1. Caring for Clients
with Special Needs
By Michelle Hofmann
N
ew Jersey real estate practitioners say serving the needs of clients with
disabilities requires awareness, finesse, patience, creativity, endurance,
and compassion. The payoff? A feel-good story like no other.
Like many experienced real estate professionals, Cora Parker has a few
standard questions she asks new clients. Where would you like to live?
Number of bedrooms? School district? But Parker, a sales associate with
Keller Williams Realty in Medford, has a unique query fueled by personal
experience: Are there any medical conditions you would like to tell me
about?
Parker, a critical care and trauma nurse for 27 years before moving into
real estate in 2001, is often surprised by the answers.
“Many times, the client will say, ‘Well, I’ve just been diagnosed with MS,’
or ‘I’ve just been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease,’ or ‘I have two
children that have cerebral palsy and will be in my care for life,’” she
explains.
Whether she’s finding a school district that excels in programs for children
with autism, making sure a home has access for an ambulance or
occupational therapy transportation, or checking proximity to adult-care
facilities for people caring for aging parents, Parker says when it comes to
helping clients with special needs, the open dialogue needs to start early.
The client may be going from cane-bound to walker-bound to wheelchair-
bound to bed-bound. Agents need to adopt some practices of a little
deeper qualification and assessment for clients — particularly with military
personnel coming back with loss of limbs and post-traumatic stress disorder,
as well as the rise in multigenerational living, where families are uniting
together and need a floor plan, a location, and a home that meets
everyone’s needs.
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2. “It’s not just a house on a lot. It’s a home that has to provide
an atmosphere for what I call ADL — activities of daily
living,” she adds.
Daily activities come with challenges for many New
Jersey buyers and sellers. According to the U.S. Census
Bureau, 929,477 residents, more than 10 percent of the
state’s population, were living with a disability (a physical,
emotional, mental, or motor condition that can impact a
person’s ability to go outside alone or work) in 2014.
Parker, who closed about $3.5 million in annual gross
sales and works with about five disabled clients a year,
is one of a growing number of Realtors® adapting her
practice for buyers and sellers with special needs.
Looking to work the niche? Be patient, open-minded,
and plan ahead. If you know your client is on a diuretic
medication, plot your route before heading out to show
them five houses. Know where you can stop for bathroom
breaks.
“It’s such a unique field. I’ve always had the tagline that I
welcome medically and physically challenged individuals.
I like to think of myself as having an understanding of
where they are coming from,” Parker says. “But it’s just
being considerate and having compassion.”
Compassion is great, but when the big world of residential
housing is measured against the backdrop of the 25th
anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,
it seems the industry could raise the bar to meet rising
demand for information on accessibility features like single-
story floor plans, walk-in showers, and other features.
In particular, a 2015 Century 21 Real Estate study of 503
active homebuyers with disabilities found that 83 percent
of respondents felt they would benefit from having a
practitioner trained and knowledgeable about accessible
housing. One in five said lack of access to adequately
trained real estate professionals posed a challenge in their
housing search. And more than half (54 percent) gave the
average real estate professional a grade of “C” or lower
when asked about the individual’s knowledge of special
needs housing.
Change is coming. Century 21 is using its data to develop
a Special Agent Learning Program to provide information,
learning resources, and tools about accessible housing to
agents and brokers.
Real estate firms are not the only group identifying the
demand for broader insight on special needs housing.
While disabled buyers often adapt older homes to
improve function, the practice can be costly. Carol
Harnett, president of the Council for Disability Awareness,
says architects and municipalities are embracing universal
design principles, the idea that a building or product is
usable by al people — with and without disabilities. And
homebuilders are offering easy access features, such as
center and open floor plans, great rooms, and connected
spaces in new homes.
With the exception of rental offices and common-use
spaces at housing developments, the ADA does not apply
to most residential housing. But KB Home’s Simple Living
options include lowered countertops, workspaces and
light switches; slip-resistant flooring and non-slip shower
tiles; pullout shelving; touchless faucets, easy-grip hand
showers, lever door handles; and whole-home intercom
systems.
Craig LeMessurier, KB’s director of corporate
communications, says the program is intended to make
homeowners’ lives easier, safer, and less stressful.
“Young families could design a home to function better
for young children by lowering the height of countertops.
Additionally, wounded military veterans, retirees, or those
with physical limitations could benefit from universal
design features in order to function independently at
home,” LeMessurier adds.
Successful Special Needs Stories
Alfred Brenner, a sales associate for Century 21 Action
Plus Realty in Jackson, says the real estate industry
needs to educate itself about the needs of clients with
disabilities. His desire to raise awareness of special
needs and disabilities in real estate is born from personal
experience while shopping for a New Egypt home with his
wife in 2012.
NEW JERSEY REALTOR® | APRIL 2016

3. The experience got his attention. “I went from being the
guy who was injured and had a disability and had to find a
home to becoming a real estate agent. So I got to see all
areas of the real estate process. And now I am the person
who is helping people buy and sell homes,” Brenner says.
