A Community Thrives When Residents Become Involved

Become part of something bigger then you could ever be by yourself

ALL ARTICLES ARE NOW ON WWW.MOBILEHOMERESIDENT.COM

Letter to My Neighbors

HI NEIGHBORS!

 

It’s a sad day for Miss Linda and myself.  The closing of Mr Mike’s Neighborhood is my failed effort to create Community, Neighborhoods and Neighbors within Lafayette Place Mobile Home Park.  We could be considered an experiment since Neighborhood Associations are not typically found in mobile home parks, and it was a program that Sun Communities and Park Management would never allow to succeed.  But after two and a half years of self-funding, after fighting for the rights of our Neighbors, after trying to convince Sun Communities and Park Management to take care of our Seniors and Handicapped, to keep our Community safe, and invest our hard earned rent money to make our Park the Gem it should be, we found that Sun Communities would not only never allow the Association to succeed, but would never consider or allow our requests for a better environment, and a better quality of life for our Neighbors.  Why?  Because Sun Communities does not want to set a precedent where residents think they can form an Association, or Heaven forbid know anything that’s going on in their Community, in any of their other properties.  We are nothing more or nothing less then renters to Sun Communities and Park Management.  They will never allow us to make this our HOME, and that’s exactly the way we’ll be treated.

 

An Association for the Community

Mr Mike’s Neighborhood was never meant to be a program to give myself and Miss Linda something to do in our retirement.  It was never meant to be totally financed by ourselves and never meant to be an Association where we were the only members making decisions.  It was meant to be a Community effort, with Community involvement.  But after two and a half years, it never happened that way, and I can’t assume it ever will.

 

We Were On Our Own

But before you start thinking I’m blaming the Communities’ lack of involvement that caused Mr Mike’s Neighborhood to close down, Sun Communities and Park Management would never have let it succeed to the extent it was meant.  On several occasions, I asked Sun Communities if they would help us with a little donation.  They didn’t refuse us, they just wouldn’t even respond, which is the way they handled most of my communications.  I asked Sun Communities if they would provide us a dispensation from their strict rules so that we could walk on your property and knock on your door without getting permission first.  They refused.   On windy days when Miss Linda and I would take our walks, if we saw your door was unlatched and banging against your railing, we wanted to close it.  But we weren’t even allowed to walk on your property to close it, saving you additional expense when your window shattered.   These are just several ways they planned on stopping us.  They knew I would get tired of doing it, get frustrated, run out of money, or die first.  They never gave one ounce of caring for what they were doing to me physically, mentally or emotionally.  It was their professional way of treating a resident in good standing.  In fact, it was their plan right from day one.  Sun Communities put a wedge between ourselves and Park Management when they mandated that they were not allowed to “Acknowledge, Endorse or Communicate” with the Association.  That’s when Dale, who was our Park Manager at the time, and Nicolette who was our Park Office Manager began to spread lies about us.  Both Dale and Nicolette pelted me with citations, invading my privacy by taking pictures of me, and proceeded with their plan to harass and humiliate me.  But we need to remember before we totally blame our Park Management that every mandate came directly from Sun Communities.  It was the beginning of their fear tactics not just for us, but toward the entire Community.  Without Sun Communities and Park Management’s support, the Association was destined to fail.  And they knew it.

 

A New Beginning

So, where do we go from here?  First, please remember that Mr Mike’s Neighborhood is not just an Association name.  It’s an ideology that promotes Community, Neighborhoods, Philanthropy and caring for your Neighbors.  Though the Association is in a reorganization stage, the principles that we promote on a daily basis will never stop.  We will continue to be Mr Mike or Miss Linda, and we will continue to practice what we preach, being Good Neighbors.

 

The “Smile and Wave Program” along with our “Hey Neighbor Program” were our signature efforts.  Anytime myself and Miss Linda are sitting out front, we will continue to welcome you, and our guests back into the Community, and wish you safe travels when you leave with a Smile and Wave.  I know that some of you probably got tired of waving so often, but the bottom-line is, you still did.  Because it is the respect we showed each other as Good Neighbors.

 

We will no longer be taking donations of food, clothing, toys and books, so the Free Children’s Library and the Free Food Pantry will be dismantled and sold to help pay off some Association bills.  We became serious proponents of re-purposing items you’d normally throw or give away so that our Neighbors could still take advantage of them.  You may not want to be around when I tear it down since it won’t be a happy occasion.

