Newbie here...Need your advice

[SPECS137]

My wife and i are living in an old rent controlled apartment where we have to take 45 steps to reach our walk up apartment.I am the only one working as my wife's company closed and she is semi-retired.She got hurt over a year ago with a tear on her meniscus(knee) and was unable to get any operation on that knee because we do not have an elevator in our building and since its an outpatient procedure she would have to go home right after the operation.So the problem was how is she going to go up and down the 45 steps? I surely could not carry her even if i wanted to. So she still did not have the operation.

This is where i foresee us both getting older and it would be harder for us to climb those stairs day in and day out. Now i am thinking of either renting in a building with an elevator which means my rent will more than double or should we just buy a condo and pay about the same or a little bit more than renting in a new place? There is no (If's and or buts) that we are getting older and are having a hard time going up and down these stairs as the days and months and years pass. Also down the road what if one of us needs to undergo a medical procedure and go home right away where are we going to go from the hospital if we could not even climb these stairs?

Should we just stay put as long as we can and hope and pray that these things don't happen to us(we have a lot of medical problems) or make our move now before rent and prices in our area really go up? There are 4 major mixed use high rise buildings 40 stories and up that they are planning to build in our area and one is already breaking ground and they are starting to build.From my research prices are just starting to go up in terms of rent and condo prices.

What is your advice? Thank you in advance.

[Retired To Win]

Health has to come first. And safety. So in your shoes I would realize that -- in the long run -- the one option that is not acceptable at all is to remain in that apartment while still having to climb those 45 steps. The next thing I would do is do some creative thinking that might (just might) point to an answer/solution that would allow me to remain in that apartment.

In the short run, I would determine just how long it would take your wife to recover from her knee operation -- and then think creatively about possible options that would allow her to live elsewhere while she is doing that recuperating.

Good luck.