Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > House
 [Register]
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.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-20-2023, 06:46 AM
 
Location: North Carolina
3,007 posts, read 1,971,162 times
Reputation: 11190

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by GotHereQuickAsICould View Post
Our home is a ranch with a garage and a partial basement underneath. The W/D was in the garage.

I would have preferred a one level home with a two car garage up top. Sadly, when we were looking none of these were for sale in our price range at the location, and with the lot we wanted. We bought this home knowing that we would need to do some work.

We put in a driveway at the top of the lot so we can come and go, unload groceries, etc. from the main house level. Thought about putting in a carport, but realistically, will probably quit driving before it becomes impossible to park in the garage, and walk up the stairs.

We renovated two bathrooms, and both will work with a walker. One would work with a wheelchair, but realistically, when we get to the wheelchair stage, we need to move somewhere with some help.

I'll have to look into the lift. Current plans are for a ramp with handrails on both sides.
Definitely look into a lift for your garage stairs. We knew someone with exactly this situation and due to injury (outside the house) he put a mini-lift in the garage so he could stay in his house and not have to go to rehab (more $$). We paid for our father's outdoor stair-lift which kept him in his home for a couple more years.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-20-2023, 07:27 AM
 
51,589 posts, read 25,547,985 times
Reputation: 37775
Quote:
Originally Posted by WoodyWW View Post
Is this true even with a medicare supplement plan? Could you elaborate a bit?


My situation: age 72, in pretty good shape so far (knock wood!), having some more trouble with stairs. I live in a nice 2 story house, with basement, so 2 sets of stairs. The basement stairs I've given up on: very steep, & only one handrail, & I don't know who to hire to install a 2nd. My big issue is the shower: on 2nd floor, & a tub/shower combo. About a year ago I just didn't want to climb in & out of a tub to take a shower any more. Thinking of getting it replaced with a walk-in shower, but of course that's a major reno, & it's still on 2nd floor.


Also the R.E. market around here (S. NH) in any nice area is a raging seller's market, w/o a lot of single story houses, & the ones there are either horrible, or sell instantly. I also just moved here in 2015, & that was such a massive effort that I don't know if I could do it again.
The market for single story homes is pretty hot around here as well. A third to half of all home sales in this area are straight cash. I would bet good money that the percentage of homes suitable for aging in place that are sold to cash buyers is higher yet. I can't tell you how many times I looked at a place that would work that sold within 3 weeks of being listed. Got to be cash. Mortgage takes twice that long.

Decent weather, good medical services, nearby airport, ... lot of people want to retire here, and now, remote workers are discovering they can earn a good living, and still go biking out their back door after work, ... Lot of competition for any home, but single story ones are gone in a heartbeat.

I was 73 when we moved, and I would not recommend it. I'm glad we did, as has worked out well for us. But getting a house ready to sell, finding a new place, sorting through and moving our stuff, dealing with all the paperwork, ... it was a lot.

I did it because we needed a home that we could live in as long as physically and cognitively possible. We do not have the incomes/assets to pay $5K/month for more than a few years. While my husband could turn to the VA, I am out of luck. Income is too high to qualify for government subsidized programs, and who knows how long those will survive the next economic downturn anyway, and not high enough to self-pay for more than a few years.

If you like where you are living, I would suggest you explore how to make your home work better for you. Would it make more sense to remodel the first floor to include a bedroom and a bathroom with a walk-in shower? Or would getting a pneumatic lift or a one of those seats that runs up the side of the stairs work?

We are already appreciating our new shower with the double grab bars and the non-slip tile floor. But it was a lot of work to get bids, develop plans, pick out fixtures, work with a contractor and his crew, ... Glad I'm dealing with all that now rather than 10 years from now.

Last edited by GotHereQuickAsICould; 02-20-2023 at 07:36 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-20-2023, 09:55 AM
 
51,589 posts, read 25,547,985 times
Reputation: 37775
Quote:
Originally Posted by twinkletwinkle22 View Post
Definitely look into a lift for your garage stairs. We knew someone with exactly this situation and due to injury (outside the house) he put a mini-lift in the garage so he could stay in his house and not have to go to rehab (more $$). We paid for our father's outdoor stair-lift which kept him in his home for a couple more years.
We will likely get a lift installed on those stairs up from the garage/basement one of these days.

From what I can tell, the equipment runs $2K - $4K and installation is probably around $1K.

Which means it will likely be double that when I start getting actually bids. But still less expensive than building a carport.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-20-2023, 05:55 PM
 
1,200 posts, read 922,446 times
Reputation: 8204
Quote:
Originally Posted by GotHereQuickAsICould View Post
I've seen those three wheeled collators and wondered about them. They would be ideal for carrying things from one room to the next, which is what I am often doing.

Can you put your full weight on them like a walker? Or are they more for balance?
I’d say the answer is mostly balance but a little bit of weight. Since the two arms can be pushed in, you can’t lean on them too heavily. But mom who always followed doctor’s orders, used it all the time indoors, and scampered all over their condo with hers, not even pausing when pushing the arms in to get through a door or get past a chair in her way. And yes, the pouch was useful for carrying things.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
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.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > House
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top