 

We will be eliminating the Porch Pirate Pickup Program which was meant to keep our Community safer by not welcoming thieves into our Park to steal your packages.  We could have eliminated package theft by 100% if Sun Communities and Park Management would have promoted it, but since they have no concern regarding keeping our Community safe, they would not promote a program where residents would think they are actually helping you.  Helping you is not the reason Sun Communities buys mobile home parks.  It’s strictly for greed.

 

As far as the newsletter goes, it was by far the greatest gift I could give you.  My goal was to try to inspire you with quotes and provide you with valuable information.  But honestly, I don’t know if anyone actual read it.  I would only put 5 newsletters on the post in front of my home, and at the end of the month, there were still 5 there.  Even when I mailed them out, I don’t know if anyone even opened the envelope.  But for those Neighbors who do read them, I’ll continue to write and you’ll find them on the website and the post in front of my home.  The website and domain name are all paid for the rest of the year, so I’ll keep them up, and then redirect it to www.mobilehomeresident.com.

 

We will also be eliminating our Certificates of Appreciation for Beautiful Gardens, Christmas Decorations and other Holiday events.  I figured we have given over 120 Certificates since we started, and only two Neighbors actually said “thank you.”  I think it’s just another program that wasn’t fully appreciated for its sincerity and caring.  But it’s not just that.  I feel that most of our Neighbors may have never had anyone that cared about them this much and just didn't know how to react to these feelings of appreciation.

 

We will no longer be an advocate for our Neighbors who are having issues with Sun Communities and Park Management.  As an Association, we would fight for our Neighbors with Management, but you will now have to endure their incompetence on your own since we are now residents just like you.

 

I tried to have our first Community picnic.  We only had 26 Neighbors who said they’d be there.  I tried to sue Sun Communities for Breach of Contract.  We only had 12 Neighbors who signed on.  I wanted to let the Community provide an anonymous “vote of confidence” to Mr Mike’s Neighborhood.  Only 8 Neighbors wanted us to stay.  So it seems that Sun Communities and Park Management did their job successfully in making it impossible for us to succeed.

 

We Are Not Going Away

But all is not lost.  As a Good Neighbor, myself and Miss Linda will never turn away a Neighbor in need.  You are still welcome to call me personally if you need some help or advice.  We will still promote the ideology that Mr Mike’s Neighborhood has promoted all along.  Or, you can try to call the office, that is if the office is even open or anyone answers the phone.  Park Management strictly follows two rules:  if a Neighbor comes to the office to ask for help, they will typically respond with, “it’s your responsibility.”  And the reason you won’t get any help, especially if you are a home owner, is their philosophy of, “if we help one, then we have to help them all.”  This statement was told to me by two Management employees with exactly the same words.  So you have to believe that this philosophy is totally promoted by Sun Communities.

 

Fear and Retaliation

Over the past week, those who believed in Mr Mike’s Neighborhood wanted to sign up for the Class Action lawsuit but were afraid that Park Management and Sun Communities would retaliate against them.  Some said they were afraid of even associating with us in fear of retaliation.  So, after explaining to our Community how I was treated over the past two and a half years, I can understand why.  But much of the fear comes from not knowing what to expect when living in a mobile home park.  But there’s hope!

 

Marianne Williamson said, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

 

I hope that in some way, Mr Mike’s Neighborhood has exemplified the sentiments of Ms Williamson, and even helped some of our Neighbors let their light shine.

 

I’m Giving You Another Great Gift

Mr Mike’s Neighborhood isn’t totally going away.  Let’s say we’re reorganizing.  The concepts of Community, Neighborhoods and Neighbors will remain as long as Miss Linda and I breathe.  And as the concept we started was great, I’m creating two things that I think are even better.

 

MobileHomeResident.com

Have you ever wondered why Park Management sends absolutely no Communication to our Neighbors?  The main reason is that they do not want any transparency on their part, and Heaven forbid, having the Neighbors knowing what they’re doing within our Community.  They don’t want our Neighbors thinking for themselves and making their own decisions.  If they keep you in the dark, typically that’s where you’ll stay in fear.

 

The Dalai Lama stated, “A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.”

 

So, I created the website of all websites when it comes to transparency.  After two and a half years of dealing with Sun Communities and Park Management on a personal level, I’ve thought of every possible question and concern a mobile home resident would have.  I currently have over 95 articles where you’ll find the answers you’re looking for.  And if you can’t find an answer to your issue, just let me know your question and I’ll have an article on the website within 24 hours.  Though our current site will remain, you need to start visiting mobilehomeresident.com and begin your research which will hopefully eliminate some of the fear and anticipation you may be experiencing.

