It's a reasonable idea, sj, but it would be ideal to find something where the entire house is accessible to you. It may be a longer search, but I really believe it will be worthwhile to find something that works entirely for you.

It's a reasonable idea, sj, but it would be ideal to find something where the entire house is accessible to you. It may be a longer search, but I really believe it will be worthwhile to find something that works entirely for you.

I figure I'm at least compromising by looking at other houses. It doesn't mean I have to agree to anything I'm not comfortable with; I'm fairly stubborn, so that's not going to happen. And we were already looking at ranches with finished basements so that TCG could have an office downstairs, so it's really not much different. Both TCG and I start to get nervous when there is nothing new to look at, so this keeps us moving and active.

sj, don't settle. You shouldn't buy a house you can only regularly enjoy a part of. I'm an able person for the most part, and there are days when I rue the fact that we bought a three level townhouse. The laundry room is in the basement while the master bedroom is on the top level. The steps kill me sometimes.

You shouldn't buy a house you can only regularly enjoy a part of.

Whether we end up with a split level where everything I need is on the main floor or a ranch with a finished basement where everything I need is on the main floor, I don't really see the difference. The main problems for me are having laundry on the main level and easy access in and out to my car (and even some of the ranches were iffy on this part), so those are the two main things I am focused on right now.

It would seen unwise to buy a house you couldn't rely on getting yourself in and out of. Parts of the house you don't use, sure, but the entrance? Then again, moving out of where you live now might be enough of an upgrade, that you don't need *everything*.

Be stubborn. It's a good thing when buying a home. Heck, I think it's a good thing when choosing a home for any length of time or ownership vs rental level. You will live there, it's important.

so those are the two main things I am focused on right now.

Excellent plan.

It would seen unwise to buy a house you couldn't rely on getting yourself in and out of. Parts of the house you don't use, sure, but the entrance? Then again, moving out of where you live now might be enough of an upgrade, that you don't need *everything*.

I didn't mean to imply that I would, just that I already rejected some ranches outright because they would be difficult for me to get in and out of. The bottom line is I can go up and down stairs when I have to, it just hurts a heck of a lot so I plan to avoid having to do more than a few of them each day. I go up three stairs right now to get into my apartment, so if I have to go up six to get to the main level of the house, that's doable. If I have to be carrying large loads of laundry up and down a full flight of stairs on a regular basis, that's not doable. Does that make sense?

ETA: Also, yes getting the hell out of this apartment is a huge priority, but we're trying not to let it affect our decision making.

Yeah, that sounds reasonable. The only caveat I'd add is that if your condition were to worsen in the future or with age, you might want things even simpler than you're aiming for now. Not to be borrowing trouble, but that's the universal design concept, that you build for a lifetime, or for multiple peoples' uses. Which is somewhat idealistic, I know, because each person's abilities are so intensely personal.

Like, my folks put in a master suite that goes bedroom/dressing & laundry/bathroom/office for my dad, including a glorious walk in no threshold shower with a seat. But now my dad has trouble getting up and down from a chair other than the dining chair or couch. So he doesn't sit in his office (there's basically no way to make a rolling office chair stable enough for him to use) anymore. And since it's hard for him to get up and down, he doesn't sit on the shower seat. But despite those changes (which I think still could be addressed if we wanted to) he is really able to use the house and it's great for his needs and for my mom's as caregiver.

Anyway, rambling to say, I think the right house is out there for you. I wonder if you might contact a universal design builder in the area, who might know what's around?

Yeah, that sounds reasonable. The only caveat I'd add is that if your condition were to worsen in the future or with age, you might want things even simpler than you're aiming for now. Not to be borrowing trouble, but that's the universal design concept, that you build for a lifetime, or for multiple peoples' uses. Which is somewhat idealistic, I know, because each person's abilities are so intensely personal.

I totally understand that, but honestly, without a lot more money than we have, it doesn't get much better than this for now. If we have to make modifications in the future or even move again, then we'll deal with that when/if it happens. And if I can get my ass in gear back into my exercise plan hopefully things can start getting better again rather than worse.

Yeah, Liese, I have always figured with my house I am screwed if anything happens to me--it's on three levels, requires several steps to get into the house, and there's no bathroom on the main level! So if I ever break a leg, I'll have to stay somewhere else until I can climb stairs.