When a disabled U.S. Army veteran wants to return to Cleveland to live near his family, there aren’t a lot
of options for affordable, accessible housing—but Stan Barrow, moving here from Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, was determined.
“I went looking on the Cuyahoga Land Bank’s website and found the perfect place for me,” Barrow says.
What he found was a 3-bedroom, 1.5-bath home on East 68th Street, near Cedar Avenue on Cleveland’s east side for the super-reasonable price of $13,500—and it didn’t need much work. “I had to do some siding and make minor repairs on the inside—new carpeting, paint, and new floors in the kitchen and bathroom—and that’s it,” he says.
Barrow’s favorite part of his new house? “The basement,” he says, laughing. “I’m going to make it my man cave, a place to get away, with a TV and a pool table.”
He offered to share the good news about his new home because, he says, “I want people to know there are great opportunities out there with the Land Bank. If people have the resources, they can buy a property for a great price! They just need to be willing to do a little bit of work to make it happen.”