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Welcome to All Deer Ridge Owners

Welcome to all owners of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort condos in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

My goal is to help all Deer Ridge owners to have a voice in the management and operation of your property.

Click on the TITLES of any of the following subjects to read the whole posting - and see the comments made by your co-owners. You can also type any term into the below search box, or any word or term in the search cloud.

Click the big image at the top of the page to return to the front page at any time.

Investment Analysis For A Rental Condo At Deer Ridge


Will you really lose $40,000 cash if you buy a rental condo at Deer Ridge and use Ridge Management Ltd?

Click To Download!

As an owner-occupied home, Deer Ridge is an incredible value with THE best view in the Smokies and great amenities.

However, several owners and would-be owners of Deer Ridge condos have asked me if these units are a good rental property investment or not. To help answer that question objectively, I had to analyze the real moving parts of buying and owning here.

Get my complete, detailed investment analysis based on buying a rental condo unit at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

It shows what you MUST do to make money when you buy a rental unit at Deer Ridge.

Just click the picture or click Investment Analysis

Gross Negligence – Or Is It Fraud?

Legalese On

GENERAL DISCLAIMER FOR ALL PAGES AND POSTS

Note: The following, and the information on any and all other posts and pages by me about General Manager Joe Thomas, GGRC, RML and /or the Board of Directors and its members, or any related topics, are my personal opinions based on my ongoing investigation into the actions and inactions of the GGRC and RML Board of Directors and / or Joe Thomas, General Manager.

While I believe these allegations to be true based on my objective analysis, these opinions remain as only allegations until I, or others, prove things in court.

My goal is to offer all owners all the information and evidence that I have available so that everyone can reach their own conclusions.

Legalese - And Powered Wig - Off

----------------------------

Every Dollar You Pay For Deer Ridge Is The WRONG Amount!

Please read the various posts here on this Deer Ridge Owners Blog - and see my evidence and analysis which I believe shows conclusively that EVERY dollar of HOA Fees, EVERY dollar EVERY special assessment, EVERY water bill and cable TV sent out for YEARS to ALL Deer Ridge Owners has been wrong!

In many cases at least ONE THIRD of ALL owners have been GROSSLY overcharged. My calculations show that I have been overcharged more than TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS in the past 50 months I've owned at Deer Ridge.

The Board has been WRONGLY and arbitrarily ignoring the requirements of the Master Deed and the Bylaws for YEARS.

If my analysis is correct, the Board has zero choice. They MUST abide by the Master Deed Percentages.

But they haven’t.

However, if the Board knowingly ignored the clear directives of the Master Deed and the Bylaws when allocating costs to various unit types, and overcharging certain unit types on a regular basis, my opinion is that the Board and Joe Thomas may have acted fraudulently.

If they have not been fraudulent, then they have been, at the very least, grossly negligent.

Read the various blog postings - and judge for yourself.

Please Register To Log In And Leave Your Comments

Please register first - so you can participate in the discussions by making comments that reflect YOUR opinion.

When you register, please include your unit number so we can confirm you are really an owner!

You are welcome to submit as many comments as you want on any of the topics - or even on a new topic. This is the time and the place to finally have YOUR voice heard with regard to your investment at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.

I would ask that you include your Deer Ridge unit number at the end of each of your posts so other owners get to know you - however, it is not required. I understand some owners may want anonymity for a variety of reasons - but I will need you to show me that you are an owner.

I may post non-owner comments from time to time if I believe they add to the discussion. When this happens I will note that it is a non-owner comment.

Bear in mind, any and all comments you make here can be seen by all one billion folks on the Internet, worldwide!

Thanks!

"We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert." — J. Robert Oppenheimer. This includes the Board of Directors of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.


RML Lie Exposed: RML Actually Has Negative Cash Flow Of $152,000 Per Year

Summary:  Do you realize that HALF of all HOA fees collected each YEAR from ALL Deer Ridge Owners are illegitimately used to pay the $152,000 a year negative cash flow of RML???

No wonder we never have ANY reserves for Deer Ridge – and the illegitimate “board” tries to force all owners to fund an illegitimate $353,500 Asinine Assessment to help cover up their lie that RML fully supports itself.

I have completed a GGRC and RML budget analysis that we intend to use in our $3 million lawsuit against GGRC and Joe Thomas and the “board” – and I thought you might find it overwhelming indicative of the lies and misrepresentations that are being perpetrated here at Deer Ridge.

It shows that RML actually has, in reality, a NEGATIVE CASH FLOW of $152,000 EACH YEAR - not the $12.000 “positive” cash flow that Joe Thomas and the “board” lied to you about with the budget mailing to all owners last December.

OK.  Fair warning:  This post is all about numbers and budget analysis which I know is a total bore to many of you.  So, in an effort to make it easy for you, I am going to give you, up front, the Executive Summary and bottom line of all that follows.  All the data is there if you would like to plow through it to understand where each and every number comes from.

The key question to remember:  For every operating cost associated with Deer Ridge, would that cost, or that full cost, be there IF Deer Ridge was not operated as a motel?  Would that cost, or that full cost, be there if we were operated solely as a small, 84 unit residential condo complex owned by over 78 owners with diverse needs and goals?

Bear in mind that there is NOTHING in the Master Deed or Bylaws that indicates this property is anything other than a small, 84 unit residential condo complex – so there is nothing in our regime documents that sets Deer Ridge out as a motel or as a predominately rental property.  Therefore, when folks buy a condo at Deer Ridge, there is NOTHING in any of the legal documents that provide for RML or running the property as a motel. Each owner can choose to rent or not rent their unit out – but any and all costs associated with renting a unit is that unit’s responsibility.

