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In pursuit of my hobby of photographing abandoned buildings, I drive through the parts of Cleveland recognized Nationally as the "epicenter of the foreclosure c

In pursuit of my hobby of photographing abandoned buildings, I drive through the parts of Cleveland recognized Nationally as the "epicenter of the foreclosure crisis." On almost every block in the ghetto is a home with part of the roof covered by a blue plastic tarp. The owner doesn't have the money to repair the roof (or doesn't believe doing so to be a good investment?). There is much other evidence of short-term choice rather than long-term economically optimal decision-making when it comes to property upkeep. Perhaps, if these homes were owned by professional landlords, repairs would be made.

alecco 18y ago
Funny, from personal experience landlords need to get pushed by tenants constantly to make repairs.
- neilk 18y ago
  They have an incentive to keep repair costs under control, not to avoid repairs entirely. But, that said, not everyone is economically rational. Some landlords do perceive fixing stuff just as an expense rather than a way to ensure repeat business. I'm either lucky or super picky because my landlords have usually been great about fixing stuff.
blackguardx 18y ago
So what areas strike you as the worst? East Cleveland? That area had big problems before the crisis started. For some reason, people seem to have given up on it long ago. Also, I am not sure that having a professional landlord would ensure timely repairs. I lived in a house in Cleveland Heights where the landlord's philosophy was to wait to make repairs until a problem ballooned out of control. Instead of fixing a slow washing machine drain pipe, he waited until it was completely clogged. At that point, doing laundry meant a flooded basement. My roommates and I had to go down there with buckets to bail it out until he had the problem fixed a month later. Every time we called him he would assure that someone was "stopping by next week." We also had cracks in our plaster walls that spread so much that the entire wall crumbled to bits. This happened in several places. His "handyman" came buy and did the worst repair job I have ever witnessed. It almost looked worse that the bare lath!
- ShabbyDoo 18y ago
  East Cleveland is definitely the worst, and I agree with you that it was deteriorating long before the days of easy credit. Perhaps the further decrease in property values makes it even less worthwhile to make repairs. I can imagine that a new roof might cost more than the neighbor's house with a 10 year-old roof! I too have heard horror stories of seemingly irrational landlords. One problem is that many people watched too much late-nite get-rich-quick TV and bought rental properties they themselves couldn't afford to keep up. Your experience in The Heights is surprising given that rents are relatively high there. One would think preserving a rental unit would be worthwhile.

alecco 18y ago

Funny, from personal experience landlords need to get pushed by tenants constantly to make repairs.

neilk 18y ago
They have an incentive to keep repair costs under control, not to avoid repairs entirely. But, that said, not everyone is economically rational. Some landlords do perceive fixing stuff just as an expense rather than a way to ensure repeat business. I'm either lucky or super picky because my landlords have usually been great about fixing stuff.

blackguardx 18y ago

So what areas strike you as the worst? East Cleveland? That area had big problems before the crisis started. For some reason, people seem to have given up on it long ago. Also, I am not sure that having a professional landlord would ensure timely repairs. I lived in a house in Cleveland Heights where the landlord's philosophy was to wait to make repairs until a problem ballooned out of control. Instead of fixing a slow washing machine drain pipe, he waited until it was completely clogged. At that point, doing laundry meant a flooded basement. My roommates and I had to go down there with buckets to bail it out until he had the problem fixed a month later. Every time we called him he would assure that someone was "stopping by next week." We also had cracks in our plaster walls that spread so much that the entire wall crumbled to bits. This happened in several places. His "handyman" came buy and did the worst repair job I have ever witnessed. It almost looked worse that the bare lath!

ShabbyDoo 18y ago
East Cleveland is definitely the worst, and I agree with you that it was deteriorating long before the days of easy credit. Perhaps the further decrease in property values makes it even less worthwhile to make repairs. I can imagine that a new roof might cost more than the neighbor's house with a 10 year-old roof! I too have heard horror stories of seemingly irrational landlords. One problem is that many people watched too much late-nite get-rich-quick TV and bought rental properties they themselves couldn't afford to keep up. Your experience in The Heights is surprising given that rents are relatively high there. One would think preserving a rental unit would be worthwhile.