What to do with a stairlift that is no longer needed?

steady__eddie

I am employed by a social housing provider clearing out vacated properties. Every couple of weeks we come across a property where a stairlift is fitted. To my simplistic way of thinking, it would be the ideal scenario to offer the property to someone with disability probs but alas this is not the case. It is ripped out never to be seen again, well not by anybody who could use it for the purpose for which it was intended. :mad:

Savvy_Sue

steady__eddie wrote: »

I am employed by a social housing provider clearing out vacated properties. Every couple of weeks we come across a property where a stairlift is fitted. To my simplistic way of thinking, it would be the ideal scenario to offer the property to someone with disability probs but alas this is not the case. It is ripped out never to be seen again, well not by anybody who could use it for the purpose for which it was intended. :mad:

I can see where you are coming from, but if it is left in, then the HA is responsible for ensuring it's safe, in good order, properly fitted etc. And ensuring that's the case isn't trivial.

John_Pierpoint

Now that we have design rules about wheelchair access, perhaps it is time to insist on a British Standard (EU standard?) staircase complete with fitting points for the "standard" stair lift design. Is this really that much different from car seatbelts and child seats?

Avery_Guitars

My mother may need a stair lift imminently, but her home will need to be sold in about 18 months' time. Does the installation of a stair lift increase, decrease, or have no effect on the value of her home?

John_Pierpoint

If the house is likely to be left vacant between going on the market and exchange of contact then:

Probably a good idea to remove it - and all the other stuff like grab handles that shout "a pensioner died in here".

lessonlearned

My husband finally went into a nursing home and I had to put my property "back to rights" before I could sell it.

The original stair lift company gave me £100 for the lift and did a neat job when dismantling it. There was a thin film of oil on the walls which fortunately washed off ok and I just needed to touch up the paintwork here and there.

All grab rails etc had to be removed, holes filled in and then walls repainted.

My OH needed a special bath lift. This caused damage to the bath which I replaced with a new one.

The carers who came in had scratched and dented my wooden floors by dragging rotundas around. They had to be re-sanded and sealed.

The door-jambs and architraves round several doorways had suffered from wheelchair damage and had to have all the gouges filled in, repaired and repainted, along with several doors which were badly scratched.

I didn't have to do all this before selling but I'm sure that if I hadn't the house would not have sold as easily and I would have had to reduce the asking price to reflect the amount of work required.

If you can I would recommend you do the work to put the property back to rights afterwards. It will make the property easier to sell and you will get a better price.

Obviously if it's a property belonging to elderly parents then the work required might be too much, not just a simple DIY job.

I am now in this position with my parent's house and in a bit of a quandry how best to proceed. I want to try and get them into sheltered accommodation. They are in their late 80's and getting very frail.

My original plan was to about buy their cottage, freeing up their money so they could buy their next property. I would have been able to let them stay there whilst I prepared their next home, decorating, carpets etc and then "moving day" would be much less traumatic for them.

I was then going to "do up" the house and then sell it. However after looking closely ........

Without having a survey done I estimate about £20K's worth of work, damp treatment, new electrics, central heating, new bathroom, new kitchen and that's without checking the roof. It's for work needing to be done and does not include any nice little "nice to haves" or redecoration, improvement etc.

Again there is also a stair lift and a host of adaptations to be removed and disposed of.

Realistically I think this is not going to work for me - it's a bit more than my basic diy skills can cover.

The problem is anyone willing to take this level of work on is going to have to buy at a price which reflects the cost of the works. The difficulty is my parents cannot see this. They love their little house and are finding it very difficult to understand that it requires so much remedial work.

Oh well I guess I'll think of something.....

John_Pierpoint

When I had this problem, we as a family rallied round and painted the outside, fixed the leaking roofs (garage and sun room).
Fortunately that was back in the days of booming house sales.
One smart Alec made the best offer and then ordered up an expensive survey £750 in addition to the £250 the mortgage provider was charging to check its suitability for a mortgage and then tried to reduce his offer by £10k.
I simply telephoned number two in the list and they matched his original offer.
The surveyor had earned his £750 by finding every niggle possible; but I simply sent back the list of niggles with the observation that I would expect all these in a house that was nearly 100 years old.

You only need to watch the BBC daily programme "Homes under the Hammer" for a week to get a fair idea of what doing up a cottage costs. The new factor, which has really come to the fore in the last dozen years, is the requirement to use a self certifying competent person to do the job. The tradesman then has to spend a considerable time filling in certificates for the lawyers to use at sale time.; plus the requirement that even repairs must meet the "sustainability" regulations. This mainly effects the "envelope" of the property. [Can I re-render the cottage - No not until you have brought the insulation of the walls up standard xxx - but it has solid walls !]

Beware of "rewiring", does the cottage have a two wire overhead electricity supply. by any chance?

Personally I favour keeping old folks in their existing homes, especially when there are two of them to prop up each other; if that is what keeps them happy.
Have managed that with 4 households, but it is a family responsibility and requires an investment of time & energy.

lessonlearned

Thanks John - will check out electricity supply, cannot remember how it is fed into the house tbh.

