The philosophy behind Mr. Mike’s Neighborhood was simple; to provide the services to our Neighbors that Sun Communities and your Park Management wouldn’t provide, to make our Neighbors feel like they weren’t merely looked at as just renters, but as valuable assets to our Community, to let our Neighbors know that even if they didn’t have anyone in their lives, that they had one person within the Community they could rely on, and finally, to create a Neighborhood experience that would make you feel like this was your HOME whether you were here for a year or a lifetime. I wanted to help your children increase their reading proficiency, and provide food to those families who needed it. I tried to feel comfortable with the idea that if I help even one, that was good. For me it wasn’t. I wanted to help 101. When one of my golf buddies read an article of all the things I did in one month for my Neighbors, one actually asked, “are you trying to create a cult?” I said no, I’m trying to build a Neighborhood.

I LOVED WRITING MY NEWSLETTERS

My newsletters were meant to inspire you, to provide valuable information that helps you in your daily lives, to make you feel like you were an integral part of a wonderful Community. I created a website so you’d have a portal to read my articles, to have access to tons of resources, to see pictures of your Neighbors gardens and holiday decorations. My Certificates of Appreciation for Property, Garden, Halloween, and Christmas were meant to let you know that the efforts you took pride in were not overlooked and that they made your Community more beautiful. When you came to me with a problem you had with Management, I tried to be an advocate on your behalf to see if we could get something accomplished for you. And I tried to do all of this while for two years Sun Communities and Park Management put so many roadblocks in my way, made my life so miserable and eventually sent their lawyers after me.

NO DONATIONS

I never asked for donations because I didn’t feel comfortable taking money from Neighbors who most of us are living month-to-month. So for two years, I’ve spent my own money. If you don’t believe this, just do the math. Every month mailing my newsletter to you costs me $220, which amounts to $2640 a year. Add to this the cost of the website, hosting fees, domain name fees, signage, business cards, brochures, free library, free food pantry, computer paper, ink and other incidentals, you can see that figure is not an exaggeration. I used the money I received for grass cutting to help with the costs. Several times I asked Sun for help but I wasn’t just denied, I was ignored. I went to the City of Warren’s Mayor to ask for help, but was also ignored So now, I’ve run out of my own money and just can’t afford to finance it any longer. And even if I wanted to ask for donations, Sun Communities would accuse me of “running a business in the park” “solicitation”, “resident annoyance” and “trespassing”. They loved sticking me with those terms never realizing what a mental and emotional effect it had on me. It was selective prosecution.

SINCE I CAN NOT LONGER AFFORD IT, I WILL NO LONGER BE MAILING MY NEWSLETTER.

YOU CAN READ IT ON THE WEBSITE, OR PICK UP A COPY ON THE POST IN FRONT OF MY HOME.

SO LET’S BEGIN MR. MIKE’S NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT CARD

FROM MY NEIGHBORS:

• I asked my Neighbors if they would help with expenses by having me cut their grass. SUCCESS

• I asked some of my Neighbors to write a positive testimonial on their experiences with Mr. Mike’s Neighborhood. Everyone said they would, no one did. FAILED

• I asked my Neighbors to text me their first name and cell phone number so I can better communicate with them. Out of 250 homes, only 2 Neighbors responded. FAILED

• I tried to organize our first Community Picnic. Out of 250 homes, only 26 said they’d attend. FAILED

• I asked my Neighbors to utilize my Porch Pirate Pickup Program in December so we didn’t invite criminals into our Communty to steal your packages. Though we had lots of packages, 1 request. FAILED

• I created the Free Children’s Library and Free Food Pantry. SUCCESS

• I asked my Neighbors to donate to the Free Childrens Library and Free Food Pantry. SUCCESS

• I write a Community Newsletter and provide a Website. SUCCESS

• We don’t help as many Neighbors as we’d like, but we still help a lot of them. SORTA SUCCESS

• We created the “Hey Neighbor” program to get our Neighbors to say Hi to any Neighbor they pass on the street. Though they do say Hi to us, I don’t think it has become a thing with Neighbors. FAILED

• We provided free toys, clothes and food to our families in need. SUCCESS

• Tried to convince my Community not to throw good clothes and toys in the trash. FAILED

FROM SUN COMMUNITIES AND PARK MANAGEMENT:

• I asked them to inform me of new Neighbors so we can provide them with a Welcome to Our Community plant. FAILED

• I asked Nicolette and Sun Communities if they’d communicate with me better. Sun never responds to my emails and Nicolette responds when they’re easy ones. FAILED

• I asked Sun Communities if they’d fix the potholes. For an entire year they didn’t, and now is putting money into fixing a playground that hardly anyone uses, instead of protecting the suspension on our vehicles. FAILED

• When Miss Linda and I would walk on Monday’s, as a courtesy to our Neighbors we would move your trash cans back to your homes. Sun Communities said I was trespassing, so we had to stop. FAILED

• When Miss Linda and I would walk on windy days and see a screen door that came unlatched because of the wind, I would go and close it. Sun Communities said I was trespassing and apparently would rather see the door damaged. So I had to stop. FAILED

• When I asked them if they would hire a street sweeper to clean our streets and curbs of gravel and glass, they said no by not responding. FAILED

• Sun Communities allowed us to keep the Library and Food Pantry. SUCCESS

• When I asked Sun Communities to paint the parking lines and numbers, which many are indistinguishable, they never responded. FAILED

• After Sun Communities shut down the Lafayette Place Neighborhood, they allowed me to create Mr. Mike’s Neighborhood. SUCCESS

• I tried to get Management to keep the Park clean and beautiful. FAILED

So, I think if we look at the Success and Failure rates I’ve had over the past two years, it doesn’t seem I have earned the trust and respect of the majority of my Neighbors, and of course have never had the respect of Sun Communities and Park Management. Sun Communities apparently knew their residents better then we knew our Neighbors since they were confident a Neighborhood Culture would never work here. So, for two years I set out to prove them wrong, but the majority of my Neighbors proved them right.

