"Visitability"--New Word, New Laws

[realtraveller]

New home construction is the subject of this thread. Don't click off yet. This has to do with certain city governments mandating that all new homes built in their cities must be accessible to the handicapped.

That means an additional $3,000 per home cost for such things as bathroom handrails, wider door, lower light switches and higher electrical outlets.

It also means that the home entrances must have no steps. Won't this make some lots (those with a slope for example) unbuildable?

Here's the news story:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,45146,00.html

Doesn't this just raise the cost of housing unnecessarily?

It has nothing to do with safety (which is the thrust of most home building codes).

Would you want to pay $3,000 extra when you don't need handicapped accessibility?

Don't laws like this widen the affordability gap for low-income home buyers?

Thoughts?

I think that this is not only for the benefit of handicapped visitors, but it is also for the benefit of handicapped homebuyers looking for a home, but finding that everything on the market needs to be retrofitted.

Also, Fate does some pretty nasty things to us. Maybe you're feeling fine now, but you may be in a wheelchair or sightless or deaf or turn Republican overnight. Or perhaps you may adopt or give birth to one of them... there's no telling what your needs are down the road.

Will performing these upgrades/modifications be tax-deductible, like all charitable work or investments in civic-minded activities? I would think that childproofing and handicap-accessibility are far more noble reasons worthy of tax deductions than many business expenses, and should be afforded such a status AND earn the person a gold star.

[cristina1]

I dont think that a private home should be forced to be handicapped accessible. Higher outlets? No way. I have a two year old that is drawn to outlets like a magnet. The last thing I want (and we seriously had this in an apartment) is an outlet to be higher than my son's bed. Lower light switches? Again no way. Do you know how many time a two year old can flip a light switch on and off? Why would I want lower switches?

I should be able to build my home to suit MY needs, not someone else's. If anything happened and someone close to me was wheelchair bound, then I would deal with changes.

By the way, wider doorways do not bother me at all. I wouldnt mind that. I love wide open homes anyway, and usually fall in love with homes that have extra large doorways.

But, I also love that beautiful front porch with a few steps leading up to it. Dont take that away from me.

[mrisch[$]]

I think that tract housing builders should have the disabled in mind while building. I think that some portion, say every 5th house, should be built that way to have an availability of new homes on the market.

I think custom homes should be exempt - after all, those are already sold.

[realtraveller]

I can see homebuilders offering the handicapped facilities as an option to those who want them and want to pay for them.

I don't see the necessity of mandating that all news homes be built this way.