“I got involved in this because I am passionate about
helping people with disabilities. And I want to address
some of the problems and work to create solutions. I
didn’t get into this industry for the money. I got into this
to try make a positive change.”
Retired Sgt. Alfred Brenner (left) met Col. David
Sutherland, Easter Seals Dixon Center founder at the
Century 21 Global Conference in Washington, D.C.
Before moving to his wife’s hometown, Brenner, a retired
U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant, spent two years recovering
from injuries sustained in an explosion in Afghanistan in
2010. The improvised explosive device mangled Brenner’s
arms and legs, requiring the amputation of part of his
left hand and resulted in severe burns, shrapnel wounds,
and several fractures. Brenner, a military dog handler,
survived the IED, but Grief, Brenner’s four-year-old German
shepherd mix military dog, died in the blast.
It’s been a long journey home. Today, Brenner says he is
doing well. “I am beyond blessed and fortunate,” he says.
Though grateful, he admits that shopping for a home
as a disabled buyer was challenging.
From viewing homes with unsuitable layouts to initially
being denied a mortgage, Brenner says the roadblocks
were immense. “It was really frustrating,” he recalls.
Even with good credit, a medical retirement pension,
Social Security disability, and special combat
compensation for being injured overseas, Brenner
couldn’t qualify for a traditional bank loan and ended
up securing a 30-year mortgage through a private
lender. The couple, who married in 2009, closed
on their New Egypt home in spring 2013.
12 | NEW JERSEY REALTOR® | APRIL 2016
Even with firms like Century 21 looking to educate
practitioners about buyers and sellers with special
needs, Brenner says the industry needs to do more.
Retired Sgt. Brenner
and his wife, Megan.
moved to New Egypt
in 2012.
Whether it’s finding a real estate agent who can present
a home that is ADA accessible in a positive way or
broadening search definitions and terms in the MLS,
Brenner says the industry has the opportunity to support
and engage an underserved niche and make a difference.
“Agents need to be proactive and sensitive. If you show
a disabled buyer a house with a flight of stairs when you
know they have a problem with their knees that person

4. “Chiquita was sensitive to my brother’s needs. My
message to other agents is be prepared to deal with
the multitude of stumbling blocks. Be familiar with
possible challenges [like Veterans Affairs regulations
and requirements]. It takes a special person to handle
these transactions. But the real estate agent can make
a huge difference. Chiquita made a difference because
she didn’t give up,” Lane Peoples says.
Pittman specializes in helping veterans, closes about
35 transactions annually, and is beginning to see more
special needs clients. “That has changed since I started
in the business 25 years ago,” she says.
Monica Lane Peoples and her brother Darius Lane looked
at more than 30 houses before they found a suitable New
Brunswick residence that fulfilled all their needs.
is going to think you’re not paying attention to certain
things. So it starts with education,” he says.
“We have to work on educating the agents on terms to
use in the MLS and how to properly show a place and help
these clients, talk to them, empower them, and focus
on the client’s strengths, not their weaknesses,” he adds.
Monica Lane Peoples works in the mortgage industry and
has bought and sold several homes over the years. Still,
like Brenner, she says finding a home for her disabled
family members was overwhelming. “It was a grueling
process, and so much so that I was like, ‘We’re never
moving again,’” Lane Peoples says.
In shopping for a larger home, Lane Peoples, a mother
of three college-age children and the caregiver for
her partially paralyzed brother and their 82-year-old
mother, turned to New Brunswick RE/MAX Platinum
sales associate Chiquita Pittman when trying to sell her
brother’s Columbus home and find a property that would
accommodate the family’s need to live under one roof.
Pittman and Lane Peoples looked at more than 30 properties
before finding a 5,000-square-foot, six-bedroom home in
New Brunswick. Lane Peoples says her real estate agent
was the actual star of the story.
Serving the niche requires tact and knowledge. “It’s
important to make sure the MLS information is updated
when it comes to special needs housing. It’s important
to find the right agent and properly prepare the buyer, so
there are no surprises. You have to handle these situations
with sensitivity and be patient and kind,” she adds.
Sure, the days can be long, but Realtors® insist the
rewards are worth the effort.
“It’s the same feeling as I had when I was nursing,”
Parker says. “There’s no better feeling than being able
to take care of someone else successfully. I’m caring
for people in a different arena.”
Pittman knows the work extends beyond the sale as
well. “The biggest joy I get is to be able to hand the
keys over to the buyer on closing day and make their
dreams come true. Monica cried when I handed her
the keys because she was so happy that we were able
to get the deal done. We were able to sell her brother’s
house. She was able to get the house for the family
and move on with her life too,” Pittman says. “To me,
stuff like that is priceless.” n
Michelle Hofmann is a Los Angeles-based
freelance reporter who loves all things
real estate. Connect on Twitter
@realestatewritr, LinkedIn, or
michellehofmann@earthlink.net.
NEW JERSEY REALTOR®| APRIL 2016| 13