Hence, the Common Expenses that are funded by all of our HOA fees can ONLY relate to operating Deer Ridge as a small, 84 unit residential condo complex.  So, the point of this analysis is to break out any and all expenses or partial expenses that would not be required of a small, 84 unit residential condo complex.

The Executive Summary – The Dirty Dozen Secrets Of RML

All of the following is my personal opinion based on my detailed analysis of the audits and budgets provided by the “board.”

Joe Thomas and Larry Ohm and the rest of the “board” have been LYING to you for years that RML is profitable – and that RML is the part of Deer Ridge that really supports the real costs here.

All of that is a lie.

  1. The real truth is that RML has a NEGATIVE CASH FLOW of over $152,000 just for 2010, assuming all the budget numbers are hit. (Last year they missed their revenue budget number by almost $100,000 – so, if they miss this year’s number by the same amount, that means the RML Negative Cash Flow could be over $252,000 just for 2010!)
  2. The 2009 actual numbers show that the NEGATIVE CASH FLOW for all of 2009 was over $130,000 according to the numbers in the audits handed out at the 2010 “Annual Meeting.”
  3. The reasons that the budget numbers and the audits show otherwise is that these guys have been playing games with at least 14 line items of expenses totaling nearly $164,000 that are falsely shown as GGRC expenses when they, in fact, have nothing to do with operating and administrating a small 84 unit residential condo community.  Those 14 line items, instead, are related to being in the motel business that is run by RML.
  4. Joey and the “board” know that the truth of this would be unacceptable to a significant number of Deer Ridge owners – so they lie to all the owners about which company is really responsible for each line item – hoping that their “artful dodger” arithmetic will go by unnoticed.  This is one of the reasons for their disinformation campaign and lies trying to discredit me – because they KNEW that I was going to expose these secrets for all Owners to see and understand.
  5. Assuming the last six years was the same level of negative cash flow for RML, then RML has squandered OVER $1 Million of our HOA fees!
  6. This is almost THREE of the current Asinine Assessments!  No wonder we don’t have any money in any of our reserve accounts!  No wonder that Deer Ridge has the HIGHEST HOA fees in the entire area.
  7. This ANNUAL NEGATIVE CASH FLOW represents over HALF of the total HOA fees collected from ALL owners at Deer Ridge – each and every year.
  8. This $152,000 NEGATIVE CASH FLOW each year equates to a cost of over $1,800 to each and every owner at Deer Ridge – including the 20 plus units that do not use RML.  If just those who use RML were to pay this $152,000 negative cash flow each year, they would have to pay $2,375 a year EXTRA just to keep RML out of bankruptcy.  If you think in terms of NET dollars to each owner per year, you can see that RML is not a good deal for ANY owner at Deer Ridge.
  9. This means that RML has wrongly robbed me of over $9,000 just for my unit during the past five years we have owned here.
  10. On top of the financial impact, RML is a illegitimately formed and operated “for profit” corporation owned by a non-profit organization.  There was never even the guise of a vote authorizing its formation – and there is zero provision in the property’s master deed and bylaws that provide even a nickel for paying for RML out of our Common Expense – and here it is, taking over HALF of our HOA fees each and every month from ALL owners.
  11. If GGRC were operated correctly, without RML, and using a professional HOA management company, GGRC would generate a POSITIVE CASH FLOW each year of over $118,000 with current HOA fees in place.  This would have equaled approximately $600,000 over the past five years!  This is almost enough to cover TWO Asinine Assessments – without requiring owners to dig in their pockets for even more money.
  12. The GGRC “board” has a fiduciary duty to ensure that GGRC, not RML,  is operated properly for ALL  Owners in accordance with the Master Deed and BylawsJoe Thomas and the rest of the Gang of Six are GROSSLY violating their fiduciary duty to GGRC by trying to protect RML’s negative cash flow from being discovered – and continuing to deplete hundreds of thousands of dollars of HOA fees to do so.  It is past time to hold every member of the Gang Of Six personally and financially responsible for their wanton disregard for their fiduciary responsibility to every owner at Deer Ridge.

All owners should be outraged at this despicable lie that has been perpetrated by Joe Thomas for YEARS just for his own self-serving reasons to keep employed and paid all the money he unjustifiably gets from our small 84 unit complex.

All owners should be outraged that Luther Parker and Larry Ohm and the rest of the “board” are either so incompetent and grossly negligent to understand this – or are in collusion with Joe Thomas to intentionally misrepresent these facts to all the owners.

We expect to hold Joe Thomas and every member of the “board” fully accountable for every dollar of Owners’ money they have wasted on RML with our $3 million lawsuit – and believe that the jury in our case will have no difficulty in understanding and believing the following analysis that proves their lie – and the extent to which it has been covered up.  And, since these Dirty Dozen Secrets About RML have affected EVERY OWNER, past and present, for the last decade, this will probably be the basis for a SECOND Class Action Lawsuit against Joe Thomas the rest of the Gang of Six.

An Alternative – Professional HOA Management of Deer Ridge

My previous posting How To Fire Joe Thomas And Save GGRC Tens Of Thousands $$$ Each Year gives details on a bid we received from a professional HOA management company that specializes in providing the managerial, administrative and maintenance services required of home owner associations in the Knoxville and Gatlinburg areas.  Their bid provides for:

  • A one time set up fee of $1,680 to audit the books and records
  • A monthly management fee of $1,680 per month plus any and all late fees they collect
  • Maintenance done at $25 per hour for individual homeowners’ repairs.
  • Maintenance for common areas at $40 per hour without a maintenance contract and at $20 an hour with a maintenance contract.
  • All monthly bookkeeping included, which would also save GGRC thousands of dollars per year.
  • All personnel would be their people – not ours – so there would be no cost to us for all personnel related costs. This also means that they provide the back up folks for vacation, illness and resignations and firings.

