My mother also keeps telling me to do things because, "When we bought our house, we had to ..." and I have not yet responded, "You bought your house in 1985! Things have changed since then!" But I have been very tempted.

Thanks. So, do I talk to the realtor about this or not? Or do I ask the contractor if it's OK to talk to the realtor about it?

Hil, why do you want to talk to the realtor about it? To ask her if you should do it? You need the ramp or you can't live in the house. The ramp will be against code, so make sure it's removable if you ever sell it. If you want to quote shop, then you can ask her if she has other contractors she recommends, but I don't know that the realtor will add anything to the discussion that the contractor hasn't already told you. Theoretically, he is the the expert in city codes/building regulations.

I've learned to be selective in what I tell my parents these days. Things have changed and I don't have the spoons to deal with the well-meaning but outdated advice.

Thanks.

My parents are giving me a good amount of money toward buying the condo, so I feel like I need to keep them in the loop on things. My mom is the one who was insisting that I needed to talk to the realtor, but now I just got an email from her that's a lot less insistent about that.

Thank you for your advice, everyone. I think I'll wait to see what ramp design the contractor comes up with, and go from there.

The other option would be replacing the (awful) stairs that are currently there with better stairs -- maybe five shallow steps rather than the three steep ones that are there now, and putting in better railings. I'd be able to use stairs like that for now, but I'm not sure that I'd be able to forever. But that is something that's possible to do, if the ramp design doesn't work out. (And if I need it sometime in the future, it would probably be possible to install one of those vertical platform lifts there.)

Oh! Also -- my sister says that I'll need a lawyer for the closing. The realtor hasn't mentioned that. Do I need one? (My sister does deal with real estate law, but she deals with billionaires, so I have no clue if the advice for billionaires buying real estate is the same as the advice for me buying a townhouse.)

We did not need a lawyer for our closing a couple years ago.

Hil, you do not need one, but it is a good idea to have one. Your bank or credit union can probably recommend one to you.

Have you told your realtor or your loan officer that your parents are giving you money towards the purchase? There are hoops you have to jump through to make sure you can use that--it can be a pain to collect the documentation the underwriters require.

Either option sounds solid, and the contractor seems like he understands the practicality of what you need.

Some states require a lawyer for closing, but I don't know if OH is one of them. Closings are usually handled by a title company, who makes sure all of the paperwork is in order. Both of mine (MD and PA) were handled by a title company licensed by the state. MD requires an attorney to be present at closing, so title companies have them on staff and it's included in the fee you pay to the title company. As the buyer, the choice of closing agent is yours. Your realtor will know what is needed in OH.

Have you told your realtor or your loan officer that your parents are giving you money towards the purchase? There are hoops you have to jump through to make sure you can use that--it can be a pain to collect the documentation the underwriters require.

Yeah -- I told them both, and the bank gave me some forms to have my parents' bank fill out, and I filed all of those.

Thanks. I'll ask my realtor about whether I need a lawyer, then.

We've never had a lawyer at closing, and we're on house #4.