Her family’s getting out:

Our house has gone from being a little slice of our own heaven to hell in four years, and only part of it has to do with the scary article in the Times. A lot of it has to do with the state of our city as well.

The crime rate is going up. People are trying to move out and getting trapped by the fear of paying two mortgages at once (and that’s a very real possibility that could really crush a person’s/family’s financial well being), and Cleveland is looking less and less desirable. Just ask my other neighbor, who has had his house burglarized over five times (realistically I’d say around eight, but I’m not sure) by the same people, who have never even been brought in for questioning. The last time he was burglarized, the cops wouldn’t come out–serial burglary doesn’t rate as high when you’ve got drug dealing, gang shootings, domestic abuse cases, and everything else to deal with and not nearly enough officers to handle it all.

It’s more than I can cope with–and judging from the realty signs, more than a few of my neighbors agree. Cleveland was a wonderful place to live, but it’s going downhill and fixing it isn’t glamorous enough to get Frank Jackson or any of our city council members airtime. Taking on the banks, fixing the schools and public services is a hell of a lot harder than offering up a few soundbites, so I doubt most of our officials would be interested in the first place.

Quite honestly, after living here, all I want is a farm out in the boonies with a half mile between me and the closest neighbor. Cleveland, I’ll remember to visit you.

» Cleveland makes the big news — Distracted Mind

Stories and links from Carole to give you a sense of what it’s like out [t]here:

My last 12 months in real estate have been like a roller coaster: frustrating, sad, satisfying and busy year, all wrapped up in month-to-month cycles. I was aggravated at the media talk about housing bubbles and now declining prices. I got sad about the number of people contacting me, trying to get help with a home sale when their mortgage was not being met, and frustrated at how long they waited to get help…meaning, it was not possible for me to list their home and have them make enough money to save themselves. I was delighted to see so many young people and other first time home buyers saving money and coming in with an ethic of fiscal responsibility. It is what makes my chosen profession the best for me; never dull and different almost every day…

Cleveland Real Estate and News: Housing Trends: A Serious 2006 Federal Reserve Bank in Cleveland Study on Home Sales Trends

I came across this from CBS News in the course of my current work. Since I consider myself well read and didn’t know about this until recently, I thought I’d share in case anybody could benefit.

As Foreclosures Rise, More Sellers and Lenders Consider Short-Selling

A little-known alternative, once more commonly used in the real estate downturn of the early ’90s, is the “short sale,” which works like this: A homeowner falls behind on his or her mortgage payments, usually due to a job loss, rising debt payments, or both. Facing a situation in which the home value has fallen and cannot be sold for the amount of the mortgage owed, the homeowner works out a deal with the lender to sell the home for whatever the market will bear. If the amount of the sale is for less than the amount owed on the mortgage, the lender gets the proceeds and discharges the remaining debt. The homeowner will have to leave the house as soon as it is sold.

Short sales show up on a credit report as a “pre-foreclosure in redemption” status and can result in a credit score reduction of 100 points or less. After the sale, the mortgage may show up as “discharged.” People who successfully complete a short sale may also qualify for a mortgage at a reasonable interest rate in as little as 18 months. So, if buying a home is a future goal, then a short sale is the better option for many.

Be sure to click through for a thorough overview and video.

Dual Upside To Foreclosure Alternative, Ray Martin On How “Short Sales” Work; Says They Can Help Homeowners, Buyers Alike - CBS News - June 21, 2007

Wasn’t able to attend, but happy a blogger was able to share:

Jeff Kipp of Living in Cleveland hosted a lively panel discussion this morning at the Levin College of Urban Studies on marketing and improving Cleveland’s neighborhoods. It was the quality of the participants that enticed me although I admit, it was hard not to roll my eyes and say ‘oh lordy another attempt to market the City, what will they come up with THIS time.’

Luckily, they dispelled my worries early on by agreeing with Paul Volpe who said he is tired of videos that feature Tower City and the Cleveland Orchestra….and a bunch of ‘happy people’ who don’t really say what is important enough to out-of -towners to bring them here. I breathed a sigh of relief.

I’m going to put out what I thought were the highlights of the discussion…

Cleveland Real Estate and News: Cleveland News: Panel Discussion Today at Levin College on Marketing and Improving Our Neighborhoods

Had coffee this morning with Jamie. We spent some time talking about this, which I think is a fun idea. It’s a blank space that you can do with it what you want:

In the St. Clair Superior neighborhood there is a vacant lot ready for development. A new concept recently emerged through thought leadership by a few great people, including Keith and David at PURE. Build boxes. Simple, square boxes. Clean, edgy, customizable, inexpensive, industrial-vibe, Dwell Magazine-esque, and again - inexpensive. It is new construction, with new plumbing, new windows, new electrical, but you would get that old Cleveland warehouse feel. What if you could buy a basic box for $100,000? Two years later, you could bi-sect your space vertically by adding a second floor and stairs, or by adding walls for bedrooms…

Thoughts?

St. Clair Superior Neighborhood: Buy a Box

I know we’re experiencing this first hand in West Park.