Innovative designs and emerging technologies mean more accessible homes than ever are on the market. At the same time, home buyers’ unique needs often involve additional modifications after purchase. Therefore, prospective buyers should look for specific elements in a new home—including both existing accessible features as well as opportunities for modification. When considering what to look for in a home, Master Building Contractors suggests the following tips.
Determine What Type of Flooring Meets Your Needs
Carpet is still a popular design choice in modern homes. But for most home buyers searching for accessible features, hardwood is preferable. That said, don’t skip a home that’s otherwise perfect because it lacks the ideal floors.
You can replace the carpet with hardwood and make the home more navigable and easier to maintain. Hardwood flooring can also boost your home’s value, increasing its resale value. Of course, the cost of installing wood flooring varies widely, especially if you need subfloors repaired and carpet ripped out and disposed of. In general, pine or bamboo flooring is cheaper than exotic hardwood or engineered varieties. In total, you can expect hardwood installation to cost an average of $4,213. Of course, if the home you buy is a steal with carpet in place, this could be an excellent deal.
Look for Existing Mobility Aids (or Opportunities to Install Them)
Grab bars in restrooms and along stairwells are common aids for mobility. And while not all homes will feature stable bars by the toilet or in the shower, many houses are easily modifiable.
For example, a home without existing railings may have wall studs placed appropriately in the restroom for future modification. Even if the space lacks wall studs in the right location, you can choose wall anchors for installation instead. Grab bars are relatively easy and cheap to install (typically cost $250 – $500 to have installed), so they may not be a deal-breaker when choosing your next home.
Another example of a renovation-ready accessibility feature is a home with wide stairways that can accommodate a lift chair. Or, in some cases, an atrium or another open space may be suitable for elevator installation to reach the second floor. While many homes don’t come with elevators, you can fit one in as little as 20 square feet—so keep an eye out for openings in the floor plan.
Open Floor Plans Offer the Most Potential
Even if you don’t plan to add an elevator to your new home, an open floor plan is still preferable. For people who use wheelchairs or those with mobility challenges, wider (or no) hallways, open living spaces, and few barriers between rooms are often ideal.
Navigating doorways can be complicated in a wheelchair or while using a walker. The average doorway width ranges between 18 and 36 inches, explains SFGate. However, ADA compliance would require doors measuring at least 32 inches (though private homes are exempt from those rules).
Fortunately, most modern homes feature wider doorways as well as broader entryways, making things easier for all residents. But one often overlooked design feature in many homes is the use of pocket doors.
Pocket doors can be ideal for avoiding smashed fingers or doors closing too soon, especially for people who use wheelchairs. At the same time, pocket doorways are space-saving in every room, giving you more square footage to work with.
Think Ahead for Kitchen Remodels
Most kitchens use under-counter cabinets of a set height that aren’t universally accessible to all people who need to cook or wash up. To create a truly accessible kitchen, you’ll need to adjust the cabinets, countertops, electrical system, appliances, and sinks, notes Do It Yourself. Depending on the extent of the modifications, you might need to hire a professional from Master Building Contractors.
Assess Your Finances
Typically, when figuring out what you can afford to spend on a home, you need to consider your monthly expenses, income, and likely down payment amount. But keep in mind that when you’re making modifications for accessibility, you’ll also need to account for these costs in your home-buying budget.
Before you begin to shop for lenders, give your credit history a thorough review. If your debt is fairly high, you could be deemed a credit risk, which means making some significant changes before applying for a loan. While it takes effort to lower your debt, there are ways to speed up the process, such as forgoing credit cards, limiting your spending or even debt consolidation. Fortunately, if you opt for consolidation, Florida offers several debt relief programs that can help you solve your debt problems for good, making it easier to finance the home you need.
Finding the perfect accessible home may not be as challenging as many house hunters expect. By keeping an open mind—and knowing what to look for—you can find the property that will suit your needs. Whether it’s ready as-is or needs minor modifications, your dream home might be closer than you think.
A Special Thank you to the Author: Patrick Young
You can visit his website for further information on similar topics at: http://www.ableusa.info
