HOW TO SERVE THE CLIENT WITH A DISABILITY
By Steve Wright and Heidi Johnson-Wright
It’s close to quitting time, the phone rings and the potential buyer on the line says he’s seen your signs and he’s interested in working with you.
But he has unique needs – he is disabled and may not even be able to make it up the steps of several potential houses, or he’s concerned about being able to secure so much as an accessible parking space at a condo building he’s interested in.
Quickly, your mind races and you have two basic responses:
A) This is too difficult and time consuming for you to take.
B) This is a golden opportunity to sharpen your skills as a great Realtor.
Clearly “A” would be the short-sighted response.
Those who choose “B” will be rewarded by tapping into a market that is growing as well-heeled aging baby boomers face mobility impairments and modern technology is allowing more severely disabled young people to become high wage earners.
Andy Weiser, a Realtor with 26 years of experience, starting learning how to sell to disabled buyers 18 years ago when he was “thrown into it” while working in Manhattan.
Now in Coldwell Banker’s Fort Lauderdale office, Weiser said the vast majority of his sales are to non-disabled buyers, but he takes a great amount of pride in understanding the needs of buyers who use wheelchairs for mobility or have other physical limitations that impact their housing requirements.
“Be direct. They know they have disability. They know what they need,” Weiser advised. “Talk about their limitations. Talk to the buyer. Find out -- does the person have great upper body strength? -- maybe they don’t. “They may say `no I don’t want ramps dammit,’ or maybe they will say `I don’t want to see a single step in that house, I don’t want to see a single incline that can’t be ramped’”
Weiser said a Realtor will go nowhere fast if he patronizes a disabled client by ignoring real needs or directing every question to the buyer’s companion, as if the person with a mobility impairment isn’t capable of following a complex conversation.
“You don’t have to TALK...SLOWLY...BECAUSE...THEY’RE...IN...A... WHEELCHAIR...” said Weiser, who has accommodated more than 30 disabled buyers with “compassion, not condescension.”
Weiser said Realtors interested in serving disabled clients need to do their homework and learn the basics of construction such as what walls can be moved to remove barriers, what code requirements might be in conflict with a need to enhance a house or condo’s accessibility.
When serving aging clients who do not see themselves as a person with a disability, Weiser said the work becomes more subtle.
“People say `hey, that master bedroom on the first floor would be great for guests,’ when they really may be thinking, but not willing to openly say, that there will be a time in the very near future when they will not be so able to run up and down steps to the second floor bedroom,” Weiser said. “People look at a smart design that has large up and downstairs closets lined up on top of each other and say `you know, if we put an elevator in that space, my elderly parents could use it’ when they are really eyeing that accessibility amenity for themselves.”
Weiser also advises Realtors to use common sense, such as:
• Taking into account the percentage of money the buyer will need for renovations.
• Reminding tough condo and co-op boards that prohibition on pets does not apply to service animals that assist disabled buyers.
• Working with multifamily buildings to make sure the common areas and parking garage are wheelchair-accessible.
• Knowing what you are talking about. If you say an architect can make needed alterations for $20,000, first make sure that’s accurate and that the structure can accommodate such changes.
"If you’re a good realtor, you can learn this,” Weiser said.
Palm City freelance writer Jerry Warmuskerken, a quadriplegic who uses a power wheelchair for mobility, has lots of straightforward advice for Realtors.
“Imagine yourself as being three feet wide, crouched down, with your hands at your sides and your shoes extend two feet in front of you,” he said, saying that visual will help a Realtor know where a wheelchair user would fit easily and where he won’t.”
When trying to figure out if a home can be made accessible, Warmuskerken said Realtors should rule out split levels and ranches with sunken living rooms and look for “bare bones accessibility: open space and easy transit from room to room.”
“Ninety-nice percent of the houses you show won't be decked out with total accessibility,” he said. “Look for: straight shots through doorways, no 90 degree turns through narrow hallways; big showers, not tubs; no more than a single step in and out of doors (easier to ramp); garage-to-house entrance as easy as the front door to use; parking space with side access to vehicles, like the blue spaces at the mall.”
Warmuskerken reminds that each potential buyer has different priorities, such as accessible kitchens, workout rooms, level ground outside, lots of floor space in a bathroom.
“A big Roman tub with whirlpool jets may be a nice item but someone in a wheelchair will see it and their first thought will likely be, `how much will it cost me to have that removed and have a shower put in?,’” he advised.
BevVan Phillips, a Realtor with Prudential Ambassador Real Estate and a licensed occupational therapist based out of Omaha, Nebraska understands clients’ priorities.
“Ask the client what he likes to do in his house,” said Phillips.
“If the client uses a mobility device – such as a wheelchair or crutches – will it limit him from doing things in the house?”
A certified aging in place specialist, a certification she received from the National Association of Homebuilders, Phillips also owns Home Access Solutions. The design company modifies homes for people with special needs or seniors.
Phillips has worked with both persons who are blind as well as clients with mobility issues. She suggests when working with blind or visually impaired clients that the client bring along a sighted family member who can describe the homes you’re taking the client to see.
In one instance when Phillips worked with a client who is blind, she visited the client’s current home and had the woman teach her how to safely lead her around the house. Phillips also studied the layout of the current house so she could later describe potential new homes in comparison to the floor plan of the old one.
