Buying A New House And A Family Member Uses A Walker? Features You Should Look For

If you are looking for a new home for you and your family and you have a family member that uses a walker living with you, you should look for many features. Buying a home that already has some of these features can save you a lot of money in making needed repairs. Below are some tips on choosing the best home, as well as some changes you may have to make on your own.

Spacious Home

Look for a home that has an open plan instead of one that has everything separated. For example, a home may have the kitchen and dining room all in one area with no wall separating the two. Hallways that are wider will make it easier for your family member to turn their walker around. Spacious bedrooms will also work much better for your family member. Consider a large walk in closet attached to the bedroom with a wide open doorway and a large enough closet for them to move around.

Door Handles

The handles on the doors is something you can easily change yourself. Lever door handles are much easier to open than handles that you have to twist and turn. There are even door handles that let you open simply by pressing a button. Another thing to consider with the door is that the width of the door entrance should be wider than the width of the walker so your family member can easily push their walker through the door.

Bathroom

Find a home with a bathroom that is large enough for your family member to easily get from the toilet to the bathtub/shower as well as to the vanity in their walker.

Install a shower seat and vertical grab bars in the shower on either side of the seat. They make grab bars that fold down so you can fold them up when they are not in use. Purchase grab bars that you can adjust so you can get them at the right height.

A raised toilet seat with grab bars on both sides of it will also be helpful. Do not use floor mats, as your family member would have a hard time maneuvering over them, but you should install a non-slip bathmat.  

When you narrow your choice down to a few homes for sale, ask your family member to come with you and walk through the room using their walker. This can help you know where the difficulties are and things you need to change.