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DETROIT (WNBD) — A Detroit-based rental property management company is under fire this week after East Side residents noticed a curious new addition to their blocks: bright red helium balloons, neatly tied to the doorknobs of certain rental homes like grim party favors nobody asked for. According to tenants and neighbors, the balloons were not celebratory, seasonal, or part of an ill-advised clown-themed promotion. Instead, they allegedly marked homes where rent payments were delinquent—turning entire streets into what one resident called “a foreclosure parade without the foreclosure.”The company, Action First Investment Management which owns dozens of properties across several Detroit neighborhoods, reportedly controls long stretches of single blocks—sometimes five or six houses in a row. On those blocks, tenants say, the pattern became impossible to ignore. One morning a street might look normal; by afternoon, a handful of homes would be bobbing quietly in the wind, each red balloon gently announcing, This house is behind on rent. Residents on Bewick Street told local reporters that the balloons were placed during daytime business hours by maintenance crews, often in full view of neighbors, mail carriers, and passing school buses. “It felt like the Scarlet Letter, but with string,” said one tenant.Renters interviewed by the news described feelings ranging from embarrassment to outright panic. Parents said their children asked why their house had a balloon when others didn’t. Neighbors speculated openly about who was “in trouble.” One tenant on French Road claimed her neighbor knocked on the door with a plate of brownies and a sympathetic look, while another said people slowed down their cars to stare. “I don’t need a balloon to remind me I’m late,” said one renter. “I already have an email, a voicemail, a text message, and a voicemail explaining the text message.”In response to mounting criticism, the company AFIM released a brief statement saying the balloons were intended as a “non-confrontational visual reminder system” and were part of an internal pilot program designed to “improve communication efficiency.” The company insisted the balloons were not meant to shame tenants and described the color choice as “highly visible but emotionally neutral,” a claim that baffled color theorists everywhere. City housing advocates quickly called for the practice to stop, while one Detroit City Council member joked that if balloons were allowed, next would be sirens or smoke signals. As of press time, the balloons had reportedly been removed—but residents say they’re still looking over their shoulders, half-expecting the next phase to involve confetti cannons or skywriting.