You can see their full bid by clicking Bid and view their brochure by clicking Brochure.

Bear in mind, that all of these activities are strictly GGRC related and have nothing to do with the illegitimate RML and its’ activities.

Their company:

  • Has been providing HOA services in the area for over a dozen years.
  • Has managed over $800 million in HOA property at over 50 different locations throughout East Tennessee.
  • Has their own accounting and maintenance people along with their own lawn care experts.
  • Prepares the annual budget for the HOA.
  • Collects HOA fees and assessments.
  • Includes all the bookkeeping in their charges.
  • Generates management reports that include monthly management summaries, balance sheet, income and expense statements, budget performance, collection report and bank reconciliation.
  • They maintain the state-required HOA “Administrator’s Book” that seems to be so difficult to produce with the current management team led by “full time” General Manager Joe Thomas.

Again, you can see the whole previous posting by clicking How To Fire Joe Thomas And Save GGRC Tens Of Thousands $$$ Each Year.

By tapping the expertise of this, or some similar company, GGRC ends up with a HUGE positive cash flow each year of nearly $120,000 each year!  That kind of surplus would have been able to fully fund even the absurd Asinine Assessment of $353, 500 in under three years without the need for any additional pay in by all the owners.

Doesn’t it make sense for GGRC to have this kind of positive cash flow each year – instead of using HALF of our HOA fees each and every year from ALL owners to feed the RML negative cash flow???

The Detailed Analysis For Your Review

The following detailed analysis shows you exactly how all of the above conclusions were reached.  I invite you to pour over each of the numbers yourself so that you understand each line item and its implications for our property. Continue reading RML Lie Exposed: RML Actually Has Negative Cash Flow Of $152,000 Per Year

Tags: Joe Thomas, master deed, regime, rental property, negative cash flow, bylaws, GGRC, positive cash flow, RML, bottom line, misrepresentations, budget analysis, fair warning, Deer Ridge, HOA, legal documents, executive summary

Are You Being Sued By Deer Ridge Too?

If you have not paid the Asinine Assessment for Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, you probably have already been sued by Joe Thomas and the rest of the Gang of Six.

In addition to their specious $1 million lawsuit against me, I have also been served with a Sessions Court suit for the non-payment of the assessment which I believe is completely illegitimate for at least four reasons.

If you live out of state, you may have already been sued by not yet been served by the constable or process server.  Once you are served you will have a yellow piece of paper like the one to the right which is a copy of their suit against me.

Your Five Options

If you have been sued, you have five choices, or paths, available to you in my personal opinion:

  1. Pay them the money.
  2. Declare bankruptcy.
  3. Ignore the lawsuit and allow them to get a default judgment against you which would then allow them to foreclose on your condo.
  4. Hire your own attorney and fight them in court using one of the four reasons, or some other defense.
  5. Join with us in our current $3 million lawsuit against GGRC, Joe Thomas and the rest of the Gang of Six and fight them.

I certainly do not recommend any of the first three choices.  Your decision on which of the above paths is right for you is obviously up to you – but I would rather pay a lot more in legal fees to fight this unjust and illegitimate assessment than let these jokers continue to violate state and Deer Ridge regime law.

Joe Thomas and the rest of the Gang of Six have been doing as they please, without regard to our Master Deed and Bylaws, for way too long – and it is time to finally stop them and force them to pay out of their own pockets for the multitude of ultra vires acts they have perpetrated against Deer Ridge Owners for so many years.

My Defense Against Their General Sessions Court Suit

My attorney is already taking steps to block this Sessions Court suit on two issues, as I understand them:

  1. Our $3 million lawsuit was filed a week before their Sessions Court suit which gives our suit priority.
  2. This case is too complex for a simple Sessions Court non-payment suit.  We already believe we have four reasons to invalidate the suit.  Some of these will require declaratory judgments regarding valid interpretations of various parts of our Master Deed and Bylaws.  These declaratory judgments will be an integral part of the jury’s decisions regarding our case and hence are beyond the scope of the Sessions Court.

The above is my best guess at this point since the attorneys are still discussing an agreed order regarding this matter – but at this point, I fully expect that we will quickly win these points.

Your Best Choice – Join As A Co-Plaintiff In Our Suit

If you join as a co-plaintiff in our existing lawsuit, you benefit from lower legal costs and by participating in a lawsuit that probably pre-dates their Sessions Court lawsuit against you.  As a co-plaintiff, you can also share in any major awards and reimbursements of legal fees we may gain from our $3 million lawsuit against them.

I am not an attorney – but if you are interested, please contact me ASAP and I will put you in contact with my attorney so that you can make a fully informed decision.

Tags: point, piece of paper, regime, Pay, constable, process server, case, judgment against, master deed, judgment, 1 million, way, defense, Ridge Mountain, right, bylaws, addition, priority, bankruptcy, copy, Deed, opinion, Resort, Asinine, general sessions court, piece, server, Joe Thomas, General, default judgment, regard, contact, time, suit, personal opinion, Declare, Assessment, law, process, GGRC, pockets, Master, attorney, Court, Hire, lawsuit, Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, money, rest, default, ultra, multitude, state, foreclose, Gang, lot, jokers, week, court suit, condo, decision, Join, paper, invalidate, taking steps, Sessions

How To Fire Joe Thomas And Save GGRC Tens Of Thousands $$$ Each Year

HOA Management Versus Rental Property Management

Since there is no legally elected Board of Directors, and hence, no legally hired General Manager at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, I have begun the quest for a competent HOA management company.

