Foreclosures Hit Cleveland Hard

"Since 2000, Cuyahoga County, which encompasses Cleveland, has recorded 80,000 foreclosures - the most per capita in the country. Nearly 19 percent of those foreclosures occurred last year, according to city statistics."

"The roots of Cleveland's ballooning foreclosure crisis took hold in the 1990s, according to county Treasurer Jim Rokakis. He says he began noticing an alarming increase in the number of home loans that had no visible means of support. Many borrowers were speculators who took advantage of offers touting no money down and cash back at closing."

"Often, a single speculator would buy up multiple homes, hoping to cash in at the close, Rokakis says. He cites one speculator who bought up at least five homes in Cleveland."

"'And until the bubble burst in sometime around October of 2006, it was a wondrous operation,' he says."