A Few Things to be Aware of to Protect Yourselves This Year

Since I won’t be able to communicate with you, and I assume most of you won’t be reading the newsletter, you might not get answers from Park Management that will satisfy you. So I wanted to leave you with a few things to be aware of:

- Requests for Service

If you have a concern, a complaint or a request for maintenance, never do it verbally, always use their Communication Form which you can download here. The reason being, if Park Management doesn’t fulfill the request and you complain to Sun Communities, they will respond with, “we don’t see any record that you even made a request,” calling you a liar and defending Management. So always fill out the form.

- Force Grass Cuts

If you let your grass get too high, either on a Thursday or Friday Management will tape a letter to your door stating if you don’t cut your grass by 8am Monday, they will cut if for you. Here’s where they’re comfortable deceiving you. What they don’t tell you in the letter is a $55 charge will be added to your rent as a penalty. I’ve complained to Joel Shekell, our Regional Vice President several times about this deception, but Joel and Nicolette refused to add it to the letter so you are well-informed. I wonder why?

- No Communication from Management

If you’ll notice, we never get any communication from Nicolette, except if she finds a lost cat or dog. There is a reason for this. Sun Communities is not a People Company, they’re a Rent Collection Company. That’s all they’re concerned with. They don’t want to proactively provide their residents information because it may make you feel like they want to help you, which they don’t. Sun Communities trains their managers that, “if you help one, then you have to help them all.” So it’s better for Management not to help anyone. If you should ask for help, they are then trained to say, “that’s your responsibility.” To justify it they’ll say, “it’s in your lease” where they make the print so small to read, and they actually expect you to remember everything that’s in there.

Their philosophy against communication is the reason you’ll experience the office not answering your phone calls and closing the office whenever they want. Catering to their residents is not part of their management formula.

- Leaf Bags

Nicolette won’t tell you this, but the Trash Service will not pick up leaf bags because they look at it as Compost which they fear will catch fire in their truck. So you need to put them in a contractor bag. Because they refuse to inform you, Miss Linda has given contractor bags to Neighbors when she sees that the bags weren’t picked up. Nicolette could have called this Neighbor to let him know, but that would be just too much effort.

- Disabled Vehicles

If your vehicle is disabled for too long, Nicolette will either put a sticker on your car or a letter on your door. If you can’t or don’t comply by the date scheduled, she will just call the tow company without informing you any further. Not a visit, not a phone call, nothing.

- Entering or Leaving Our Community

If you are buying or leasing a home, make sure you take pictures of every room, noting anything that needs repair or replacement during the walk through. Have it noted on the form and signed by Management. If you don’t, they will likely not take care of it by not noticing it during the walk through, which will make you feel like you destroyed it after you moved in. Make sure they state how long it will take to fix it and hold them to it.

If you are leaving our Community, whether you’re evicted or not, again take pictures of everything and have it noted on the Exit Form. They will try to get as much money from you as they can, so protect yourself. And if you are evicted, please do not trash your home. They will come after you.

- Sheds

Neighbors used to get sheds. But Sun Communities didn’t follow the City rules with the materials they chose, which were corrosive and could catch fire. So instead of building them so they’re safe, they decided to not provide them, which saved them about $1000 per home. Again, they chose profit over resident convenience. They are virtually saying, go ahead and buy your lawn mower and bicycles and just leave them outdoors. If they get stolen and you report it to Management, they’ll just tell you to call the police since there’s nothing they can do about it. So they make it harder for you to call this your home.

Sun Communities has Broken It’s Promises

On the Lafayette Place website it states,

“Nestled in Warren, Michigan, our manufactured housing community offers the perfect lifestyle for you and your family. Residents are never bored because we offer community events and activities to encourage an engaged and neighborly community experience. Our grounds and facilities are meticulously maintained so you are proud to call Lafayette Place home.” Also, “Enjoy great amenities at Lafayette Place for a vibrant lifestyle for you and your family” and “Our customer service staff is here to ensure you have a carefree and convenient experience.” Sun and Park Management doesn’t provide me personally with a carefree and convenient experience.

Every year you get a letter when they raise your rent which states,

“We are increasing your rent so we can provide more and better services.”

Are any of these true? Do they provide more and better services, or is it just another promise they don’t intend to keep?

In 2024, they didn’t finish paving the front of the park, they refused to fix the potholes, they refused to paint the lines and numbers, they refused to keep our Park safe by not supporting our “Porch Pirate Pickup Program”, which is really your fault since you’ve know about it all along, they refused to fix our curbs which are destroyed by tractors moving homes in and out, and they are allowed to do it without repercussions. I don't think our Park will ever be the Gem it should be.

You Need to Complain

If you have a problem, question or concern, if you’re not happy with your living conditions, you need to contact your Park Management and Sun Communities. They are the ones who are responsible for you.

- Nicolette Chamberlain, Park Manager

nchamberelain@suncommunities.com

- Marcia Davis, Office Manager

(586) 755-2800

- Joel Shekell, Regional Vice President

jshekell@suncommunities.com

(248) 208-2500

If you let me, I’ll still be shoveling snow and cutting grass for my loyal Neighbors as a normal resident since I’ll need the exercise.

Serving you for the past two years has been

the greatest joy of my life. Thank you.

Newsletters

January 2025 Newsletter