This is not to be confused with a rental property management company such as RML that worries about rentals of the units. Instead, a HOA management company does many, if not all, of the usual general manager duties plus the bookkeeping duties for the HOA. They also take care of all of the maintenance and administration without the HOA having to worry about hiring full time people, paying employee overhead, worker’s comp insurance, vacation days, etc.

In other words, a company that specializes in HOA management does Joe Thomas’ job for GGRC for a whole lot less money – and does a whole lot more for the HOA than Joe does – even with the lower cost.

These kinds of companies exist because there are so many condo associations just like Deer Ridge – where the property is too small to be able to cost justify a full time staff and, frankly, doesn’t need the full time staff to take care of the needs of such a small complex. Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, with only 84 units, is such a small complex that it doesn’t need, and cannot afford, to pay for the full time people that are inappropriately charged to GGRC.

In my opinion, Joe Thomas and the “board” intentionally try to “muddy the waters” in an attempt to hide what are the real cost requirements for operating our Home Owners Association, GGRC – and the real costs of running RML and staying in the motel business. The real needs of GGRC – and the real costs – to operate our property as the residential community that is defined in our Master Deed and Bylaws are low. The real costs for operating RML are very high. Very, very high.

In my opinion, this is just part of the major lies and deception by Joe Thomas, Larry Ohm and the rest of the “board” that will be detailed on an upcoming post about the “RML Lie Exposed: RML Actually Has Negative Cash Flow Of $152,000 Per Year“

Actual Deer Ridge Bid – From HOA Management Group

However, back to solving the GGRC management cost issue.

We’ve received a detailed bid from a local HOA management company called HOA Management Group.

Their bid was based on my providing them with detailed financial statements and audits of GGRC and RML – with the clear understanding that I was just an owner at Deer Ridge and not personally empowered to make a decision. Their company: Continue reading How To Fire Joe Thomas And Save GGRC Tens Of Thousands $$$ Each Year

Tags: home owners association, Larry Ohm, bad management, comp insurance, condo associations, ohm, Gatlinburg, Board of Directors, wasted money, Joe Thomas, lies and deception, property management company, Fire Joe Thomas, Asinine Assessment, Tennessee, residential community, master deed, budgets, RML, fire the board, rental property management, vacation days, Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, GGRC, HOA fees, gross negligence, time staff, HOA Management, motel business, bookkeeping duties, general manager duties, muddy the waters

Cobbly Nob - Board Of Directors Election

Since Deer Ridge Mountain Resort is part of Cobbly Nob, you should have already received a copy of the board of directors election.  As owners, we get to vote in the election.  You can download the letter and the bio of each person running for office by clicking the below graphic of the letter.

There are seven folks running for the five positions up for vote: Continue reading Cobbly NobBoard Of Directors Election

Tags: school principal, wife judy, electronics company, appointee, industrial engineer, black decker, community activity center, dave sharpe, permanent residents, electrical electronics, environmental engineer, purchasing agent, real estate management, management business, rotary club, jeff al, Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, 37 years, Cobbly Nob, optimist

Wonder Why Your Electric Bill At Deer Ridge Is So High?

Three Ways To Cut Your Electric Bill At Deer Ridge Mountain Resort

The cost of electricity has been going though the roof.  Yeah, I know, you heard it here first.

But, have you wondered why your electric bill at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort is so high?  Well, we’ve identified three possible reasons.

#1:  Apparent Theft Of Services

One of the claims that Joe Thomas, Luther Parker and the rest of the Gang of Six made in their $1 Million lawsuit against me was that I “falsely” accused them of “Theft of Services.”

Well, as the following photos show, it appears that we have “smoking gun” proof of their Theft of Services that we will probably use in court against them.

It seems to me that Joe Thomas et al have no problem with the phrase, “Mi casa es su casa.”  Rather in Joey’s case, “Su casa es mi casa”  – which means, “Your house is MY house.”

Apparently, Joey has NO compunction about entering YOUR condo to use YOUR electricity whenever it is convenient to him.  No wonder he wants a key to every unit.

It looks to me like Unit A-201 next to ours was vacant at the time and was opened so that a very long extension cord could be run to allow some of the workmen to use this Owner’s electricity.  (Plus, I can only imagine the amount of gnats and other bugs that got into their unit during the many hours the door was left open…let alone the security risks of unauthorized entry and theft of contents by any one who happened to be on property, but I digress…)

Maybe the A-201 Owner was contacted before the fact – but we have seen this same thing done several times before here at Deer Ridge during the past few weeks and my guess is that this is done on a very frequent basis – without even thinking and considering that owners do NOT want their electricity STOLEN without their consent.  As a matter of fact, we have seen workmen here do this same thing for EVERY walkway railing replacement done so far – using the electricity from at least 8 different owners to feed their extension cords.

You really think Joey got prior permission from all 8 owners?

I am not an attorney nor a police officer – but it seems to me, in my personal opinion, that this might, just maybe, qualify as a criminal act of theft of services, according to the following Tennessee state law: Continue reading Wonder Why Your Electric Bill At Deer Ridge Is So High?

Tags: guess, differen, security risks, 1 million, gnats, gross negligence, several times, extension cords, electricity, maintenance, unauthorized entry, Joe Thomas, walkway, Fire Joe Thomas, smoking gun, RML, apparent theft, workmen, three ways, secrecy, bugs, railing, compunction, Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, matter of fact, joey, bad management, extension cord, wasted money, frequent basis, cost of electricity, HOA lawsuit

Homeowner Files $3 Million Lawsuit Against Deer Ridge Mountain Resort AKA Gatlinburg Golf and Racquet Club HOA And Individual Board Members

In response to their meritless, retaliatory $1 Million defamation lawsuit against me, I have now  filed a $3 Million lawsuit against Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, AKA Gatlinburg Golf and Racquet Club HOA and Joe Thomas, Luther Parker, Larry Ohm, Margie Duncan, David Barone and Tom Reise, all as individuals.

