RealT sold digital tokens representing interests in LLCs that owned rental homes. The tokens divided an investment; they did not make the houses virtual or remove the need to repair them, collect rent responsibly, and meet local housing rules. WIRED’s March 2026 investigation described the gap between that model and conditions reported by Detroit tenants, while later reporting documented court intervention, an outside fiduciary agreement, and RealT’s announced plan to sell its Detroit portfolio. The sale was announced, not confirmed as completed.
What RealT sold—and what it did not
RealT, also known as RealToken, was founded by Canadian brothers Rémy and Jean-Marc Jacobson. Its pitch was that people could buy low-cost tokens representing interests in LLCs holding rental properties, then receive a share of rental income and possible property appreciation. WIRED reported that RealT began tokenizing Detroit properties in 2019, with an initial price of about $50 per token.
A token was not a substitute for the house, its tenants, or the work of operating it. The underlying property still needed maintenance, management, and compliance with local housing requirements. Nor does the reported model by itself establish that token holders had the same rights, control, or liquidity as owners of a deed or investors in a conventional REIT. WIRED’s feature described the REIT comparison as context for the founders’ idea; current RealT product terms were not established in the reporting summarized here.
How large RealT became in Detroit
WIRED reported in 2026 that RealT’s portfolio included approximately 500 buildings in Detroit and around 200 properties in more than 40 other cities across the Americas. The same report put the combined portfolio’s estimated value at roughly $150 million and said the company had at least 16,000 token buyers from 150 countries. These are figures reported by WIRED, not independently verified totals or a formal property survey.
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The first reported Detroit property was 9943 Marlowe, tokenized in 2019. As the portfolio grew, the people living in the houses remained exposed to the ordinary consequences of property ownership: a leaking basement, needed repairs, or a missed inspection are physical problems, regardless of how an investment is divided digitally.
What tenants and Detroit said was wrong
Tenant accounts and reported conditions
WIRED’s March 17, 2026 investigation described tenants’ accounts of deteriorating or unsafe conditions. Cornell Dorris, a RealT tenant, told WIRED of water entering his basement: “Anytime it rains, the water comes down.” The account is a tenant’s quoted description, not a finding about every RealT property.
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WIRED also reported that Detroit’s 2025 lawsuit alleged broad nuisance and regulatory violations. As WIRED described the city’s claim, 408 properties lacked certificates of compliance. That number was an allegation in the lawsuit, not a final court finding that all 408 properties were in violation.
The city’s court action
Detroit sought court intervention. In July 2025, the city said it had obtained a temporary restraining order affecting rent collection and evictions at properties covered by the case, with rent held in escrow for tenants’ protection. WIRED later reported that the order was modified. The city’s account of the order and the allegations in its lawsuit should not be confused with a final judgment on every property or claim.
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WIRED reported that a trial was set to begin in May 2026. The later reports summarized here do not establish the outcome or final disposition of the main nuisance lawsuit.
What RealT and the people it blamed said
The Jacobsons disputed aspects of the city’s allegations and attributed operational failures to third-party property professionals. WIRED reported disputes involving a former contractor; that contractor disputed RealT’s allegations against him. These competing accounts do not, on their own, establish who was responsible for each condition or failure.
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The distinctions matter: a tenant’s account describes an experience; a city lawsuit states allegations; a court order imposes a legal measure; and a party’s response is a defense or explanation. The reporting does not support treating every accusation as proven, or treating the existence of tokens as proof that tenants’ conditions were addressed.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Repairs and compliance efforts reported by WIRED
WIRED reported an estimate from New Detroit Property Management vice president Salvatore Palazzolo that around 40 houses had been renovated. It also said a recent court filing cited 28 compliance certificates for properties named in the city lawsuit. Those figures describe different reported measures—an estimate of renovations and certificates cited in a filing—and do not establish that all affected homes were repaired or compliant.
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What changed after the investigation
April 2026: an outside fiduciary
On April 29, 2026, Outlier Media reported that an agreement placed roughly 700 Detroit properties under an outside fiduciary. The agreement set a target of bringing about 210 properties into compliance by October 2027. These were reported terms and goals, not proof that the work had already been completed. Detroit Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett described the hoped-for tenant impact to Outlier: “At the end of the day, this is going to result in a pretty significant improvement in the quality of life of the tenants.”
July 2026: a sale and liquidation plan
Outlier Media reported on July 16, 2026, that RealT planned to sell more than 700 Detroit properties. The report attributed the announcement to co-founder Jean-Marc Jacobson’s July 2 investor call, where he said, “We are entering voluntary liquidation,” and, “We are going to sell every asset, all of them.” An announced plan is not a completed sale. The reporting summarized here does not establish that the portfolio was sold, that liquidation was complete, or what happened to the main nuisance lawsuit after the trial date WIRED had reported.
What the RealT story shows about tokenized property
Tokenization can divide an investment into smaller digital units, but it does not divide away the responsibilities attached to the property. Whoever controls day-to-day management, rent, maintenance spending, and compliance still affects the lives of tenants. Investors, meanwhile, should not infer governance rights, easy resale, or direct control over repairs from the word “token” alone; those details depend on the actual legal and product terms.
In RealT’s Detroit case, the central tension was not simply crypto versus conventional real estate. It was the distance between a global, digitally divided investment and occupied homes subject to local oversight. The reporting documents serious tenant accounts and city allegations, responses from the company and a contractor, court-ordered protections, and later remediation and sale plans. It does not establish that every disputed claim was proven, that every property was fixed, or that the announced sale was completed.
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