# Neighbors complain about wheelchair ramp in front of home. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 20, 2013, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682 "2013-08-20T01:32:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/141 "2013-08-20T22:04:32Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I was under the impression that real estate agents use a combination of precedent and their own intuition to set a house’s market value and see who bites. Couldn’t they simply reject any sort of devaluing of the property due to the ramp? Real estate agents aren’t the one’s buying the houses. If people don’t like the ramp it will lower the price they are willing to pay regardless of the listing price. In most markets people don’t pay the listing price. Having said that, I can’t see this having any significant devaluation of housing prices in the neighborhood. Perhaps they will add shrubbery at some point but I don’t see any need to disguise the ramp - it is what it is, a necessary access point for the occupants of the house. It seems about as inoffensive as is possible, so I’m having difficulty following several of the arguments put forth in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/142 "2013-08-20T22:09:50Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > How exactly does it work? I was under the impression that real estate agents use a combination of precedent and their own intuition to set a house’s market value and see who bites. Couldn’t they simply reject any sort of devaluing of the property due to the ramp? In Australia there is an increasing awareness in government circles of the need to incorporate the principles of [Universal Design](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_design) into more housing to deal with an aging population. Any half-decent real estate agent should be able to take a house with those sorts of features already installed and market it to the right demographic at a profit. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/143 "2013-08-20T22:18:14Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > The attitude of some people in this thread is a great example of why a lot of us hate the suburbs, just soul crushing conformity and an obsession with other people’s business. It actually reminds me a lot of the breastfeeding in the pool thread. It all comes down to what people consider “common courtesy”. One person’s common courtesy is another’s intrusion. It sounds really nice and all when you say, “I think it’s good to take your neighbors’ feelings into account when you’re changing the look of your house,” but in reality that can be really hard! What constitutes ‘reasonable accommodation’? _Can_ one reasonably accommodate and unreasonable person? Should people be expected to try? How hard, and for how long, and to how much expense? Every single person on your block will have different answers to that question. I think in the end, as long as you’re following the law, you’re in the clear. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/144 "2013-08-20T22:45:41Z")
We have a neighbor who just installed a handicap ramp for his daughter with cerebral palsy. My husband said he felt badly because he wasn’t around to help him build it. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/145 "2013-08-21T00:47:16Z")
I’m confused by how this ramp is supposed to impact the property value of the neighbours. I can understand how someone interested in buying the house with the ramp might view the ramp as a negative, and be willing to pay less for that house. I cannot understand how a prospective buyer of one of the neighbours’ houses is going to view the ramp at the house across the street as something impacting the price they are willing to pay. “Oh, it’s the perfect house. Just the right size, and the basement finished exactly how we’d like it to be, and even the landscaping is wonderful. We can move right in and don’t have to do anything! But there’s a wheelchair ramp across the street, so we’re only willing to pay $215,000 instead of $225,000.” Bwu? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/146 "2013-08-21T00:52:46Z")
If they sued and I was on the jury I would award the family all legal expenses and then find out if I can assess punitive damages against the plaintiffs. Who are obvious assholes. ---
**Author:** ![bartleby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bartleby/32/10491_2.png) [@bartleby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bartleby)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/147 "2013-08-21T01:10:56Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Inspired by this thread, I went for a walk around my neighbourhood and took some pictures - [this house has a quite nice ramp;](http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s142/featherlou/Miscellaneous/HPIM7991_zps18a42461.jpg) [this house has quite an ugly chair lift.](http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s142/featherlou/Miscellaneous/HPIM7995_zps95e0cafe.jpg) BTW, that lift is much like the one on the side of my house… you are no longer invited for dinner… ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/148 "2013-08-21T01:20:39Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Say that again when you’re selling your property that happens to be next door to a bunch of jackholes who let their property look like the outskirts of the town dump. > > Sure, when THEY sell, the property will look clean and tidy, because they’ll get more money that way, when YOU sell, it stays a shithole that’s chasing away your buyers. > > Legally, you may not be able to do squat about it, but I defy anyone to be happy with the idea of getting thousands of dollars less as a result of their neighbor’s eyesore. Really this kind of hyperbole is ridiculous. It’s not going to knock thousands of the price and its far from being a town dump. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/149 "2013-08-21T01:33:08Z")
One of my neighbors is sweet. Really sweet and nice and kind. Better yet quiet. She would sooner smack herself than use a car alarm or leaf blower sweet. But every single year she puts up the ugliest fucking Christmas decorations imaginable. Lights in clashing colors, a mishmash of religious symbols, a stuffed Rudolf and some elves, a giant freaking lit snow globe about an inch from our property line for cripes sake. Offends my Jewish heart it does. She doesn’t take them down until March. We don’t live in a gated community so I don’t get a freaking say in it. I also hate the neighbor’s choice of summer flowers. Again I don’t freaking get a say. I have no idea why the hell some people don’t understand this concept. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/150 "2013-08-21T01:43:35Z")
