STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – A senior in Sterling Heights is out thousands of dollars after being forced to remove a towering tree from her front yard at a manufactured housing community.
She’s turning to Local 4 to get answers after publishing several stories about issues plaguing the manufactured housing community.
Susanne DeRosa has owned her home in Rudgate Manor for nearly 50 years.
For most of them, that tree offered more than shade, it held history. Most summer days, you’d find her granddaughter out front swinging and smiling.
“A lot of me is just angry that I had to get rid of it, that nobody would take care of it, that nobody would help me out with it,” DeRosa said.
Decades ago, the owner of the park at the time noticed an issue with the tree.
“They noticed my tree with the branches, one was headed my way, one heading toward the neighbor,” DeRosa said.
You see it here in this photo, so they put a cable in the tree.
For years, it worked.
“In 2019, that cable broke,” DeRosa said.
After that, it wasn’t just an eyesore; it was an accident waiting to happen, one storm away from crashing onto her house.
DeRosa kept track of everything, starting with management.
By then, ownership of the park had changed to Sun Communities.
“They said, ‘That’s your problem. It’s on your property,’” she said. “I’m sorry, but this is your property. I shouldn’t have to fix a cable you put on my tree, or your tree.”
Sue pays “lot rent” each month. It’s nearly $800 and is the price you pay to own a home, on land you don’t own.
In the park’s rules and regulations, it clearly says the tree is property of the community and if it’s dangerous, the community removes it.
DeRosa said she felt she had no choice. She paid to have it removed herself.
“It cost you how much?” Local 4’s Kyla Russell asked.
“$3,000,” DeRosa said.
Since then, she’s sent letter after letter and tried to get her money back. She is 78 years old and still working at a nearby laundromat to keep up with the cost.
“They say it’s been too long,” she said.
Local 4 went to the office today to ask what’s going on. They couldn’t answer, so they sent Local 4 to their corporate phone. It’s a number Local 4 has tried calling for the several other stories we’ve done on Sun Communities.
There was no answer.
“Tell me what $3,000 would mean to you,” Russell asked.
“Oh my god. I would be able to live a little bit more comfortable,” DeRosa said.
Not only would she not be able to live more comfortably, but she may also be able to truly be retired and stop working at the laundromat.
Local 4 also reached out to Sun Communities via their online portal, but has not heard back.