The lawsuit against GGRC et al is best summed up by the following on the front page of the suit:

The Defendant would show to the Court that the Complaint filed in this cause is a retaliatory effort by an illegitimately constituted board of directors to stifle legitimate criticism of the Plaintiffs in violation of the United States and Tennessee Constitutions as well as the Defendant’s rights under the Tennessee Nonprofit Corporation Act, T.C.A. §48-51-101 et seq., the Tennessee Horizontal Property Act, T.C.A. §66-27 -101 et seq. as well as the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, T.C.A. §47-18-101 et seq.

The Lawsuit – The Executive Summary

The Executive Summary of our Counter Suit includes that:

  1. This will be a jury trial.
  2. All of the claims in the specious defamation lawsuit brought by the “board” be dismissed since the illegitimately constituted “board” had, and has, no authority whatsoever to bind GGRC in any action – or to waste owners’ money on a self serving lawsuit.
  3. I get all of my legal fees and court costs paid by GGRC and / or the individual board members and Joe Thomas.
  4. The Court certify our claim as a class action lawsuit – so that ALL current AND past 1-1 owners at Deer Ridge can be compensated for the discriminatory gross overcharges that the current and past “boards” have forced on all one bedroom owners.
  5. The Court declare this to be a derivative action – which means that we will represent GGRC in a lawsuit against all the individuals “board” members and Joe Thomas so that THEY pay for much of these transgressions instead of GGRC – and that they get NO indemnification protection for their illegitimate actions.
  6. We get an injunction stopping the illegitimate Asinine Assessment and forcing Joe Thomas and the “board” to turn over ALL monies to the Court that have been already collected for payments of the Asinine Assessment.  That way, those funds paid by owners are protected from being squandered by Joe Thomas and the “board.”
  7. We get a declaratory judgment that all members of the illegally constituted board be removed permanently from office.
  8. We will unwind ALL of the decisions made by all of the current and past illegitimate boards for GGRC for the past 22 years since ALL boards have been illegitimately constituted.
  9. A court appointed receiver take over all operations and management of GGRC and RML and until the Court is able to determine if GGRC should be dissolved – or that an untainted Board can be elected, with said new board receiving guidance from the Court enforcing the governing documents of GGRC.
  10. RML and Ridge Resort Realty, as illegitimate entities, be dissolved and eliminated – with all assets transferred to GGRC.
  11. The Court declares that there is no authority for GGRC to operate a rental or brokerage business and issue a permanent injunction prohibiting inclusion of any real estate rental or brokerage expenses as part of the Common Expenses.
  12. The Court rule that GGRC and the “board” participated in the “unfair and deceptive trade practice within the meaning of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, T.C.A. 47-18-101, et seq. entitling the Defendant to treble damages and attorney’s fees pursuant to T. C.A 47-18-109 for willful and knowing violations of the act. In addition, the Defendant maintains these actions by the Plaintiffs are intentional, malicious and fraudulent entitling the Defendant to punitive damages.”
  13. The Court award me compensatory damages for the illegal assessments in the amount of $1 million and punitive damages of $2 million for violations of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, for a total owed to me of $3 million, plus attorney fees, etc.
  14. The Court declare that the Master Deed Percentages MUST be followed with strict compliance with respect to ALL Common Expenses and assessments, including the water and cable bill.
  15. The Court force GGRC and Joe Thomas and all “board” members to finally abide by Tennessee state law in providing the chronological Administrators’ Book and supporting chronological vouchers, including the right to make copies of all such records.
  16. The Court issue an injunction and declaration prohibiting and restraining the board from making any alterations or additions to the Common Elements without both the 75% vote of all owners AND the 90% vote of all mortgage holders for all units at Deer Ridge.
  17. All six counter defendants, including Joe Thomas, be required to pay back the approximate $120,000 illegally spent by them on unapproved alterations and additions such as the picnic pavilion, pool building, maintenance building and office space.  This amount will probably be increased by about $50,000 as a result of Joe Thomas and the current “board” ignoring the 90% vote requirement for all mortgage holders and proceeding, without proper authority, to replace the walkway railings that are currently under construction at Deer Ridge.

The above are my non-attorney opinions and interpretations of the $3 million lawsuit.  There are other, significant nuances and major impacts to GGRC that are contained in our counter suit.  I invite all owners to click Counterclaim to read the entire lawsuit and interpret the paragraphs for yourself.

Some Of The Goals Of Our Counter Suit

So, basically, if we win, our just filed lawsuit will hopefully accomplish ALL of the following:

  • We will do away with RML and Ridge Resort Realty as illegitimate entities and stop the $152,000 a year loss to GGRC each year.
  • We will force GGRC to abide by the Master Deed Percentages and stop overcharging the 30 1-1 owners by 82% each month.
  • We will stop the Asinine Assessment – including an injunction stopping the illegitimate filing of liens and potential foreclosure of owners’ units and any illegal interference with the use of the Common Elements.
  • We will unwind many, if not all, of the decisions made by ALL the illegitimate boards for the past 22 years.
  • We will force Joe Thomas and the “board” members to pay back all of the money squandered on unapproved projects including the current walkway railing project.
  • We will create a class action lawsuit for all past and present 1-1 owners who have been financially discriminated against with gross overcharges.
  • We will force Joe Thomas and the “board” out of power and control on this property.
  • We will force Joe Thomas and the “board” to finally abide by state law and provide copies of the Administrator’s Book to any and all owners.
  • We will keep Joe Thomas and the “board” from continuing to illegally expend major funds on unapproved projects, forcing them to personally pay back those funds to GGRC.
  • We will prove their defamation suit to be worthless and a waste of GGRC money.
  • $3 million plus legal fees will be paid back to us for the “board’s” deceptive trade practices and for some of the abuses, including the abuse of power and capricious and arbitrary decisions that Joe Thomas and all those illegitimate boards have tried to enforce for the past six years we’ve owned here.
  • By making this a derivative action, we hope to make GGRC the plaintiff and Joe Thomas and Luther Parker, Larry Ohm, Margie Duncan, David Barone and Tom Reise, all as individual defendants, pay most if not all of the above.

