All Boarded Up - How Cleveland is Dealing With Mass Foreclosure

Tony Brancatelli, a Cleveland City Councilman, yearns for signs that something like normal life still exists in his ward. Early one morning last fall, he called me from his cellphone. He sounded unusually excited. He had just visited two forlorn-looking vacant houses that had been foreclosed more than a year ago. They sat on the same lot, one in front of the other. Both had been frequented by squatters, and Brancatelli had passed by to see if they had been ... Full Story »

Posted by Leo Romero

See All Reviews »

To:


Separate email addresses with commas.
25 recipients max.

Note:

Review

Member_photo_thumb
4.3
by Walter Cox - Mar. 9, 2009

Quite a story, and a rather depressing one at that. My only criticism would be that one gets the impression Cleveland is an outright basket case, when in fact there are a number of bright spots. I suppose the housing wholesalers serve the same function as buzzards in the natural world, feeding off carrion and restoring health to the overall system. The article does an especially good job highlighting the irrationalities of the financial system as it interfaces with conditions on the ground during our current crisis..

(11 answers)

Walter's Rating

Overall
4.3

Good
from 11 answers
Quality
4.3
Facts
5.0
Fairness
5.0
Information
5.0
Sourcing
4.0
Style
4.0
Context
3.0
Depth
4.0
Enterprise
4.0
Popularity
4.5
Recommendation
5.0
Credibility
4.0
More How our ratings work »