These are my personal images and photos that show the beauty of the view from Deer Ridge Mountain Resort and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cobbly Nob and the Gatlinburg, Tennessee area.
Just click the Play button to watch - or click Big Picture to see a much larger slide show on a dedicated page here at DeerRidgeOwners.com.
Deer Ridge Litigation Fund
Do you, as an owner at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, believe we are ALL entitled to have access and be able to copy the books and records of our Homeowner's Association?
So, do I.
But, apparently, Employee Joe Thomas and President Luther Parker and the Board disagree - and are doing all they can to block access, publication and candid discussion of the Asinine Assessment, special deals and favored treatment - at the expense of all Owners.
What ARE they so afraid of us finding out?
Maybe it has to do with the HUGE $10,000 overcharge for my HOA Fees, special assessments, water and cable TV bill - which, in my personal opinion, is due to fraudulent intent or at least gross negligence by the Deer Ridge Board of Directors and / or General Manager Joe Thomas. Please see the posts for details.
We have no choice but to file a lawsuit against GGRC and RML in order to finally, once and for all, make it clear that OWNERS do have a right to all the information about our property and our investment at Deer Ridge.
If you have thoughts and ideas and suggestions, please post them here on this blog.
If you have any clout with the Board, convince them to stop the charade - and let the owners have the information that all owners own!
If you want to help cover the legal costs to get us the right to see the bids for $50,000 for nuts and bolts - and the other background documents for the $353,500 Asinine Assessment, please click on the Donate Button below.
With enough in donations, we can hire BOTH an attorney AND a forensic accountant for the whole process through the Court in Sevier County to make absolutely certain we win EVERY point - and never have to fight Employee Joe and the Board on this stuff again.
Even a $100 contribution will help show that you are in favor of an open and FULLY transparent homeowners' association at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort!
Thanks so much to those of you who have already contributed!
GENERAL DISCLAIMER FOR ALL PAGES AND POSTS AND EVERYTHING ELSE I DO OR SAY REGARDING DEER RIDGE AND ANY AND ALL RELATED PARTIES:
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.
Please note the obvious:
Everything I ever say or write in person, via emails, or on my blog, about Deer Ridge or any and all related entities and organizations or any and all affiliated personnel or owners, is strictly my own personal opinion of course - based, in part, from my owning a unit at Deer Ridge for over five years - and on my own personal history.
That history includes earning a Presidential MBA degree, being awarded a Bachelor of Science, With Honors, in Engineering Physics from UT, working for NASA as a rocket scientist at Marshall Space Flight Center, 30 years of CEO experience directly employing and managing many hundreds of people at multiple companies I personally started and operated (including one that I took public), 15 years experience buying and selling over $100 million of property and managing more than 45,000 rental units - AND being able to read and do four-function arithmetic.
Legalese - And Powered Wig - Off
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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.
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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?
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.
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.
Comments Welcome From All Visitors
You are welcome to leave your comments on the various posts on the blog. You no longer have to be registered to comment. (Even regular contributors had trouble remembering their log on passwords!)
Note that SPAM blockers are in place - and all comments require approval to be visible.
So, let's hear from you on these topics!
To view the comments, you need to click on the post topic to see the entire post and the comments.
"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.
Want To Pay Zero Assessment - And Still Get The Repairs And Improvements Done At Deer Ridge?
Do you realize that we can probably sell off RML – Ridge Management – for enough money to get ALL of the repairs and improvements done – with ZERO cost, ZERO assessments to any and all owners of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort?
There are other, larger property management companies that could make money with RML due to
Roaring Forks Motor Trail
their economies of scale that Deer Ridge alone will never be able to obtain. The value of RML’s incremental cash flow to these companies may get us a selling price that:
Pays for ALL repairs and improvements.
Gets us out from under the economic albatross of constantly having to feed more money into RML.
Affiliates ourselves with a larger, more efficient, property management company that could better service those owners who want to rent their units – for a cost equal to or less than they are currently paying RML.
Could even get us enough EXTRA cash that we have more for reserves – or even make a cash distribution to all owners.
