In 2019, two Canadian brothers blew into Detroit with an irresistible pitch: For $50, almost anyone could become a property owner. When houses decayed and the city intervened, the blame games began.
The smell hit me first: damp brick, stagnant water, mold, and bleach. I was partway down a flight of wooden stairs that led to the basement of a 1920s duplex in east Detroit, Michigan. Leading the way was Cornell Dorris, a tenant in the building for ... [23645 chars]