Marge Wisniewski

I purchased my home in Northville Crossing (Washtenaw County) in 2014. Sun Corporation bought the community shortly after I moved in. Lot rent increases continued to accelerate while services dropped to almost nothing.

My home backs up to the maintenance building. There was no fence around the dumpsters back there. At one time there were three industrial dumpsters, uncovered and unfenced, full to overflowing with garbage, including hypodermic needles and glass. These dumpsters filled up every time there was an eviction, and kids often climbed into them and threw the contents out on to the ground. It took me an entire year of emailing, photographing, and activating on the neighborhood website to get the mess cleaned up.

Currently, there is a foot of standing water throughout the commons area that borders the clubhouse, playground, and my yard. That water has been there most of the year and does not drain properly during rainstorms. There is also trash floating in it. I am concerned about health risks, as well as the damage continued erosion can do to my property. I do not expect this to be easy to get fixed, based on my past experience with Sun Corporation.

We have a community well. I am told it is properly maintained and the water is routinely tested for contaminants. However, the quality of the water is poor. It is full of particulates and the mineral content damages plumbing and appliances. I had to install a separate water purification and softening system in my home so that I could drink the water. When the power goes out, we have no water supply. What assurance do I have that the community well will be properly maintained and repaired as needed? Will that cost be passed directly to the residents of the community? Does Sun Corporation keep a reserve for those types of capital improvements to ensure the community remains safe and viable?

It is difficult to reach anyone at the corporate office. I have never gotten a live voice, just a recording that sends you to different extensions, all with recordings on them. I don’t have any confidence that corporate ownership is looking out for our best interests in this situation.

I love my home (which I own) and would like to stay here for the rest of my retirement. But I fear that may not be possible if lot rents continue to go up and the property is neglected. This is the last affordable option for me, and for other residents just like me. Many of us are retired and on fixed incomes. I firmly believe that corporate property owners should be subject to some type of oversight to ensure that they maintain safe and adequate places for us to live. 

Safe and affordable housing is in all our best interests. Once it is gone, the costs of trying to survive without it will be much higher for everyone involved.