I had my appointment with the realtor or rather I should say
realtors. It was a tag team of two women who work together. Smart idea for
women working in that field. They walked through the house, the yard, the
basement and I even showed them my embarrassingly messy e-Bay Central in the
garage. I was anxious to see if one of their suggestions to improve a showing
included taking down the grab bars in the bathrooms but I was prepared for
that. I had typed out a list of the not-so-obvious wheelchair friendly features
of the house with the suggestion the place be marketed that way. The List:
- One of the garage doors is higher than normal to fit a
pop-up van
- Garage is deep enough and wide enough so you can lower
a ramp off the back or side of a van with the garage door closed
- Garage has a charging station for an electric
wheelchair with a grab bar for transfers to a manual chair
- All doorways are all 3 foot wide
- Hallway is five foot wide
- Bathrooms both have the required 5 foot turn radius in
the center for a wheelchair
- One bath is set up for a right side disability, one is
set up for a left side disability
- Both baths have the required ADA grab bars
- Both bath sinks can be rolled up to and under
- Kitchen has a prep area for wheelchair user
- Kitchen sink doors open with no center post so a
wheelchair can pull up and under
- Refrigerator is a side-by-side for the best access from
a chair
- Front door has a key pad for access if you have
caregivers coming in (change caregivers, change the code)
- Zero steps entry
- Staircase to basement is extra wide to accommodate a
stair lift incliner
- Electrical service box is in garage instead of basement
(permitted by inspector for ADA houses)
- All light bulbs in ceiling fixtures can be changed with
a long-handled light bulb changer & no ladder
- Front loading, raised washer and dryer for a wheelchair
user (goes with the house)
- Lower than normal windows so a person in a wheelchair
gets a better view
- Circular traffic flow in kitchen, dining and living
room so a person in wheelchair can’t trap others
Do you know that feeling when you think you’ve found just
the right person to do a business transaction with? Well it happened to me
today. I was so impressed by the tag team! They were here for an hour- and-a-half
and we talked about things like getting a home equality loan to act like a
bridge, if needed to pay the CCC before my house sells. We talked about timing
the listing and marketing the house and they seemed pleased to get my list above
and one said, “This house is marketable to EVERYONE
which is a real plus.” They liked the airiness and light (which I will miss
when I move) and how pleasant and private my yard and deck are and how my
basement with the daylight window could be finished off with more bedrooms. We
talked about how the garage is a guy magnet with its 821 square feet, vaulted
ceiling, tall door, bright lights and row of lockable steel cabinets. We talked
about resources for selling this, that and the other thing.
We also talked about how the last realtor I dealt with
pulled something she would have lost her license for if I had taken it to the real
estate board. One of these ladies serves on that board and they both assured me
that because I’m sensitive about a legality being skipped that caused a lot of extra
stress and lost time they will show me every bit of paperwork, as it’s generated
so I can see with my own eyes that what I’m being told jives with what actually
happened.
The tag team specializes in working with seniors who are getting
ready to go into places like the CCC I’ve made a payment on. One of the women
is on the board of the county’s Commission on Age and a bunch of other do-good
organizations that deal with senior issues. Caring about older people is embedded deeply into these women's personalities. And they said the way I have house arranged we won’t need a stager. Decluttering
collectibles that could distract buyers, yes, but I already knew that and I told them that before they could mention it. They are
going to call me once a month until we get closer to knowing my potential move-in
date to make sure I’m on track with things like I promised by fall my basement
and garage would be down to just the bare, necessary things for living here. But
as far as maintenance on the house they said ‘no’ to re-roofing and ‘yes’ to staining
my deck, which I’ve already lined someone up to do. They don’t see any major
issues. As for having all the original AC, furnace and kitchen appliances---if asked to buy new as part of an offer, we can counter offer to buy a warranty for two
years at $500 and, yes, they do sell them on things that will be 17 year old
when I move. If they fail within two years they get replacements for free from the warranty company. That was just one of the ways to handle that situation but it's all my decision at the time an offer comes in. All and all I was pleased with the way things went. More than pleased.
Next time I’ll write about the appointment with the
downsizing specialist happening tomorrow. I don’t expect that to go as well. I image Marie Kondo in her little white sweater telling me to thank this or that and throw it in the trash. ©
