BREAKING: Detroit has asked the judge in its lawsuit against RealT to appoint a receiver to manage its large portfolio. The request could be decided on as soon as this Friday. If approved, the receiver could undertake repairs and demolitions at RealT’s expense. 👀 @amondry.bsky.social's latest:

BREAKING: Detroit has asked a judge to appoint a receiver to oversee RealT's large and troubled portfolio -- a potentially major development in the nuisance abatement lawsuit against the crypto landlord. outliermedia.org/realt-detroi...

“Each individual apartment building is historically, architecturally significant in its own way… But the district as a whole also benefits from the density and the continuity of the neighborhood.”  outliermedia.org/palmer-park-... By @outliermedia.org’s @amondry.bsky.social

Arizona-based Urban Communities began buying multifamily buildings in the neighborhood near Detroit’s northern border in 2020. Today, all 21 of the buildings are either in receivership, foreclosed or highly distressed. Many are in dire physical condition.

IMO, Palmer Park could be one of the best and trendiest neighborhoods in the ENTIRE Midwest if redeveloped properly. The city needs to do everything possible to promote the proper development of the district. There's nothing else like it in Metro Detroit. Detroit needs density. PALMER PARK HAS IT!!!

Starting in 2020, an Arizona-based company bought 21 Palmer Park apartment buildings. Today, they're all foreclosed, highly distressed and unable to sell at rock-bottom prices. Huge blow to the historic neighborhood. outliermedia.org/palmer-park-...

Hundreds of Detroiters are waiting to get money Wayne County owed them after foreclosing on their homes. But the treasurer's office is dragging its feet and seemingly making it as difficult as possible. outliermedia.org/sheila-gibso...

Detroit is now using AI "voice agents" (aka bots) to answer calls sent to district managers. And they apparently also have "emotional intelligence." outliermedia.org/detroit-ai-c...

Detroit needs more housing to keep up with the number of people moving here. City leaders think zoning changes could help. Some residents and community groups say the proposals raise red flags. Here’s what’s in the proposed changes. outliermedia.org/detroit-zoni...

Curious about all the zoning changes being proposed in Detroit? So are lots of residents, community groups and even city councilmembers! Here's our explainer of what's in all the proposals: outliermedia.org/detroit-zoni...

Excuse me what? michiganadvance.com/2025/12/15/d...

Michigan officials insist 2019 auto no-fault law lowered car insurance rates. It didn’t. "When you have to make adjustments based on assumptions to prove your points, you might not have a good point." outliermedia.org/no-fault-mic...

I love this at the bottom of @kobylevin.bsky.social story. Such a great bit of transparency to help develop trust in the reporter's work.

The presentation, project boards & livestream from MDOT's I-375 November community meeting are now online. Rendering shows the boulevard replacing the freeway with the I-75 interchange remaining as is for now. 375detroit.org/november-202...

Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪

This is a big deal. Practically every developer in Detroit has told me it's essentially impossible to make a project pencil out without subsidies. www.freep.com/story/news/p...

This line about reductions in Detroit's water affordability plan really hit home: “My health insurance premiums are doubling, and all the copays are quadrupling, and nothing goes down.” outliermedia.org/dwsd-lifelin...

“I’ve served my county honorably,” says veteran Joseph Adams Jr. But the apartment he was placed in by a program designed for housing veterans isn’t suitable for his needs. He’s spent nearly a year bathing from a bucket. What’s worse, his support is ending, and he may be on the street again soon.

The Detroit Land Bank is entering a make-or-break moment, with questions swirling about its future swirl. It also just published a five-year strategic plan that doubles as a pitch for its continued existence. Will the plan be enough to save it? outliermedia.org/detroit-land...

Despite the Air Force vet’s service, housing support officials say they’ve done all they can do to help Joseph Adams Jr., who was placed in an apartment that didn't meet his needs as a disabled person. And now he might even lose that. outliermedia.org/miside-veter...

SNAP funding is on pause. That means thousands of Detroit families who rely on the food assistance program will face a challenging November. Do you need food resources? Here’s how Detroiters are showing up for each other:

This community nonprofit has staked everything on stalling a $180M redevelopment of the Villages at Parkside. outliermedia.org/friends-of-p...

For nearly 35 years, Friends of Parkside has provided services to Villages at Parkside residents, like a free food pantry and a weekly bingo night.  But a conflict with the Detroit Housing Commission over a major redevelopment of the complex could spell doom. The latest from @amondry.bsky.social :

I really want someone to put together a map of Detroit's Art Deco apartment buildings. There's gotta be a couple dozen of these beauties across town.

