DETROIT – A Detroit homeowner is living with broken windows, a damaged roof and unwanted wildlife after a neighbor’s tree fell onto her house two separate times -- and now she can’t get help from the out-of-state company that owns the property.
Harricia Turner, who lives in her grandmother’s former house on Evanston Street, said the first incident happened on September 3, when a large section of the tree fell onto her back fence, knocking out the power.
Then, two days later, the rest of the tree collapsed. This time, causing extensive damage to her patio roof, fence, support beams and windows.
Michigan law places clear responsibility on property owners to maintain their trees, particularly when there are visible signs of decay or disease. Property owners who fail to address dead or dying trees can be held liable for resulting damage.
“The tree was straight across my patio. Kitty corner, that’s why there is a hole right there and a hole on the other side,” Turner said while pointing out the damage.
Recently, Turner invested in a new roof, but now half of it is damaged.
Despite her efforts to cover the holes with blankets, the house has become vulnerable to both weather and wildlife -- most recently, a raccoon crept in.
“The raccoon was hanging on my drapes looking right at me, and then he skedaddled and got out right across this tree,” Turner said.
According to city property records, the neighboring home belongs to an investment company based in Florida called “Southoaks Investment LLC.” Local 4 attempted to reach out to the company on Thursday. We also knocked on the door but got no response.
Turner has also attempted to obtain insurance information, but the workers renovating the property have declined to provide contact information for the property manager.
The other issue -- Turner is still working to fix up the 100-year-old home to qualify for insurance, which means she also can’t report the claim herself.
“I was looking to actually fix up my home until this happened,” Turner said.
Now, the Detroit homeowner is left with a massive tree in her backyard and no one to help.
“They don’t care. It’s not their house. They don’t have to worry about a raccoon coming in and scaring the bejesus out of them,” she said. “They don’t care, and that’s not fair.”