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Again..... the house price will be based on comps. If comps in the area have no elevators..... it will add no value. Typically..... if you price the house well above all the recent comps it will sit on the market for a long time because people will think its over priced, or people will simply low ball offers. Typically....
But hey, I know nothing about your market, so maybe there will be a bidding war for properties with elevators. But somehow I doubt it.
I don't know anyone that would buy a house with an elevator. If they are so bad off they need an elevator, they'll buy a one-story home.
Not exactly true. We just bought a new ranch home as I am disabled and stairs are the bane of my existence. Until we get the stackable W/D in the kitchen, I still have to trudge the steep basement steps to do the laundry.
If they had elevators, I'd have considered a two story house. My only concern is getting stuck if the power goes out!
OP: If you DO put in an elevator, BE SURE it has battery back-up if the power goes out.
I think you should be able to recoup about 75% of the cost...why? because more and more people I know are looking for such in a house taller than one story, like me. I wish we had one now to the basement!
I don't think you will recoup all the cost of an elevator. It's not something pretty or shiny. But if it's something you need now, then you should consider it a necessity and not worry about the resale value.
go with the elevator, if you need it. My mom had a stair lift and besides being ugly, it made it very difficult to climb the stairs since it was always in the way. The track also attracted a lot of dirt and it was difficult to keep clean.
Very good point about cleaning the track. We have 2 cats and 2 dogs and i bet those tracks have oil and would attract dust bunnies as well as pet hair. new consideration. Thank you.
My neighbor has an elevator, and told me that they use an enormous amount of electricity.
I wonder if you could find out a bit more about that from your neighbor. What does s/he consider to be an "enormous amount" and how does that translate into dollars?. Electricity costs vary significantly around the country.
Also, if a person needs additional electricity for permanent medical use, the costs are reduced with a form filled in and submitted by one's physician to the electricity company.
Last edited by SFBayBoomer; 03-12-2016 at 08:42 PM..
One advantage of an elevator over a chair lift is it can also be used as a dumbwaiter. In my house the dumbwaiter goes from the garage to the main floor, so groceries aren't hauled up and down the stairs. I wish it went to the second floor too, so we could use it to bring the Christmas decorations down or bring luggage up to the second floor. Because of it's cargo capabilities, in a large house where the elevator is in a thought out position I don't see it as being a detriment.
That said, my parent had an pnumantic elevator added to their home. There was no obvious place to put the elevator, so it goes from the small family room (or keeping room) to the Master bedroom. They said it cost about $30K including installation. It does look cool, and presently it means they can stay in their home for as long as they want. Resale might be tough, but they were told you can just take the elevator out and restore the hole in the ceiling/floor and you are good to go.
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