Diane Hull

A woman stands in the grass in front of a manufactured home

My name is Diane Hull, and I will have been living in Baltimore Terrace in Hastings, MI for 14 years this July. I live here with my disabled cat and three exotic birds, one of which is almost 52 years old! (Back in the day I ran an animal rescue.)

I moved here when I was looking for housing after my ex kicked me out. I was able to pay cash for this house so I had a place to stay. The park was clean. We had swing sets for the kids.

This new company, Homes of America, doesn’t do anything. There are chuck holes in the roads, and we’re constantly having to get our cars fixed. Not small repairs, like $800-1000 every time.

The water is atrocious. I can put a shower curtain up, and three months later it’s orange.  You can’t get the rust out of anything. I can’t wash my clothes here or they turn orange. That never used to be the case.  When the water gets tested, we smell the chlorine in the water the day before and the day of, then it starts to drop off and go back to normal. I don’t trust that they’re not cheating.

Of course, now we have no swing sets or anything for the kids to do.

We met a couple who have been here 20 years who are paying $200/month more than I am. It seems like they pick and choose who they raise rent on when, but they’re coming for all of us. It’s ridiculous.