 

Most of you have seen my beautiful property when the plants are in full bloom.  It shouldn’t be limited to just myself, but shared with the entire Community.  Though I’ll be dismantling the Free Children’s Library and the Free Food Pantry, I’ll be creating a beautiful area where you can sit and enjoy the scenery.  When you’re stressed and need to get away for a bit, you can come and sit for a while and take you mind off your issues.  It will be a wonderful gift that everyone can enjoy.

 

A Final Thought:

So, just because the Association has run out of money doesn’t mean we’re giving up on you.  Over the past several weeks, we have had Neighbors talk with Miss Linda and myself on how much they appreciate, and have benefited from our services.  So, let’s look at this as more of a REORGANIZATION then a total dismantling.  I’ve ordered a new sign for my window to promote the new website and Mr Mike’s Neighborhood, which will hopefully help mobile home residents around the country learn more about the mobile home industry and eliminate many of their fears and concerns.

 

Footnote:

Last month I mailed, again at my own expense, the May Newsletter.  The very first paragraph talked about Force Cuts, and I told you to take it seriously since they'll charge you $68.  So either you don't read my newsletters, or you don't care about your hard earned dollars, but there were 40 Force Cuts last week and 57 Force Cuts this week at $68 each.  But then again, if you're not reading my newsletters you're likely not reading this.  If you have that much money you can waste, please send some my way.  I have Association bills to pay.

LETTER TO SUN COMMUNITIES

 

When you look at Mike Whitty, a resident of Lafayette Place Mobile Home Park for over 14 years, and Mr Mike’s Neighborhood that’s been in existence for almost 3 years, what do you see?  You see a now 76 year old retiree who has committed the rest of his life to help his Community.  You see a man who left his beautiful home to come here and take care of his ailing mother, who had lived here for over 30 years, because he always believed that “they take care of you when you’re young, and you take care of them when they’re old.”  So it was never a debate for him to move.  You see a man who once his mother passed, decided to spend the rest of his life here.  Once that decision was made, you see a man who saw a need within the Community that wasn’t being filled by Sun Communities and their Park Management and decided to spend the rest of his life helping his Neighbors.  You see a man who spent his own money to create an organization that promoted philanthropy, charity, Community, Neighborhoods and Neighbors among the residents he came to love.  He took it upon himself to feed those Neighbors who were hungry, provide clothes and toys he re-purposed from donations, provided books to help their children read and inspired parents to read to their children.  You see a man who would not allow a single, unemployed mother to have to pay for grass cutting.  You see a man who would rather sit and cry with a family getting evicted instead of letting them feel alone.  You see a man who wouldn’t accept tips for grass cutting since that money could go for another meal.  You saw a man who wanted to not only make our Community beautiful, but also safe for our families and especially our children.  He created the most beautiful property that Neighbors and guests could enjoy as they passed.  He changes our Seniors and Handicapped Neighbors furnace filters and light bulbs since according to Sun Communities rules, “it’s their responsibility.”  Yet they know that many of our Neighbors can’t physically do it, and still won’t offer any help.  He fixes his Neighbors porches since he saw this as a safety issue that Park Management wouldn’t address.  He wanted to see children playing, Neighbors neighboring, and music filling the air.  This is a man who has a beautiful patio to enjoy, yet chooses to sit in front of his home to welcome Neighbors and guests into the Community with his “Smile & Wave” and to wish them safe travels as they leave.  And if you own your Home here, you get no help whatsoever, so he made sure they were taken care of with as much as he could do.  He even leaves water every Monday morning for, who he calls our “trash heroes” to show his appreciation for doing a job most of us don’t want to do.  And with all this, he never asked his Neighbors for one penny because he knew that many were living month-to-month and could use that money for their families.  He just wanted to help his Neighbors have a better quality of life whether they were here for a year or a lifetime.

 

So, what would Sun Communities and our Park Management have against all of this?  EVERYTHING!  Why?  PRECEDENT

 

WHAT IS PRECEDENT?

