. This topic, the one of making a home accessible and working with a Realtor in that capacity is something on my mind. Therefore I put out the question hoping that, although I didn't expect massive replies, I might get a few that point me in the right direction.
After all, a man using a wheelchair was recently featured on a Realtor.com commercial.
Helping someone a time or 2 is one thing but it's asking too much to ask an agent to pull your Husband up & down many stairs. There is a huge liability risk and risk of injury to the agent also.
You need to find a home by yourself. Your husband needs to trust you.
You do need to stay with a 1 story house.
So I see you are an agent. What have you experienced when I potential home buyer came while using a wheelchair?
I think telling me what we need to do is incredibly rude. You don't know our situation and it isn't right to expect us to settle for something we don't want in order to pacify other's ideas of what we "need"
I have never seen anyone look at homes that was wheelchair bound and I've seen a lot. I recently helped a man who could barely walk and we made accommodations but he could walk.
You might contact a younger male agent and see if they would be willing. Or you could hire a teenager to help.
There are thousands of agents, some might be willing if they have the strength.
I would still be concerned as an agent about the liability risks. I'd hate to cause your husband to fall down the stairs. Contact the manager of a company and see if they have an agent they could recommend that would assist with your needs. There may be more than one way to skin the cat with other solutions.
BTW, I sold my personal home about 5 years ago to someone who was looking at an elevator. It was going to cost about $100k for a 2 story home.
This is a long way off, about a year we plan to move and buy another house (still dont have a location but are very serious about relocation in this time frame). My spouse uses a wheelchair and can't walk. In Houston house hunting was easy because we looked at single story homes only, and there are no basements. However we will likely at least buy a single story with a basement walkout, if not a two or three story. After we buy will will add an elevator and ramps as needed.
I'm just wondering if it would be appropriate to find a realtor that is willing to help pull the wheelchair up and down stairs? Clearly we cant buy a house without him seeing all of it, he is the money maker. It isn't a huge feet to pull him, don't need to be a muscle man.
I think it might be with in the range of "ok" to ask. Our budget will be 500k to 1 mil depending on the next job and location, so it might be worth it for the realtor, commission wise (plus I do most of my own foot work and narrow down homes to a small handful, our last guy only had to show us 3 homes. I really know what I want).
So what do y'all think? Also, on adding an elevator as its a must, has anyone had experience with this situation? Do you get the floor plans for the prospective home to give to the elevator installers, or do they come to the home?
Also one more question, how common is "elevator closets" (closet stacked that can accommodate a future elevator) in new builds? Older builds?
Thanks, lots of questions
Since my post isn't clear enough, I am going to go ahead and clarify some points...its color coded.
Most market locations have homes almost only 2 story (including living space in the basement. For us it has to be walk out in case of an emergency. In Houston it is easy to find 1-story homes because you can't build basements here. Most of the country that is not the case, especially in the areas we are looking. I refuse to live in a house my husband doesn't have total access to.
I should have been more specific and asked if Realtor have been in that situation, or if they might do it. I am sure some wouldn't. But I wouldn't be surprised if some dont mind. After all, when ever we are in public and I got to pull my husband us stairs (which is 75% his work, 20% who is behind and 5% in front), random strangers jump in to help me cause I am just a girl.
him being the money maker isnt a fair assessment. I said that thinking more people would understand that as an issue. The primary issue is I would never choose a home for us to clunk down a ton of money on with out my husband being totally excited about. I love him and I trust him and we dont make those types of decisions in our marriage without the others input.
These are questions aimed towards people who have experience with elevators in homes. I did not ask if it was a good idea, if we would get out money back, or if people think we should just stick with a 1-story. I asked specific questions about elevator install.
I hope this clears this up. I am not looking for opinions about where you think we should live or what you think we should settle for. But thanks.
BTW, I sold my personal home about 5 years ago to someone who was looking at an elevator. It was going to cost about $100k for a 2 story home.
lol studded in diamonds. I have done alot of research. Adding an ADA elevator costs between 15-30k for 2-3 stories. Just like a kitchen, it can go way up from there. My husband's parents have installed them long ago and they were not nearly 100k with adjusted prices.
Well just letting you know so when someone who does use a w/c you don't offend them.
New builds are often elevator ready. And more companies are offering elevators.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
