Zombie Homes Haunt Cleveland's Suburbs A Decade After Housing Market Collapse
In some Cleveland suburbs, thousands of homes are vacant, abandoned and crumbling — many of them considered "zombie homes."
Driving through Cleveland’s suburbs, it’s hard to tell that it’s been a decade since the nationwide housing collapse.
Some call it Ohio’s “post-housing crisis hangover,” but to those who live in and advocate for these neighborhoods, it’s an uphill struggle.
Thousands of homes are vacant, abandoned and crumbling where owners are evicted, but not informed by the bank that their names remain on the title. That means no one maintains or lives in these “zombie homes,” sometimes for years, and no one claims responsibility.
Cleveland City Councilman Michael Polensek doesn’t have to walk far from his office at the Greater Collinwood Development Corporation to show the impact of