A precedent is something that’s sets a standard for future events.  As you read through this letter, keep this term in mind because you’ll see why Sun Communities does not want anything Mr Mike’s Neighborhood does to succeed.  The reasons are simple; because it could set a precedent that Sun Communities does not want to exist in any of their properties.  They don’t want a Mr Mike’s Neighborhood ideology for their residents.  They want to run our Community by this formula:  - lease and sell mobile homes, collect rent, evict those who don’t pay the rent, and spend as little of our rent money on our Community as possible.  With this formula, you can already see how doing one thing more for the Neighbors will set a precedent they don’t want to have happen.

 

BUT YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO TREAT ME THE WAY YOU DID

I’m sure you’d be surprised to know that I actually understand why you wouldn’t want Mr Mike’s Neighborhood to succeed.  What I don’t understand is the tactics you chose as a professional multi-billion dollar company.

 

As President of Michael Learning Group for over 30 years, I set the tone for the quality and value of my company; the buck stops here.  As the leader of my company, it was understood that under no circumstance were my employees and managers allowed to disrespect a customer under any conditions.  Even when a customer became irrational, courteous decorum was the law.  And it was understood because the quality of people I hired didn’t need to be mandated.

 

As with Sun Communities, your CEO (Chairman and Executive Officer) is being investigated and sued by your own investors for reporting violations to the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), receiving undisclosed loans, falsifying records to facilitate a fraudulent sale, and I could go on since there’s plenty more.  The fact is, your company has been no stranger to allegations of financial impropriety for quite a while.  Sun Communities isn’t even considered an Accredited Business by the Better Business Bureau because you wouldn’t pass the vetting process, all those negative reviews you know.  So the tone of your company has been set from the top, and has trickled down to your Vice Presidents and Park Management.

 

YOU FORGOT WHO YOUR CUSTOMER IS

When you treat your residents poorly, including myself, you forgot that WE are your customers.  Where Michael Learning Group would never consider treating one of our customers with disrespect, Sun Communities and our Park Management doesn’t seem to have a problem treating their customers this way.  If you’re not looking at us like customers where even the most frustrated of us deserve better treatment, then we are not people to you; we are only money.  A Neighbor could live here for 30 years, pay their rent on time and are Good Neighbors.  But miss a payment even with a good explanation and we are nothing more than criminals.  We won’t be treated any better than someone who got evicted.  It is a bad philosophy to follow, but it is Sun Communities way of treating us.

 

YOU MADE ME A PARIAH FROM DAY ONE

Believe it or not, before I started the Association I had a good relationship with Management.  I felt comfortable coming into the office to discuss any issues.  But the moment I started the Association, you put a wedge between myself and Park Management when you mandated that Dale and Nicolette were not allowed to “Acknowledge, Endorse or Communicate” with myself or the Association.  That’s when they started their barrage of citations, harassment and humiliation for an entire year (you can read more about this by reading, “How Sun Communities Killed a Neighborhood Association.”)  They made promises they weren’t planning on keeping, ignoring emails which they knew would frustrate me, and invade my privacy by taking pictures of me out in the Community.  They told lies to the Community about myself.  Sun Communities made the decision to send their attack dogs after, at the time a 73 year old man without any consideration for the stress and mental anguish they caused, to the point of having to see a Psychologist to try and figure out why Sun Communities and their Park Management felt important, and empowered to treat me this way.  Both Dale and Nicolette were of course promoted for their efforts.

 

WE TREAT EVERYONE THE SAME

I have heard this from every Manager and every Vice President I’ve spoken with.  Yet if they’re treating everyone the same way they treat me, that can’t be good.  But after hearing the way our Office Manager verbally abuses some Neighbors, I can see how that trickle down effect has made its way to our Community office.  I can honestly say I’ve never had a Neighbor complain about Nicolette.  But the number of vulgar complaints I’ve received regarding Ms Davis, along with the lies she’s spewed to my Neighbors about myself, I have to believe this behavior is accepted by Nicolette and Sun Communities and will continue.

 

A QUICK NOTE:

After seeing what our Park Management has become, I really miss Alice.  She was our Park Manager about 6 years ago and was just the best.  She encompassed what Mr Mike’s Neighborhood promotes, which has never been experienced since.  She loved her Community and considered the residents here friends, not just her paycheck.  Alice and her husband Bobby kept this place clean, listened to resident concerns, and even sat and had coffee with my mom, and many other moms.  She really loved us.  She passed away a while back but her beautiful quality remains with many of us, never to be seen again since Sun Communities will never allow someone so caring to grace our Community.