Stay tuned for a LOT more about this over the coming weeks.  But I wanted to let you all know about this – and give you all a copy of the Counter Suit as quickly as possible.

Interesting Times

Be sure and watch for the upcoming post where I will show you how Joe Thomas and the “board” have been lying to you about RML being a positive cash flow company.  Stay tuned for the right numbers that will show how RML is losing $152,000 a year in NEGATIVE CASH FLOW right out of ALL of our pockets!

And, speaking of numbers…all of the above does NOT include potential, additional, significant legal actions that may be required against certain individuals once we start looking over EVERY entry in the REAL Administrator’s books and records…and the front and back of every check…for the last 10 years…

“There is a Chinese curse which says ‘May he live in interesting times.’  Like it or not, we live in interesting times.”  Robert Kennedy.

The next few months at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort are guaranteed to be “interesting times” for many. Continue reading Homeowner Files $3 Million Lawsuit Against Deer Ridge Mountain Resort AKA Gatlinburg Golf and Racquet Club HOA And Individual Board Members

Tags: wasted money, Larry Ohm, Fire Joe Thomas, bad management, RML, Board of Directors, Luther Parker, annual meeting, Asinine Assessment, Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, gross negligence, HOA fees, secret deals, Joe Thomas, Article XII, HOA lawsuit, Tennessee, Cobbly Nob, Sell RML, Gatlinburg

Smoking Gun: Board Minutes Show Intent To Block Sales To Non-RML Buyers

Joe Thomas was quick to unequivocally blame me personally, by name, in the recent “Annual Meeting” for being responsible for the slow sales at Deer Ridge.

Gee, really, Joe?

It has been my personal belief that through his position as Principal Broker of the on site real estate company, Joe Thomas has attempted to overtly control the ownership of units here by encouraging ONLY those potential buyers who indicate a willingness to rent their units through RML while STRONGLY dissuading others potential buyers who want to live in their unit, not rent it, or if they want to rent it themselves.

It is my opinion that these actions by Joe Thomas have had SUBSTANTIALLY more negative impact on the sales of Deer Ridge units than anything I have ever done or published at this blog.

Because of his inherent conflict of interest, I believe that the market values of units at Deer Ridge have been severely depressed when it comes to resale, thereby penalizing all owners.

Want proof?  Consider that the real, closing price current market values of Deer Ridge units is virtually unchanged from the original selling prices of Deer Ridge in 1986!  24 years and no substantive increase in APPARENT value???

But the real story is even worse.

1986 Dollars v. 2010 Dollars At Deer Ridge

Let’s take a concrete example.  Tom Reise is one of the supposed “board members” at Deer Ridge who was one of the original buyers.  Based on the Tennessee public tax records, Tom bought his 2-2 unit on May 15, 1986 for $78,900.  If you average the asking price (not selling price) of all 7 of the 2-2 units currently on the market with Ridge Resort Realty you end up with an average ASKING price of $76,640.   Even though this is $2,000 less than Tom paid 24 years ago, it only tells part of the story.

Tom bought his unit with 1986 dollars.  I think all of us can agree that a dollar today is not the same as a dollar yesterday – and certainly not the same as the buying power of a dollar in 1986 when gas was 89 cents a gallon, a first class stamp was 22 cents and the average price of a new car was $9,300.

So, if you take into account the average annual inflation of 2.88% between 1986 and 2010, the $78,900 that Tom paid for his Deer Ridge condo in 1986 had about the same buying power as $155,886 does in 2010.  Bear in mind that the $155k does not offer ANY profit.  It just represents getting back the same buying power of dollars. The problem is that Tom’s condo is probably only worth $76,640 in 2010 dollars, at best, since that is the average current asking price of 2-2 units at Deer Ridge.  That’s represents HALF of what he originally paid for his unit at Deer Ridge – and that’s only if he gets the average asking price!

I would say that is pretty indicative that this property’s resale values have not done well with regard to inflation – even long before my blog was born.

If you would like a detailed Investment Analysis on owning a unit at Deer Ridge that is managed by RML, click Good Deal?

Why Would Joe Thomas Only Want RML Buyers?

Since RML is, at best, BARELY holding on right now – Joe can’t afford to lose even one unit from RML.  If all 14 units that are currently listed for sale on the Ridge Resort Realty site sold to non-RML owners, the RML party would finally be over – and even Joey and this “Biased Board” could no longer hide the huge cash drain that RML has caused for all owners.  (More on the REAL cash drain of RML coming up soon as a new blog post.)

Think about you trying to sell your unit in today’s environment.

If my personal suspicions  are right and Joe Thomas is really AGGRESSIVELY trying to keep a MAJOR portion of interested buyers from buying at Deer Ridge – just because he thinks they might not use RML – that means MUCH fewer contracts get submitted and owners have less chance to raise prices.

As a matter of fact, less demand means long periods between contracts and sellers who are motivated by this Great Recession to sell – are forced to lower prices – and even fire sale their units.

