FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
What does it cost to make my home SAFERhome certified?
How much safer does your program make my home?
If you are building a new home the cost is minimal. A new 2,600 square foot home would only be an additional $1,100 of building cost to incorporate the whole program. To renovate it into an existing home it would cost over $100,000.
With 11% of all ambulance calls being related to falls in the home, and 90% of all accidents happening in the home, the improved ergonomic result should be significant. Falls and scalds are two of the leading causes of home injuries and hospitalizations among children and seniors that are preventable.
You say that your homes are worth more, what does that mean?
When you have a SAFERhome Certified property it has been measured and proven to meet a much higher building standard than the typical Canadian home. With the huge aging population change that is coming to our communities and 90% of the wealth in our country being in our seniors hands, it is reasonable to say that a SAFERhome will be much more in demand from consumers in the future.
My mother wants to come live with our family. I and the rest of the family would love for this to happen but our existing home is hard to get Mom into and she has problems independently using our bathrooms. What can we do to make this situation work for all of us?
- You have two options to create a integrated family environment:
- Renovate your exisitng home to the SAFERhome standards.
- Buy into a new development that is under construction or will soon be under construction. Make your interim agreement that the realtor writes includes the “Subject Clause” Subject to proof of SAFERhome Certification. That clause will guarantee the affordable delivery of the SAFERhome Standard in your new home.
Does my Architect or Builder already know how to do this SAFERhome program?
No. If you want a home built to a higher standard you need to be proactive and put the Architect and Builder in a position of having to deliver, and having a certification test to prove the end result. Our SAFERhome Certification Residential Builders Course is a great way to ensure your builder is qualified.
My sister is disabled and she had her house built accessible to accommodate her needs. When she sold her home recently she only received a fraction of the value that the other homes in the neighborhood have established. As a matter of fact the new owners offered a low price so that they could afford to renovate the home back to normal. Does SAFERhome work that way?
No. SAFERhome is about added value to all users and doesn’t allow any disabled terms to be used in association with the term SAFERhome. SAFERhome was developed for consumers to protect and improve their real estate values. SAFERhome Standards are incorporated at the framing stage making them virtually invisible in the home, you won't notice anything different other than a better sense of flow, functionality, and ease of use in the home.
