The Encyclopedia of Information for Mobile Home Residents

Mobile Home Resident

by Mr. Mike's Neighborhood

You'll find the Neighborhood Newsletter posted around the 1st of every month.  Use Adobe Acrobat Reader

Newsletters 2023

Newsletters 2024

MMN January 2025

 

HI NEIGHBORS!

 

“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go. They merely determine where you start.” — Nido Qubein

 

TIME FOR A MR. MIKE’S NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT CARD

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 LOVE 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 from 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, 3 requests.  FAILED

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

• I asked my Neighbors to donate to the Free Children's 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

• Tried to convince my Community not to throw trash on the streets.  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, "we're working on it".  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

 

The Report Card assures you that I attempt to make our Community the best it can be.  But 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 in more ways then I hate to admit.

 

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 for the New Year:

 

- 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."  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?

 

- 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.

 

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 responsible to handle your concerns.  Mr. Mike's Neighborhood should always be your last resort.

 

LAFAYETTE PLACE MOBILE HOME PARK

- Nicolette Chamberlain, Park Manager

  nchamberelain@suncommunities.com

- Marcia Davis, Office Manager

  (586) 755-2800

 

SUN COMMUNITIES

- 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.

 

WE NEED DONATIONS OF ADULT READING BOOKS

We have had several Neighbors ask us if we had any books for adults.  Though we originally created the Library for children, we have plenty of children's books and a lot of room in the Library.  We'll create one side for the kids and one side for the adults.  So, if you have any books you'd like to donate, you can leave them on the porch.

 

Final Thought:

Though Mr. Mike's Neighborhood hasn't received the involvement from my Community as much as I would have liked, and we've run out of money to mail our newsletters and provide more services, we will continue to accommodate those Neighbors who need our help no matter the situation.  We still have a lot of Neighbors who actually rely on us for certain things.  If you want to read the newsletter you will find it on the website the first of every month, or pick up one on the post in front of my home. What we won't do is force our Neighborhood philosophy and Community Involvement on you.  I'll still keep writing about it because I think it's important, but when over 85% of my Community doesn't feel Mr. Mike's Neighborhood is important to themselves or our Community after 2 years, I think the Community message speaks loudly.

 

Serving you for the past two years has been

the greatest joy of my life.  Thank you for the privilege.