wheelchair accessible living in West Palm/Jupiter area (West Palm Beach, Holiday: real estate, rental)

[sarahflie]

I am seeking to buy or initially rent a property that is wheelchair accessible or easily converted. I am not opposed to coming into a condo community but it is hard to find out which ones have poolside "lifts" to help wheelchair users get into & out of the pool. Does anyone know of a community or house that might have that accommodation in the Jupiter, Juno, West Palm or Boynton areas with properties for rent or to buy? Thanks, Sarah

[Galan]

You do realize that this is South FL you're talking about? It's old fogey central down here. I'd be shocked if just about every condo you looked at didn't have accommodations for individuals in wheelchairs. Single family home rental properties are a different story though.

[sarahflie]

"Old Fogey" central as YOU call it does not mean there will be a "lift" for access in and out of the swimming pool, for instance, for an active, younger person who happens to use a wheelchair. If it is an older community, they might not have that accommodation! I am trying to get help from someone who might know of a community in Palm Beach county that we can rent while we look to buy.

[Galan]

Take a little joke there lady. It's called hyperbole. Rather than post on a forum where no one is going to have an answer to this question, why don't you try picking up the phone and calling around to find out the details you require?

[sarahflie]

Gee, I thought the point of the forum was to get help from people who live in the area and might know of their or another particular condo community that has a lift or sloped entry for the pool. I didn't realized the purpose of posting a question was to get insulted over the nature of my question or told to make hundreds of phone calls which my broker and I were trying to avoid!

[SunshineSmiling]

Sarah, I just ran across your post - now one year later! I don't know if you were able to figure things out, but I thought I'd answer anyway (seeing how some insensitive people wasted your time previously).

I suggest contacting Kanga Realty ([url=http://www.kangarealty.com]Kangarealty - View South Florida Real Estate Listings[/url]). My son is an adult quadriplegic in an electric wheelchair, and we moved from California to Florida, with Kanga Realty's help. We had a very helpful woman as our rental agent, Mrs. Olga B. We communicated by email and phone every day, until we arrived in Florida. She arranged for us to see many properties that fit what we were looking for and in our price range.

While we were here looking, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on 45th Street in West Palm Beach. It is an older hotel, but we have found that most Holiday Inn Express hotels have accessible rooms to accommodate a Hoyer lift. I've seen several with accessible pool lifts as well! The room rates are affordable, and the staff friendly. Getting take-out service by telephone from local restaurants proved to be very nerve wracking, so I wouldn't suggest doing that here from your hotel.

Also, if you come to West Palm Beach during the off-season (June - September), you'll probably find even better options for rental or purchase. We rented a lovely condo with a beautiful view of the Intercoastal Waterway, completely furnished and a very secure building with 2 swimming pools, a gym and valet drive-up service for visiting guests. Local restaurants DO deliver well at our residence. We have been very happy here.

I hope these suggestions have been helpful, whether to you or other people thinking the same thing!

[Chelsea168]

I am bumping this up in case anyone has further advice. I am interested in the answer as well, as I have an elderly father in the area and am considering moving there so that we may live together and cut down on expenses.