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Posted on 07/11/2025 11:30:08 AM PDT by Impala64ssa
A billboard that reads “Yes! I Buy Crack Houses,” put up by what appears to be an out-of-state investor, is drawing sharp criticism across Cleveland.
After backlash from community members and city officials, that particular sign has been taken down. But others like it remain in place.
Local real estate investors Avery and Tania Mullins said the signs go too far.
“To me? It just wasn’t funny,” said Avery Mullins.
“What was your point? I didn’t understand,” Tania Mullins added.
The Mullins, both born and raised in Cleveland, have seen these billboards pop up across the city with slogans ranging from “Yes! I Buy Crack Houses” to “Your House is Trash? I’ll Pay Cash.”
The ads come from John Williams, a self-proclaimed investor from out of state who has launched a high-visibility campaign across the Greater Cleveland Area.
While the messaging may be intended to stand out, the Mullins said it’s deeply disrespectful, especially in communities that have long fought against disinvestment.
“I remember when crack first hit,” Avery Mullins said. “I remember what it did to my neighborhood.”
“You can’t do this in a demoralizing way,” Tania Mullins said. “You have to approach this with empathy and heart.”
The signs have also drawn the attention of Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin, who posted a video in front of the now-empty billboard where the “crack house” message once stood.
“We need to deal with them appropriately. We need to boycott them, not support them,” said Griffin.
Griffin said the city is now looking into how the ads were approved and what recourse, if any, is available.
He also estimated that as many as six of the billboards may still be up across the city.
“I wish all the signs could come down,” he said. “But we do know people are going to rely on First Amendment rights.”
As for the community, investors like Tania and Avery Mullins said they’ll keep working to restore neighborhoods with care and compassion.
“Never do we put the neighborhood down,” Tania Mullins said. “Like, ‘oh, this is a crack house right here.’ These are people who work hard every day.”
As of now, Williams, the man whose face appears on the billboards, has not responded to requests for comment.
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New, kinder message: “I will buy your house and you can smoke crack while renting it back from me!”
Personally, being a resident of that area and having seen the billboards personally (right along the drive on 480...), I figure it is better for someone to spend money on crap houses because at least they not just going to let them sit there and fester indefinitely. They'll actually do something with the property.
It’s Cleveland. Try this in Chicago or Detroit. Put one next to Obama’s house. That would be funny.
Seems like Mullins and Griffin are in denial. Seems like they would want someone to buy those houses and build up something more respectable.
Objectively, are there a lot of crack houses there?
If so, maybe the Billboards aren’t the problem.
Not that long age in Chicago some crack houses were going for $25.00 haven’t kept track to the it of late but not much changes in Chicago it’s like Los Angeles it keeps getting worse.
The whole point of being a slumlord is to put as little into the property as possible while getting the most out of it as possible. The tenants are likely to trash the place anyway, so there's no point in trying to keep it up.
Or a dreaded “land bank” could move in and buy up all the “deferred maintenance” properties for an obscene amount, then tear them all down.
The ‘I buy Crack Houses’-there is no sign like that in the news report. Like the fella on the billboard this couple are ‘investors’. Sounds like fake news.
My grandfather rented out a house in Cleveland in the 70s. After he died, it fell into disrepair. My grandmother allowed the renters to stay if they did basic maintenance. When they moved, the house was sold for under 20K. It was resold with no visible improvement for over 85K. All it is is money laundering…
Yes and this market is BOOMING. Since the Scamdemic, the average tenant no longer bothers to attain a credit score over 600, steady employment etc., thinking the government will bail them out or the courts will take their side when they stop paying rent. These applicants want the Taj Mahal to destroy but want rent to be free as well.
I’ve had a vacant unit (beautifully rehabbed) since March with no real prospects in sight. Just a bunch of young people who believe in free rent and large menageries under the guise of “Emotional Support Animals.”
Truth is hate to people who hate truth.
City of Light
City of Magic
Well, the old model was to rent to a legal Hispanic, and he would sublet rooms to his illegal relatives and friends. Split the rent on a 3 bedroom house 12 ways, and the rent becomes affordable.
No, it's a real sign. Or at least it was - haven't been down that highway for a few days. But that is exactly what it said.
It’s a bad sign (no pun intended) when a culture loses its sense of humor.
You’re correct. It’s just a funny way of saying that you buy distressed properties.
Insightful - it’s unlikely the denizens living in run down ‘crack houses’ actually own them - so this gives the owners a way out. They can sell at a loss, but at least they CAN sell. Also if this guy buys enough of the eyesores and fixes them up other homes in the area will become worth more.
We have basically low income, gov’t subsidized whites, blacks and puerto ricans.
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