Aaron Mondry

Detroit

Senior reporter with @media_outlier | Subscribe to my weekly newsletter on housing and real estate in Detroit. https://t.co/IjpETZ6caA

Articles

Detroit dropped slumlord lawsuits against notorious speculators

1 week ago | outliermedia.org | Aaron Mondry

This story is part of The Speculators of Detroit, which looks at how bad actors have destabilized neighborhoods, left many residents without safe housing and cost the city hundreds of millions. Five years ago, the City of Detroit filed three high-profile lawsuits targeting some of Detroit’s most notorious slumlords and speculators: Salameh Jaser, Michael Kelly, and father-and-son duo Steve and Stephen Hagerman. City officials took a big swing.
RealT selling Detroit properties to crypto investors despite neglect

3 weeks ago | outliermedia.org | Aaron Mondry

This story is part of The Speculators of Detroit, which looks at how bad actors have destabilized neighborhoods, left many residents without safe housing and cost the city hundreds of millions. Earlier this year, the cryptocurrency-based real estate marketplace RealT was struggling to manage its vast portfolio in Detroit. The Florida company had racked up more than 1,000 blight tickets and owed the city more than $2 million in fines and unpaid taxes across hundreds of properties.
Outlier Media: Historian Dan Austin Reflects on Detroit, Career and Life With Cancer

Mar 4, 2025 | deadlinedetroit.com | Aaron Mondry

This story was originally published by Outlier Media, a nonprofit newsroom designed to center and respond to Detroiters’ needs. Dan Austin has spent the past six months doing what he does best — reflecting on the past. For nearly two decades, the Detroiter has lived and breathed the city’s history, steadily documenting its historic buildings, landmarks and famous figures.
Tenants’ unsettling encounters with Virginia Park landlord

Feb 27, 2025 | outliermedia.org | Aaron Mondry

Zoe only stayed one night in a home owned by Jeffrey Cowin. That’s all it took for her to know she needed to leave. In 2022, she moved to Detroit for her first job after law school and found what seemed like the perfect rental in Brush Park — a room in a beautiful, historic mansion with a close friend and two other women. Cowin seemed friendly — maybe too friendly. Cowin, 44, is tall and fit. Several former tenants described him as charismatic.
Historic Detroit writer not slowing down despite cancer

Feb 18, 2025 | outliermedia.org | Aaron Mondry

Dan Austin has spent the past six months doing what he does best — reflecting on the past. For nearly two decades, the Detroiter has lived and breathed the city’s history, steadily documenting its historic buildings, landmarks and famous figures. But lately, he’s also been thinking about his own history, making sure his work is preserved for the future. Last year, at 43, Austin was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer. But he’s not slowing down.
đźŹ˘ Meet the Detroiter cataloging the cityâ€™s historic architecture

Feb 18, 2025 | outliermedia.org | Aaron Mondry

Hey all, Have you ever visited Historic Detroit? Itâ€™s a treasure trove of information about the cityâ€™s historic buildings and landmarks that Iâ€™ve featured and used countless times myself. And best of all, itâ€™s free. This week, we wrote about the man behind it: Dan Austin. A former newsman, heâ€™s spent nearly two decades documenting the city through its architecture. Austin was diagnosed with cancer last year, but he hasnâ€™t slowed down. If anything, heâ€™s picked up the pace.
The real estate scheme gobbling up Detroit, one digital token at a time

Feb 7, 2025 | bridgedetroit.com | Aaron Mondry |Christine Ferretti

This article first appeared on Outlier Media and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. This story is part of The Speculators of Detroit, which looks at how bad actors have destabilized neighborhoods, left many residents without safe housing and cost the city hundreds of millions. One of the world’s largest cryptocurrency real estate marketplaces has bet big on Detroit.
The real estate scheme gobbling up Detroit, one digital token at a time

Feb 6, 2025 | wxyz.com | Aaron Mondry

This story was first published by Aaron Mondry of Outlier Media. WXYZ is a proud partner of Outlier. It is also part of The Speculators of Detroit, which looks at how bad actors have destabilized neighborhoods, left many residents without safe housing and cost the city hundreds of millions. Related: Dennis Kefallinos: Detroit’s most notorious speculatorRelated: What is property speculation — and who’s doing it in Detroit?
đź’¸ Crypto has landed in Detroit real estate

Feb 6, 2025 | outliermedia.org | Aaron Mondry

Hey all, Cryptocurrency has been a buzzy topic in recent years. The City of Detroit announced in November that it would start accepting cryptocurrency payments this year. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump sparked pre-inauguration controversy by launching their own crypto coins. Many people invest in crypto speculatively, betting that hype will drive up the value. But it also has real-world consequences, including as a speculative play in real estate.
The real estate scheme gobbling up Detroit, one digital token at a time

Feb 4, 2025 | outliermedia.org | Aaron Mondry

This story is part of The Speculators of Detroit, which looks at how bad actors have destabilized neighborhoods, left many residents without safe housing and cost the city hundreds of millions. One of the world’s largest cryptocurrency real estate marketplaces has bet big on Detroit. But the anything-goes ethos of crypto investing has created chaos for tenants in its properties and is at odds with Detroiters’ need for responsible landlords who know what they’re doing.