Remember, Joe makes a lot more money for his little empire from getting a unit in the clutches of RML than he will make off the sales commission here – especially if there is another broker involved who is taking half the commission.

All of that is my personal opinion of course – but doesn’t it make logical sense based on the antics and actions you have seen from Joe Thomas?

Another Smoking Gun:  The Board Minutes of April 2004

If you have any doubts that this RML focus is the prevailing mindset of the power elite and Joe Thomas, I invite you to click BOD Meeting 043004 to download a complete copy of the minutes from that “board” meeting.  What you will find on page 3 is the following:

Maybe it is just me – but that sure looks like it is clearly the intent of the board at that time, along with its general manager Joe Thomas, to illegitimately gerrymander prospective buyers of all condos for sale at Deer Ridge. Continue reading Smoking Gun: Board Minutes Show Intent To Block Sales To Non-RML Buyers

Tags: Joe Thomas, Cobbly Nob, bad investment, Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, Tennessee, wasted money, Fire Joe Thomas

The Latest Defamation By The Deer Ridge Board

Once again, Joe Thomas and the “board” have used GGRC monies and an immense amount of time at last month’s “Annual Meeting” for their continued defamation and vilification of me in my home community of Deer Ridge.

These inappropriate actions, along with the content of past mailings to all owners, will most probably be used as evidence against them in the counter suit that will be required by their $1 million lawsuit filed against me using GGRC money.  Also, apparently based on several comments we’ve heard from those who attended the “Annual Meeting,” Joe Thomas and “board” members made numerous, slanderous comments against me and my wife.  Depositions, subpoenas and court testimony will clearly identify all of those who committed this slander and defamation.

It also seems that some believe that there were intentional misrepresentations by Luther Parker – that they, the “board”, were being forced to file suit against me because I had already filed suit against them and GGRC.  This was not true.  At the time of the meeting, I had not even hired an attorney.  As a result of the “board’s” actions, I have now hired an attorney and we are preparing multiple counter claims against GGRC and each “board” member and Joe Thomas, individually.  Stay tuned for fast changing events.  But know that irrespective of Luther’s comments and implications, they are the ones that made the first litigation filing – using GGRC money.

The following are some responses to some of the more egregious comments that were made a part of the public and permanent record of GGRC’s version of the “board” meeting and the “annual” meeting.  Note that these comments are pretty much just taken in the order they occurred in their documents – and not with any other prioritization.  These are all screen grabs of the actual documents that were mailed to all owners.

Continue reading The Latest Defamation By The Deer Ridge Board

Tags: board meeting, Fire Joe Thomas, Sell RML, defamation, amount of time, residential property, bad management, Board of Directors, Gatlinburg, depositions, Tom Reise, board members, Joe Thomas, David Barone, intentional misrepresentations, HOA lawsuit, monies, prioritization, Deer Ridge, screen grabs, court testimony, inappropriate actions, slander, Luther Parker, side deals, slanderous comments, vilification, Margie Duncan, GGRC, board member, Larry Ohm, gross negligence, libel, fire the board, subpoenas

Deer Ridge and Cobbly Nob - Bear Alert

The bears are out of hibernation and already causing some havoc here in Cobbly Nob.

The above photo was taken in front of the 19th Hole – a cabin on Deer Path Lane – a short distance from Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.

Notice the shed door ripped from its hinges.

From what we’ve read, black bears are becoming more aggressive around here.  As a matter of fact, the Park Service has just issued a new regulation that now allows use of bear spray in the National Park.  Click Bear Spray for details.

Closer to home, we have seen black bears prowling around Deer Ridge.  See photo below that was taken from our own balcony.


Bear off of our A Building Balcony 091109


Warning To All Owners and Visitors

We hope that Joe Thomas and the management company will be properly warning owners and visitors to Deer Ridge about the fact that at least one black bear is roaming our property.

I believe it is safe to say that most folks here don’t expect to be confronted by a 400 lb bear when they are walking the property or taking their trash out at night.  God forbid that some small child playing at the playground were to get attacked.

Besides the obvious safety issue for everyone – we need sign postings in the office and rental units about the risks in order to mitigate legal claims for negligence against GGRC and RML.

Be Careful!

Irrespective of the above, please be careful when you visit your home at Deer Ridge – especially taking out the trash at night.  Just because you are paranoid, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look over your shoulder!

Tags: Tennessee, bears, Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, Cobbly Nob

Ridiculous Constraints For Viewing Books and Records At Deer Ridge

“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” -George Orwell
Tennessee state law gives all owners in an HOA the RIGHT to view the books and records of their HOA.
Joe Thomas and the “board” have finally acquiesced to providing copies of books and records.  [...]

Gatlinburg, Tennessee Home Owners Association Files $1 Million Lawsuit Against Blog Author and Property Owner

UPDATE:  We have now filed a comprehensive $3 Million counter suit against GGRC, Joe Thomas and each board member, individually.  Click $3 Million Lawsuit for details. 

The GGRC Board for Deer Ridge Mountain Resort has filed a $1 million lawsuit against me.
They are ready to spend tens of thousand of OUR dollars in their attempt [...]

Deer Ridge Owners: Revoke Your Ballot And Your Proxy! Do Not Attend The Annual Meeting - Do Not Vote

I recommend that you don’t send your ballot or your proxy for the upcoming “Annual Meeting” or board elections – nor even attend the “Annual Meeting!”
On the advice of my attorney, I will be doing neither.
I will NOT be voting nor will I attend the meeting this week.
I want to reserve ALL of my rights [...]

Deer Ridge Board's Latest Attack Letter - The Facts

Well, the illegitimate “board” is at it again – continuing their ongoing attempts to coerce and intimidate ANY and ALL owners who dare to object to their abuse of power and attempts to continue their illegal fiefdom by breaking both Deer Ridge Law and Tennessee State Law.
This time, it is yet another mailing to the [...]