“Remember: you’re not looking for a ‘handicapped house.’ You’re looking for a house that matches the abilities of someone who will live there. Look at the house as a tool.”
Jorge Luis Rodriguez, a quadriplegic who has worked one year for Watson Realty’s in Deland, teaches his office about disabilities but strongly suggests that brokerages should host an in-house training to educate Realtors on the needs of disabled buyers.
“We are a huge market…a strong niche market,” he said.
Rodriguez said familiarity with the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines – better known as ADAAG -- is the key to understanding housing accessibility.
“When I, myself was buying a house, I provided ADAAG to the developer. Knowledge is power. The more you know about disabilities and code requirements, the more power you have.”
Rodriguez said Realtors can also serve disabled buyers by asking specific questions about how wide doorways must be to accommodate a wheelchair, how large a bathroom needs to be to allow for easy maneuvering and whether a roll-in shower would best serve the client.
Russie Weidl, a Realtor for Watson Realty in Lake Mary for seven years, has insight into clients’ needs because she knows both sides of the coin. Weidl has lived with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis since age 11, has multiple artificial joint replacements and has grab bars in her own bathroom at home.
Weidl recommends asking pertinent questions from the get-go to zero in on what the client wants.
“Do they want a condo with an elevator, so there’s no need to physically do maintenance? Ask if they prefer single story homes. If they’re mobility impaired, look for a larger bathroom that can be modified to create a roll-in shower,” Weidl said.
Weidl’s clients have included a couple that was blind. She invested a lot of time finding just the right house.
“They wanted to be able to walk to a grocery store and didn’t want to have to cross a busy street. They also need to live in a certain area that was convenient for car pooling,” she said.
While showing homes to the clients, Weidl physically guided them from room to room. She described layout. When it came time for inspections, she had to personally check to make sure things got fixed as promised. At closing, she read some of the documents to the clients, while the title company employees summarize others.
“People tell me I’m inspirational”, said Weidl, who sometimes struggles herself with stairs and heavy doors.
Yet it’s clear from her advice that non-disabled Realtors can develop an understanding of clients with disabilities, with some time and effort.
“You really have to be sensitive to their needs. Make it easy for them to feel comfortable with you. It’s more time-consuming, but it’s really rewarding.”
Wright and Johnson-Wright are award-winning journalists who frequently write about real estate, smart growth and sustainable communities. They live in a restored historic home in the heart of Miami’s Little Havana. Contact them at: stevewright64@yahoo.com
SIDEBAR: For More Information
BevVan Phillips offers the following advice to Realtors who want to attract and work with disabled clients:
Increase your comfort level with and knowledge of disabilities:
• Get familiar with the concepts of universal design. Google the words “universal design” and visit websites of University of North Carolina’s Center for Universal Design http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/ or Iowa State University: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/universaldesign/research.html
• Make sure you act in a respectful manner. Use “people first” language. A good website to refer to for terminology is: www.disabilityisnatural.com
At the initial client interview, ask direct questions about the client’s needs:
• What does he like to do in his house?
• If the client uses a mobility device – such as a wheelchair or crutches – what features in a potential house would limit him from doing things he likes to do?
• What special features must the house have?
• In the client’s current house: what works great? What is a barrier?
When trying to identify a house suitable for the client:
• As with all clients, start with the categories of location and price range. Then, if the MLS in your state has a category or label that designates a house as disability accessible, use it as a starting point. But don’t assume that such a designation means that house is perfect for your client. Sometimes this means a level entrance, lowered kitchen cabinets, a roll-in shower and other great features. Sometimes it means only that the shower has a grab bar, yet the shower happens to be in bathroom with a very narrow doorway. An accessible house that works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another. There is no one size fits all because each person’s disability is unique.
• When using the MLS, limit your search by size of bedroom. Clients with mobility issues need more room than the average person for the bedroom furniture plus extra room to maneuver a wheelchair or crutches.
• Look for homes with a sizeable master bedroom and an attached bathroom, which is convenient for someone who uses a wheelchair or can only walk short distances.
• Look for the phrase “open floor plan” because that usually means more room for maneuverability.
• If the MLS has photos, look at photos of the main entrance. If it has seven steps at the entrance, a ramp or lift probably won’t work for providing access.
• Some people with mobility limitations move a bit more slowly or have limited energy. It’s a good idea to show them just two or three houses per day.
Once you’ve earned the confidence of your client, you can help narrow down the search by taking photos of potential homes and showing them to the client before scheduling a “go see.”
Things to look for when narrowing down the search for homes to show:
• Are doorways and halls wide enough or do they look too narrow? Bring along a tape measure to check widths.
• Would major construction – like tearing down a wall – be required to provide needed access, or could modifications be done without a major contracting job?
• In making such assessments about whether a modification is feasible, she recommends that an expert be involved early in the process. The expert should be chosen by the client and may be someone who is a contractor or has suitable knowledge and experience.
Phillips carries a portable ramp with her to provide access into homes she’s showing to clients who can’t do steps. However, she cautions that she is qualified to position and use a ramp because she is a license occupational therapist. Realtors who do not have a medical or allied health certification should not do so out of liability concerns, but they could have an able-bodied family member of the client bring along a ramp and put it in place. Philips also carries plastic carpet runners with her to put down on floors inside a house being shown. This protects carpeting from wheelchair tire tracks.
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