Re keeping them at home. We've done this for as long as possible, with family and paid carers. Unfortunately it won't be long before mum will have to go into a nursing home because she now has vascular dementia alongside all the other ailments and is now 87.

Dad although reasonably fit in his own right, at aged 86 the burden of coping with mum is now patently too much. Even he realises this now. It's all so very sad.

Their house is a delightful 400 year old cottage. quirky and full of little nooks and crannies. However, despite a stair lift and a number of adaptations and modifications - it just doesn't work for them any more. Several different floor levels and uneven floors for a start which makes using a zimmer frame very difficult, plus using a wheelchair would be out of question.

I spoke at length to my sister and my dad last night, dad has admitted that he can't cope for much longer and that he is lonely. Mum has "gone" iyswim......

I am meeting with EA's next week to get some valuations to take it from there.

I have a list of very good tradespeople I can rely on, if the figures stack up I may well buy the cottage myself. I know my parents would love that.

My dad has already said he wants me to have it and is prepared to accept a below market value but as I've explained, he will need as much as he can get to pay for their next move.

Although a lovely property - it is in a sorry state. I've had some of my builder mates have a quick look so I know what's required.

I agree with your comments about certificates etc. My dad originally did a lot of the work and was, in his day, a very competent and conscientious diyer.

However, whilst the electrics are perfectly safe (my dad would not take risks) they simply would not pass muster today. A surveyor would have a fit.

And there is no question about the damp. Even if they stay there this has to be rectified as a matter of urgency. They cannot go through another winter with the house as damp as it is. I think some of the first fix plumbing needs ripping out too - probably lead.

I also agree with your comments about complying with energy ratings etc and "sustainability." Trying to make the envelope of a 400 year old building comply with current standards is ridiculous.
Any attempts to do so can actually make matters worse as far as damp and condensation are concerned.

If I do buy their house I'm going to have to tread carefully with it's restoration.A quick fix is not the way forward with this one. It's a lovely little house and needs a gentle touch, which is why my mum and dad want me to do it......

They know I'll give it the TLC it deserves. The problem is - as always - a gentle touch takes time and money.

The good news is if I make a good job then it will be a lovely property in a sought after location. Small but "bijou":rotfl:

SailorSam

After my Mum died we were going to get so little for her stairlift we decided to leave it were it was. It wasn't particularly in the way and could perhaps be a selling point if an older person wanted to buy the house.

John_Pierpoint

lessonlearned wrote: »

Thanks John - will check out electricity supply, cannot remember how it is fed into the house tbh.

Re keeping them at home. We've done this for as long as possible, with family and paid carers. Unfortunately it won't be long before mum will have to go into a nursing home because she now has vascular dementia alongside all the other ailments and is now 87.

Dad although reasonably fit in his own right, at aged 86 the burden of coping with mum is now patently too much. Even he realises this now. It's all so very sad.

Their house is a delightful 400 year old cottage. quirky and full of little nooks and crannies. However, despite a stair lift and a number of adaptations and modifications - it just doesn't work for them any more. Several different floor levels and uneven floors for a start which makes using a zimmer frame very difficult, plus using a wheelchair would be out of question.

I spoke at length to my sister and my dad last night, dad has admitted that he can't cope for much longer and that he is lonely. Mum has "gone" iyswim......

I am meeting with EA's next week to get some valuations to take it from there.

I have a list of very good tradespeople I can rely on, if the figures stack up I may well buy the cottage myself. I know my parents would love that.

My dad has already said he wants me to have it and is prepared to accept a below market value but as I've explained, he will need as much as he can get to pay for their next move.

Although a lovely property - it is in a sorry state. I've had some of my builder mates have a quick look so I know what's required.

I agree with your comments about certificates etc. My dad originally did a lot of the work and was, in his day, a very competent and conscientious diyer.

However, whilst the electrics are perfectly safe (my dad would not take risks) they simply would not pass muster today. A surveyor would have a fit.

And there is no question about the damp. Even if they stay there this has to be rectified as a matter of urgency. They cannot go through another winter with the house as damp as it is. I think some of the first fix plumbing needs ripping out too - probably lead.

I also agree with your comments about complying with energy ratings etc and "sustainability." Trying to make the envelope of a 400 year old building comply with current standards is ridiculous.
Any attempts to do so can actually make matters worse as far as damp and condensation are concerned.

If I do buy their house I'm going to have to tread carefully with it's restoration.A quick fix is not the way forward with this one. It's a lovely little house and needs a gentle touch, which is why my mum and dad want me to do it......

They know I'll give it the TLC it deserves. The problem is - as always - a gentle touch takes time and money.

The good news is if I make a good job then it will be a lovely property in a sought after location. Small but "bijou":rotfl:

You have my sympathy - we have recently been through a similar scenario, though "Dad" died first and "Mum" staggered on with carers and vascular dementia, with 24 hour care for 4 years.

Good luck with the cottage, is it "listed".