Guest Post: Notice To Quit Using RML

The following is a Guest Post by Neil Blair regarding his notice to Quit RML.
I just told Joe Thomas and the “board” that -IF- they were planning to withhold our portion of the rental income to cover the Very Special Assessment, then we were giving our required 60 Day Notice to terminate [...]

Guest Post: Another 1 Bedroom Owner Responds To Deer Ridge Board Attack Letter

I received this email yesterday from another 1-1 Owner at Deer Ridge in response to the blatantly self-serving attack letter by Joe Thomas and the “board.”   With this Owner’s approval, I am including it here as an example of the support I am receiving from a number of other owners who are equally outraged at [...]

Deer Ridge Mountain Resort History Book 1987 – 2009

You can now download one document that is a complete scan of one Deer Ridge owner’s notebooks of all his documents related to GGRC and RML from 1987 through 2009.
This may or may not be comprehensive – there were probably other documents during that time frame that didn’t make its way into this notebook.
To get [...]

Are You In Hot Water At Deer Ridge Mountain Resort?

This is an open email to Joe Thomas regarding the new hot water heaters that we were all forced to install last summer.
Our old one worked perfectly – but with the new one, we are only getting less than 17 gallons of hot water out of our 30 gallon tank.
If you haven’t been here for [...]

A Victory That Should Have Never Been A Battle With Deer Ridge Board

I received the following letter from Chuck Sexton, attorney for GGRC, with regard to my demand to see the books and records of both RML and Ridge Resort Realty.  These books had been constantly refused to me for the entire time I have owned at Deer Ridge.  Joey and the “board” have done all that [...]

Deer Ridge Owners: TN Public Record - Your Home Address, Purchase Price and Date, Etc.

Most folks don’t realize how much information is part of the public record when you buy real estate.
Did you know that you, me or anyone in the entire World can find out that you own a condo at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, when you bought it, how much you paid for it, and how much [...]

Deer Ridge GUILTY Of Three Counts Of Violating Tennessee State Law

Below is an open email and fax that was sent today, again, requesting access tomorrow to the Administrator’s Book and supporting vouchers that is my right, and every Deer Ridge owner’s right, to view at any time.  By my count and in my opinion, this will be GGRC’s THIRD refusal and the THIRD count of [...]

GGRC Continues To Violate Tennessee State Law - Horizontal Property Act

This is an open email and fax to Chuck Sexton, Joe Thomas and Luther Parker.
As an owner at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, my rights under Tennessee State Law – Horizontal Property Act were violated this week when I was denied access to the books and records of GGRC et al as a result of the [...]

Guest Post - Owner Pastor James Goebel: Donate To The Litigation Fund

The following comment was added by Deer Ridge Owner James Goebel regarding the David Barone / “Board” “Suspension of Membership” Letter that Joe Thomas and the illegitimate “board” are using to attempt to intimidate owners who refuse to pay the equally illegitimate Asinine Assessment.
I appreciate Jim speaking up – and wanted to upgrade his comment [...]

Did You Get A GGRC * Suspension of Membership * On Deer Ridge?

Did you get a letter in the mail from GGRC regarding your “Suspension of Membership” on Deer Ridge?
If so, don’t let them intimidate you with their threats.  Don’t let them illegally take away YOUR rights as an owner!
A LOT of owners are refusing to pay this illegitimate “special assessment.”  So, a lot of other owners [...]

Deer Ridge Attorney Charles Sexton: Response To His Letter : Suspension of Membership : Access To HOA Records

This is an open letter to Chuck Sexton, attorney representing GGRC, regarding both his letter regarding access to HOA books and records and a letter from David Barone, attempting to suspend my membership rights for GGRC.
Sent Via Email, Fax and Certified Mail
Chuck,
I received your letter dated March 15, 2010 regarding my rights to review the [...]

Employee Joey and The Board - Trying Desperately To Hide How Few Are Paying The Asinine Assessment

Joey and the “board” are running scared – scared that the owners will all find out just how few of them are paying their illegitimate Asinine Assessment.
Joey and the “board”are trying all they can to block both Neil and I from having access to the GGRC books and records that the laws of the State [...]

Request To View Deer Ridge Administrator's Books in Accordance with 66-27-113

This is an open letter that was emailed today to Luther Parker, Joe Thomas and the rest of the “board.”
Other owners have been requesting this information and getting the usual Deer Ridge runaround with the stupid and childish games of Joe Thomas.  Based on our initial contacts, we have the distinct impression that the Attorney [...]

Deer Ridge Board: Official Notice - I Refuse To Pay Invalid Special Assessment

The following letter was certified mailed, emailed, faxed and hand delivered to Luther Parker’s home, the GGRC’s attorney’s office and the Deer Ridge office.
You get to decide what is right for you with regard to the “special” assessment – but this is my position and I am ready to fight Joe Thomas, Luther Parker and [...]

All Deer Ridge One Bedroom Owners: Stop Being Overcharged 82% Every Month!

Do you realize that you and I – and every one of the 30 one bedroom owners (36% of all units) at Deer Ridge – are currently being overcharged by 82% every single month?  And, Luther Parker, the “board” president, said in a recent board meeting that he believes that this 82% overcharge for 1-1 [...]

Deer Ridge - Many Owners NOT Paying The Asinine Assessment - Look At This New Abuse Of Power

We have been told by several owners that they are NOT paying the Asinine Assessment payment that Joey and the “Board” claim was due March 1st.
Joe Thomas is telling some owners that their payment will be late if not paid by the 10th.  He is telling other owners that all late fees are waived until [...]