Buying to convert for disability

[TeenToTwenties]

We will be looking to help our DD and SIL purchase a property.

But whatever is purchased will almost certainly need to be converted as she is an ambulatory wheelchair user. So I'm currently expecting entrance ramp, make downstairs mainly open plan, kitchen surface heights, and a lift.

Would we need to get a builder / architect in before we make an offer? Are there specialists in this kind of thing? Should we have someone already lined up before we start looking?

I don't know what we don't know so any input is gratefully received. (Also, haven't bought a house for 30 years.)

Are there any new build developments which they may be interested in? I was involved in a small development once and they all sold off-plan meaning purchasers could choose their kitchen, bathroom, flooring etc. The purchaser of one property was a wheelchair user and so various adjustments were made to the floor plan & things at the building stage. As I said, it was a small developer and all of the properties were different anyway. I’m not sure if it would be possible for one of the big developers to do it as they tend to have set styles and lay outs. In addition to things you’ve mentioned, I remember turning space in the entrance hall being a requirement.

I would definitely speak to some builders or a structural engineer before making an offer. We had a downstairs extension built for our son which included a ramp at the front and revamp of the entire downstairs, levelling the garden, new kitchen, bathroom etc. They need wide doors that a wheelchair can go through, the bathroom should be a wet room, level access to the garden needs to be considered. Our works cost £80000 five years ago in 2020, and that didn't include a lift. But if they don't build an actual extension then naturally it will be significantly cheaper but I'm not sure how much the lift would add. Also they need advice as to how feasible a lift would actually be in terms of the structure of the house and how much space they could lose upstairs. The works will likely take a few months.

@TimeTime That is an idea though I suspect new builds may be in 'wrong locations.

When we bought new from a big developer they wouldn't make any major changes. OTOH new builds may well have advantages, they won't be ruled out.

@Readingallthetime Thank you. The lift would be about £20k. I'm hoping that by buying appropriately external alterations can be minimised.

Did you get specialist builders in to advise you?

No - we got a grant of about £20k from the council and they did say they could 'supply' their own builders but we decided we preferred choosing our own as we worried that if the council managed the builders they might take forever and we couldn't be in control. So we just went the usual route of contacting several builders, getting quotes etc. Might be slightly more tricky for your DD as she would need to check if they are confident about lift installation. We got architect's drawings first as well but obviously that would not be done til after the purchase if they go ahead. I reckon local builders should be willing to provide a very rough cost hopefully!

ETA the council were very helpful making recommendations for what we needed to think about (eg the wider doors), and they also insisted upon the new downstairs bedroom ceiling structure having the ability to have a hoist put in, in case our son needed it in future (he doesn't).

I’d check the lift maintenance and servicing cost and factor that into your calculation, as this can be significant.

Would buying a bungalow not be easier than putting a lift in?

I’m also an ambulatory wheelchair user and we’re currently buying a house as our current one is a nightmare for me as I’ve got more disabled. Our new house is a fairly bog standard 60s semi, and the only adaptations it needs is a ramp back and front and a stairlift. Downstairs is open plan which makes it easy for wheelchair use.

I’d look at literally everything in your price range, and find a house that needs the least doing to it.

Bungalows in target areas are rare and expensive which is why i think we need to be open to houses with lifts. (A friend who is permanently in a wheelchair has one which seems to work well.)

I too was thinking something like a 60s semi. Older houses tend I think to be slightly larger which I'm guessing would help.

Fair enough, we couldn’t afford a bungalow big enough either.

I don't have specialized knowledge but when my PIL were selling their bungalow they accepted an offer and then were asked if they would allow an occupational therapist (think it was that profession, apologies if I'm mixing up) to conduct a survey before proceeding further. My PIL agreed and after the survey the buyers had to withdraw their offer as the property had 3 steps up to the front door and the angle needed for their ramp didn't match the space available out the front of the property (would have been too steep or too long). So I wonder if you can pay for a private survey to check it before they buy and make recommendations about suitability and what adaptations are needed?

We know a builder that we’ve used for previous work so when we were looking for our current house I went to viewings and had assistance getting me and my chair upstairs. I made a list of what would need doing.

After we offered and accepted the builder then went round to check everything was feasible and give us a ballpark.

We did have to push a bit to get completion to happen when our builder had availability though. I couldn’t move it till certain adaptations were done. But luckily could stay at old address till then.

I didn’t need a lift in the end as we found a property with the majority of living space on one floor but we had spoken to lift companies prior to house hunting to see what was needed (and to take it into account when looking at floor plans).

We had great success in finding houses that were not proper bungalows but had most of the space including bedroom and bathroom downstairs if that’s an option for you. Sometimes listed as dormer bungalows and sometimes just listed as regular houses.