A Guide to Making Your Home Life More Accessible

If you’re one of the one in five Americans living with a disability, having an accessible home is important for your quality of life. Whether you’re looking for a new home with helpful features or want to make upgrades to your current home, use this guide to help you out along the way.

Finding a New Accessible Home

Understand Your Finances

Whenever you’re thinking about buying a new home for accessibility or other reasons, you need to take a good look at your finances. Pull up a copy of your credit report and make sure everything is in order there. Even a few mistakes can make your home loan rates go up, so make sure you take care of any outdated or bad information. Next, think about your income and determine how much you can afford to put towards housing every month. Keep in mind that you may need to pay for a few accessibility upgrades after you purchase your home, and create a budget that allows you a little wiggle room with your finances.

Search for Accessible Homes

Looking for a new home can be a bit tricky for people living with a disability. Luckily, more and more companies are realizing the challenges facing homebuyers who have a disability, so it should be simple to filter for homes that are accessible. Check the filter options on real estate website. For example, the median listing price of accessible homes in Aurora, Illinois, is $233,000. As you search for houses, be sure to compare prices of accessible homes so you’ll know how much you should expect to spend.

Get Help Buying and Getting into Your New Home

When you’re moving into a new home, there are two services that are well worth the investment: a licensed realtor and professional movers. A realtor will work with you to quickly find homes in your area that fit your accessibility needs. They can help you set up showings and remove some of the stress of finding a home. When you do find your home, think about hiring professionals to help with your move. Professional movers will relocate all of your heavy furniture and make sure your belongings arrive in your new home damage-free.

Making Your Current Home Accessible

Figure Out What Upgrades Make Sense

Depending on your disability, certain accessibility projects may make more sense to complete first. If you use a wheelchair, have your doorways widened and countertops lowered to make daily life easier. When you use a cane, you’ll need some non-slip flooring to prevent falls and upgrades in the bathroom as well. For those with visual impairments, adding braille or textures. throughout the house can make living independently less of a hassle. Adjust your home improvement projects to fit your own disabilities and make changes that make sense for you.

Find Contractors for Your Projects

There are some accessibility upgrades, like switching out handles and adding braille, that you can complete yourself. But for other tasks, or when your mobility is severely limited, it’s best to call a contractor to complete projects. You can find local contractors with a quick search online and even check reviews. Make sure you stick with a licensed contractor for all of your repairs and get a written estimate before any work begins.

Find Ways to Pay for Improvements

There are a few ways you can cover the expenses of accessibility upgrades. You can certainly use your savings, but a personal loan may be a good option to help you pay for changes. It’s also smart to look into grants and funding options that are available to homeowners who live with a disability and need to make upgrades to make their home more accessible.

If you’re looking for a new home with accessibility options or thinking of improving your existing home, there are options available to you. With a little planning and some know-how, you can find or build the home you always dreamed of.

Article provided by Medina at Accessiville.org.

Photo Credit: Pixabay