Q: My real estate office is located in a building that is not wheelchair accessible. It would be very difficult and expensive to renovate to meet accessibility guidelines. What should I do to make sure that I comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?

A: What’s the old saying … If Mohammed can’t come to the mountain, take the mountain to Mohammed?

That pretty well sums up probably the simplest and most effective alternative to providing service in your office for a person with a disability who isn’t able to get into your office. Pack your bags and meet the wheelchair-user in an accessible location. That may be in a public building or it may be in the individual’s home. Just be sure to bring with you everything you would customarily have at your disposal in the office. Most of you probably provide a similar service now, so this shouldn’t be anything too different.

As you would with any potential customer, try to find out as much information about what the person with a disability is looking for or needing in a property. That will enable you to bring the most relevant information with you to the meeting.

Are your properties on the Internet, either on your own or a multiple-listing Web site? If so, you can also give that information to wheelchair-users who have Internet access. Be sure to keep the Web site address (URL) handy where your properties are posted, whether you’re in the office or in your vehicle.

If the wheelchair-user calls you from a location with a computer and Internet access, you might be able to walk him through the Internet to find your properties over the phone. That lets him know what’s out there, complete with pertinent information and photos.

Now don’t get me wrong … these alternatives aren’t necessarily the only ones that will work. I’m sure there are probably others, but this will get your creative juices flowing when the situation arises.

If you decide to renovate your business at some later date, you should look into making your building accessible at the same time, as the renovation may trigger that requirement under the law.

The ADA sets priorities for barrier removal. The four general priorities are to provide, in this order (1) a means of getting into your building that includes accessible parking and an accessible route from the parking area to the building’s accessible entrance, (2) access to your goods and services, which could mean access to any displays or computer terminals where the customer can find information about your properties, (3) access to a restroom, if you provide one for your customers, and (4) access to other elements in your building that your customers or clients may be allowed to use, such as public telephones, water fountains, etc.

Once you have identified the physical barriers in your building, develop a plan to eliminate them to make your facility accessible. If it’s not feasible to make all necessary changes at once, it’s acceptable to develop an implementation plan designed to achieve compliance with the ADA’s barrier removal requirements. As long as you have a plan with reasonable time frames and follow it, you’ll be able to show good intentions and progress to anyone who may ask about it.

To develop an implementation plan, start by asking any disability groups in your community for their expertise. They may very well have suggestions to help you save money during this process.

I want to thank Sherry Diel for the chance to share this information with you, with the hope it’s been helpful. If you have any questions I can help you with, please let me know.

Randy Fisher
Employment and Training Liaison
Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns
1430 SW Topeka Blvd
Topeka KS 66612
Topeka #: (785) 296-1722
outside of Topeka: (800) 295-5232
e-mail: refisher@hr.state.ks.us