Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, has been hollowed out by the US subprime mortgage crisis, with abandoned homes, stripped plumbing, boarded windows, and overgrown yards now defining streets that were once populated neighborhoods.
Many residents left after local factory closures eliminated jobs, while others were evicted after falling behind on mortgage payments they could no longer afford. County treasurer Jim Rokakis blamed lender greed, saying borrowers received loans with no down payment and no income verification.
Sarah Evans, 60, is among the few remaining on her block. She has lived in her two-bedroom house for over 30 years but faces eviction after refinancing in 2003 without understanding that her interest rate would later rise sharply. She accumulated roughly $24,000 in unpaid bills before her bank began eviction proceedings.
Local commerce has also suffered. A cashier at a nearby supermarket said foot traffic had collapsed, with only 10 customers served in five hours on one recent shift.
Police staffing in the area has tripled since 2006, with officers dealing with squatters and drug activity in vacant properties. Neighbors describe acquaintances who vanished overnight without a word, leaving behind empty houses now owned by the banks that foreclosed on them.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in January 2008, in its own words.