The ramp is fugly - but the person who suggested using the garage is nuts. There’s enough of a rise there that the thing would basically make the garage unusable. Yes, you can make it look prettier, and I’m surprised the family doesn’t do so for their OWN enjoyment. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/151 "2013-08-21T01:55:13Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I used to work for a beverage distributor . I’ve hauled almost 300 lbs up ramps and up/down curbs. > My mom was in a wheelchair(long before the ADA), my younger brother has CP, I spent two years in one after my accident and my wife uses one right now. > I think I know what it involves. > A lift can break in more ways than just losing power and a business can find the money for repairs more easily than a private family. Also, most businesses have more than one elevator. If one goes out, you can always get on the other one. And a lift ain’t gonna help you if the power decides to go out. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/152 "2013-08-21T01:57:04Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > The ramp is fugly - but the person who suggested using the garage is nuts. There’s enough of a rise there that the thing would basically make the garage unusable. > > Yes, you can make it look prettier, and I’m surprised the family doesn’t do so for their OWN enjoyment. Oh - and for what it’s worth: the neighbors are jerktards. While it’s quite possible they might have been able to design something that looked nicer, the one they have built is solid, will last, and will work. The girl in the wheelchair shouldn’t be a captive in her own home, or endangered with an inferior ramp, just to please the neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/153 "2013-08-21T02:05:14Z")
I don’t think the neighbors have said anything about holding anyone captive or endangering anyone. Has anyone seen or heard anything from the evil neighbors? This story has been completely one-sided RO on the part of the rampers, so far. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/154 "2013-08-21T03:24:27Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I don’t think the neighbors have said anything about holding anyone captive or endangering anyone. > > **Has anyone seen or heard anything from the evil neighbors?** This story has been completely one-sided RO on the part of the rampers, so far. They refused to comment to the media. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/155 "2013-08-21T04:21:07Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > No. Fucking. Shit. +1 Who were the persons who bought a house with such a high first floor rise? This was a new plat of houses built for the homeowners. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/156 "2013-08-21T04:26:06Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Yes, you can make it look prettier, and I’m surprised the family doesn’t do so for their OWN enjoyment. In the picture it looks like trees are planted and there is a flower bed planted in front of the ramp. It looks like a new neighborhood. I wonder how many other houses have fully landscaped yards. It’s possible it by this time next year it will look much better. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/157 "2013-08-21T04:41:24Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > In the picture it looks like trees are planted and there is a flower bed planted in front of the ramp. It looks like a new neighborhood. I wonder how many other houses have fully landscaped yards. It’s possible it by this time next year it will look much better. I think this whole story was just that. A story. Something to sell news. It looks to me like they already planned on making it look nice. Not sure why the concrete is stained but a coat of paint would make it look good and protect it from the elements. The owners already landscaped around it so it should blend in nicely. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/158 "2013-08-21T04:45:02Z")
> [@bartleby](#): > > BTW, that lift is much like the one on the side of my house… > > you are no longer invited for dinner… But chair lifts aren’t supposed to be pretty - they’re supposed to be functional. I didn’t mean to insult you or your lift - I’m sure your lift is very nice. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/159 "2013-08-21T05:27:51Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > And a lift ain’t gonna help you if the power decides to go out. chair lifts are DC powered specifically so they work if the power goes out. Unless you’re using it like a Ferris Wheel it’s going to be there for you. There is a huge advantage to a lift over a ramp. The person in the chair will be able to use it without assistance. A ramp is difficult to use for those pushing the chair and the person in the chair trying to negotiate it uphill. The lift isn’t a hazard with ice like a ramp is. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/160 "2013-08-21T05:47:53Z")
If a lift breaks down halfway, aren’t you prettty much fucked? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682.md?page=9)