 

BACK TO “WE TREAT EVERYONE THE SAME”

When they started using this phrase to me, they weren’t talking about treatment, they were talking about rules.  The rules apply to everyone.  This is where they knew that eviction was easier if I broke the rules, the rules made for everyone.  The more citations they gave me, the easier it would be to evict me.  But it didn’t have to be this way.  With all the services I provided to the customers who pay your rents, you could have provided me the dispensation I asked for to fully serve the entire Community, not just those who live on South Lafayette.  To be able to pass out my newsletter door-to-door instead of being accused of trespassing and spending my money to mail them.  How hard would that have been?  But you thought it was more important to call the police on me and send your lawyers to shut me down, and of course accuse me of resident annoyance and every other lie you could think of.  A real professional company.

 

MY NEWSLETTER WAS OUR ONLY COMMUNICATION

The Dalai Lama stated, “A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.”  Could that really be true?  Is that why we don’t receive any communications from Park Management unless a cat was lost?  What about telling us what to do with leaf bags?  Or how about what to do with your vehicle in case the Park floods?  Or when certain improvements are planning to be made to make our Park the Gem it should be?  I think we all know why?  My newsletter did all that and more.  But you wouldn’t let me pass it out door-to-door so I had to mail it spending more money.  When all you needed to say was, “Mr Mike, your newsletters are an asset to our residents.  Go ahead and pass them out.”  But no!  After Park Management tried writing two newsletters, that was about the extent of our communication.  Writing must be a lot harder than it looks, huh?

 

FEAR AND RETALIATION

Since we shut down the Association for re-organization, Neighbors were coming to us saying they were afraid to sign onto the Class Action lawsuit in fear Sun Communities would come after them.  We even had Neighbors coming to us saying they were even afraid to associate with Mr Mike’s Neighborhood in fear of retaliation.  You put this fear in them.  It didn’t have to be this way.  But once Neighbors read what you were capable of doing to me, a Neighbor who only wanted to help them, why wouldn’t they be afraid?  It didn’t have to be this way.  You could have been a mobile home park owner that actually cared about your customers.  But instead, you took the tact to crush a Neighborhood Association.  And chances are you still slept good at night.

 

CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT

It became so frustrating for me to watch the place I wanted to call my HOME slowly becoming trash.  When questioning Sun Communities on why they allow our infrastructure to look like a 3rd world country, their response is, “we have a process.”  So I started the preliminary inquiry regarding our Neighbors joining to push Sun Communities to start treating our property like the GEM it should be.  Our illustrious Vice Presidents never even called me to see how we can fix this together because they knew nothing would become of it.  So after over two years, our potholes aren’t fixed, our curbs are crumbling, our streets look like crap, the park is trashy, the parking lines and numbers are indistinguishable, crime and porch package theft continues to exist, gravel covers our streets because they don’t know how to patch potholes, and still after 6 years they haven’t finished paving the front of the Park.  I wonder if we put some of these potholes in front of our Vice President’s homes, do you think they would like it?  But it’s ok here.  So what confidence do we have that Sun Communities is working toward the best interests of our Neighbors?  The truth is, with all the rent increases we receive, over the past two years the only money they spent of our hard earned money was to hire a weed killing company to kills the weeds on the curbs.  But since they never followed through with cleaning the curbs, they still look like crap.  Thus, no calls.

 

IT DIDN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY

I just can’t stop saying it; it didn’t have to be this way.  You could have been the bigger guy that saw the goodness in what I was providing your customers.  I was just one guy who wanted to leave this earth knowing I did something really special for the Neighbors I live with.  By living here I had an opportunity to take a mobile home park and make it more special than any other.  I wanted to make my Neighbors feel like they were special even if they didn’t live in a $200,000 home like I’m sure our Sun Communities Vice Presidents do.  I wanted to inspire our Community children to become great readers and not be embarrassed to invite their friends here because you live in a mobile home.  It would be nice if our park was attractive like it used to be, but that’s not within my control.  I questioned my motive many times asking myself why I would do something like this, especially with everything they threw at me.  I never wanted to be Mother Theresa, in fact I’ve been pretty selfish most of my life.  All this is pretty new to me.  But once I started meeting all my beautiful Neighbors, I just couldn’t help but try.

 

Marco, Kevin, Chris, Joel, Dale, Nicolette, Marcia, I know why you had to make it impossible for us to succeed.  It was strictly a matter of PRECEDENT.  A Corporate decision that had to be made.  Nothing personal Mr Mike.