Several big takeaways from a recent hearing in the city's lawsuit against RealT: - Tenants risk eviction if they don't get on escrow accounts soon - RealT has a $2M unpaid water bill - The parties reached a settlement over a previously unreported lawsuit outliermedia.org/realt-tenant...

What you see when you go to HUD's website.

First the county took people's homes. Now it declines to provide them the most basic assistance to receive a tiny portion of the equity they're entitled to. outliermedia.org/wayne-county...

"There have been just 1,100 housing units built this year, according to a city database — far short of the 2,700 units needed to keep up with population growth, according to a City Planning Commission report. Just 44 of the units built this year were unsubsidized. In 2024, that number was 598."

I spoke to a bunch of developers for this story and they all told me the same thing: The Detroit rental market is in trouble. We've already seen a bunch of bank foreclosures in the last year, and they say we're likely to see a lot more. outliermedia.org/detroit-rent...

A truck route ordinance in Detroit has stalled for years. Meanwhile, 18-wheelers rumble past parks and schools. outliermedia.org/truck-traffi...

Eventually you have to accept that no matter how many different notebooks you buy, they won’t make you a better writer. For that, you need to spend a lot of money on the right pen.

Earlier this year, crypto real estate company RealT got more than $100,000 in digital tokens for a home on Detroit’s eastside. Now, somebody else is selling it. It’s one of five cases where properties RealT “sold” to investors were subsequently listed on the traditional real estate market.

Latest article on RealT dropped this morning. The company pitches investors on real estate ownership on chain. But other companies are currently marketing these properties and mortgages encumber some of the worst buildings in its portfolio. outliermedia.org/realt-detroi...

The judge in the city's case against RealT has issued a preliminary injunction extending the previous order for another 60 days, saying the company still cannot evict tenants or collect rent. The next hearing is currently scheduled for October.

I spent many months reporting on the numerous issues at the Detroit Housing Commission in 2023-2024. When Arthur Jemison took over as director, the agency was in crisis. But in less than a year, the DHC has already made notable progress. outliermedia.org/detroit-hous...

Didn’t want to believe this was true. It’s true.

Wayne County, why is there no discount?!?!

Detroit will have its first Black mayor in more than a decade. Former City Council President Mary Sheffield and pastor Solomon Kinloch will face off in the general election Nov. 4. Here’s what you should know about their stances on housing, safety and more: outliermedia.org/mary-sheffie...

Two children were injured in a drive-by shooting on Arcola Street this week. The home was tokenized by RealT in 2023. Neighbors say the family were squatting in the home at the time of the shooting. www.detroitnews.com/story/news/l...

Quality chart title

Outlier has put out an amazingly comprehensive voter guide for the primary in Detroit that answers a ton of commonly asked questions. Check it out!

Hey Detroit — got questions about the primary election on Aug. 5? Who’s running for what? Where can I vote early? Can I still get an absentee ballot? Our easy-to-use, nonpartisan voter guide has you covered: outliermedia.org/democracy/

Gonna sound like sponcon (for myself, I guess) but this was one of the reasons I bought the Semafor pitch when they hired me. We split up the News and the Takes pieces of stories. I was sick of the "lemme sneak this take into the hard news and quote someone I agree with first" stuff.

The court was set to hear arguments related to the TRO against RealT, but the judge said they'll stick to the Aug. 5 date. She sounded extremely annoyed with RealT attorneys. "You can mess with me, but not my staff," about trying to get the hearing date changed.

I'm one of six people who care, but the Detroit Housing Commission posted a full packet + agenda ahead of its board meeting last week. Good job! s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

RealT a sent message to investors the day the city got a temporary restraining order against the company. It said, among other things, it had renovated the ground-floor of 16730 Woodingham and were now asking $1,200. It's near my office so I checked it out. Um...

NEW: The City of Detroit has won an early victory in its lawsuit against RealT. Michigan’s 3rd Circuit Court granted a temporary restraining order preventing RealT from evicting tenants or collecting rent on 408 properties until the company gets them into compliance. From @amondry.bsky.social:

A federal judge has issued a Temporary Restraining Order against RealT, one of the largest tokenised real estate platforms. The company has frozen payments to investors, stating that the situation should return to normal.

Fact: Eighteen of the 25 ZIP codes in Southeast Michigan with the most expensive home insurance premiums were in Detroit as of 2022. That means Detroiters are paying far more for homeowners insurance than those in the suburbs, a policy some experts describe as modern-day redlining.