Living with a Disability: How to Best Handle Buying and Moving into a New Home
By: Lydia Chan
When faced with a disability, you may feel discouraged about the upcoming move. However, not everything in life has to be an uphill battle. When it comes to buying a new home, you need to be able to focus on what matters: Choosing a house that fits all of the needs for you and your family. Here is some advice to help make the moving process an easy process, courtesy of Real Abilities.
Assess Your New Home’s Adaptability
Before signing the papers, you should make a full assessment of your new home’s accessibility and potential for adaptability. Some older homes that you may rent may have laws against retrofitting, but you should know and exercise your rights to living in a home that fits your special needs, be it adding ramps or handrails.
On the other hand, you should also be realistic when assessing how well the prospective property can be adapted to fit your needs. For instance, living on the top floor of a crowded flat with only one elevator may be workable, but could become agitating quickly as you learn to deal with fighting for the elevator with fellow tenants. As you consider different properties, picture yourself living your daily life in this space and imagine how you might feel about it several years down the road.
Proper Planning Helps Avoid Pressure & Panic
Once you decide on a location, you will begin the dreaded moving process. Moving can be an absolute headache and that’s before you throw in dealing with a physical disability. Real Simple points out that the best way to reduce stress and agitation is by properly planning out the process from beginning to end. You should plan out a timeline to make sure that these things happen promptly and in an order that makes sense. If your home needs to be adapted in any way, this should be handled before you arrive with your things.
Know the Resources You Have at Your Disposal
Adapting your home to fit your needs might require a little extra money out of pocket. Fortunately, there are lots of different resources available through the government and other advocacy groups to support people with disabilities with the planning and financing of moving into a new home. These resources are invaluable to have at your disposal and can remove a ton of weight off your shoulders as you go about the business of moving.
Hire Professionals to Help Secure Your New Home
Realty Times notes that one of the many tasks associated with moving into your new home is changing out the locks -- you’re the only one needing access now. This is a job best left to a local highly-rated professional locksmith, which can be sourced using an online service directory like Angi. When narrowing down your search, be sure to confirm that they are licensed and insured, and that they warranty their work. While reading reviews and ratings online is a great start, it’s a good idea to check with past customers who live in your area to see what their experience was when they had their locks changed. Expect to pay between $50 and $150 for a residential locksmith to rekey a door.
Prepare for Unexpected Delays
There will always be something that skews your timeline. Maybe it takes longer to install handrails into your new home, or perhaps a traffic back-up pushes back your furniture and other belongings from arriving by a half-day. These kinds of delays are hard to predict, but you can still save yourself from experiencing a miniature crisis by preparing for them. When moving, come prepared to spend some extra money in case you have to rent a hotel room for the night, along with some extra clothes and toiletries if you find yourself separated from the rest of your things.
Moving is a stressful time for many, but moving is also a time of great excitement. You are about to embark on the next big adventure of your life, a new chapter. Whatever happens, as long as you prepare and bring the right attitude, you can bet the process will be enjoyable.
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