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We're making an offer on a home that has a sliding door that opens up to a five foot drop. There was previously a deck there but it was removed by the owner with the intent to replace it but the replacement never happened. Distressed seller, divorce, yada yada yada, no deck and an obvious safety hazard that will not pass FHA safety standards.
It's a hot market in the neighborhood. Seller has already stated home is as-is and won't add the deck so it's on us to deal with it. Our intent is to replace it when escrow closes but we're cash poor at the moment until our previous house sells. Plus we don't want to sink a lot of money into this in case something goes wrong with the sale.
We've thought of a few solutions but wanted to get some opinion on what is the cheapest solution. Cheapest in my mind, though I don't know if it would pass muster is to just attach a rail to the house outside the door to prevent it from being a safety hazard. Convert the door to a window? Does FHA care if we just stick a piece of plywood over it? Any ideas would help. Thanks!
I had a situation like that with a VA loan. Same safety issue, except it was on a 2nd floor. The kids joked about putting a trampoline outside so they could jump!
The appraiser allowed us to reverse the doorknobs and lock so the knobs were on the outside of the doors and the inside were no access deadbolts. That way it showed the doors couldn't be opened from the inside. You have a sliding door, so that's different... Could you put a couple of 2X4s on the exterior across the door that basically says "Stop!" because who is going to walk into boards??
My daughter also suggested the trampoline idea. Hmmm... Locking or barricading from the outside sounds like it could work. Thinking one of those bars that prevents it from sliding open. Mobile home steps also sound like a good idea (and I work for a mobile home manufacturer so i may be able to borrow some if I'm lucky).
BTW, it's the slider on the right that's the issue, the one on the left is fine. I just realized the slider on the right looks a little like a window because of the angle of the pic.
I had a similar situation. See if they'll let you just put up a simple set of stairs rather than build a full-blown deck. That worked in my case, and cost about $300, mostly for materials. You can always rebuild it later when money is available.
If you do steps, remember that you'll need to have a railing that is secured and can hold 250 lbs... You can't just prop it up and make it look functional. If you put a bar across, I would think it would need to be from the outside because anyone could remove it on the inside and still open the door. It's about not allowing someone inside to get out. It doesn't matter if someone outside can climb in.
I would not want to barricade the door because while the door might be considered a safety hazard now, it would be a life saver in a fire. I would not want to lock people in. Sprained ankles we can live with in a fire
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I don't see how this is a problem. I took the liberty of sending the pic to a DE FHA underwriter. Will have an actual Answer for you in a bit.
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Hmmm... Locking or barricading from the outside sounds like it could work. Thinking one of those bars that prevents it from sliding open. Mobile home steps also sound like a good idea (and I work for a mobile home manufacturer so i may be able to borrow some if I'm lucky). 