Below are links to a comprehensive analysis of this topic that I done a while back. The numbers need to be tweaked – but the numbers are still close since RML still manages about 67 units.
Take a look at the analysis – and see if you agree that, given a choice, selling RML is MUCH better than each and everyone of us paying $3,400 to $5,500 for the Asinine Assessment.
This could be a HUGE deal for ALL owners plus those in the rental pool end up with better management AND much less management fees impacting their own net rental income. Please click each of the following links for the details:
As will be OVERWHELMINGLY obvious to the most casual observer from ALL of this information, the Deer Ridge HOA should make selling RML its TOP PRIORITY and get this sold YESTERDAY. Is there really ANYTHING else that should be a higher priority for the Board?
1 comment to Want To Pay Zero Assessment – And Still Get The Repairs And Improvements Done At Deer Ridge?
After the HOA fee raise last year to support the RML (bailout), and the timely and vague assessments,(a portion of that could end up more RML bailouts for the future) i continue to realize that not only is the RML not self-supporting now, but maybe it has NOT been standing on it’s own, for most of RML’s existence. Or for the past 12-14 years. Had it been, or had it been managed properly there would have been funds set aside to pay for, or assist in paying a portion of these assessments thru HOA’s. Huge assessments are now looming in our not so distant future. The amount of these assessements and frequency (next 2 years) would be much less had their been a true management. This has been total mis-management of Owners funding for years. Reason? Well, this is just my opinion but it is too easy sifen funds in other locations/places/people. Where? Maybe it was supporting the RML? Maybe something or someone else? It will come out eventually. It is in desperate need of a true fix.
We can continue this regime of permitting ‘no-tel explanation from board/Joe = no accountability’ and just hand over the money unspoken, and it will soon vanish again ~ or we can make more constructive choices and decisions (as Robert has mentioned) for our economic future and stability and be accountable to 84 owners.
fyi….I use to work here. I drive a 2001 maroon Lumina, that i try to keep looking nice. It is the only car i have because i only have one parking place! (Haven’t checked i may be permitted two parking places!?) so, i DO NOT have any Owner’s money but my own!
Check out our new Deer Ridge Owners webcam for the current view from our balcony!
Just click the photo for the most recent update. Updated every 5 minutes.
Top 10 Cam Award!
Our new Cobbly Nob TN site was just chosen as an Earthcam Top 10 Webcam!
All of this in just our first two weeks of operation - and before we install our new wide angle, high definition lens! Stay tuned for even better images!
EarthCam, Inc. is the global leader in providing webcam content, technology and services and ranks among the top 1% of all websites. EarthCam.com is the world’s favorite webcam network and the EarthCam Network cameras have been seen on top news shows, including CNN’s Headline News.
New YouTube Channel For Deer Ridge Owners!
Check out ALL of our videos on our new YouTube Channel for Deer Ridge Owners:
We already have videos that will walk you around the whole property and give you reviews from past guests and tourists. Find out what they REALLY have to say about Deer Ridge!
We are adding even more videos in the next few weeks - so check out our Deer Ridge Owners Channel often!
Update: Just added two new videos for a total of 20 videos so far! Check them out!
Owner Files $3 Million Lawsuit Against HOA, General Manager And Board Members
A homeowner in Gatlinburg, Tennessee has filed a $3 Million Lawsuit against his HOA, General Manager And All Individual Board Members at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.
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.
If you believe in free speech as much as we do, we need your help - no matter where in America you may live.
The Deer Ridge HOA board and individual board members have filed a $1 Million Lawsuit against me in their ongoing attempts to stop this blog and have its contents removed. Click Press Release for details.
This power clique wants to continue to block free speech on this property and to keep their illegitimate secrets hidden from other owners.
They are willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars of other owners' money on legal fees to keep themselves in power while they continue to break both Tennessee state law and Deer Ridge property law.
We need your help with the legal fees that will be required to force them to abide by the law - and insure that Deer Ridge Mountain Resort is entitled to free speech like the rest of America.
If you would like to join with others who believe in free speech and believe that all of the 305,000 Home Owner Associations across the nation should be protected from tyrannical boards that ignore the laws, please click the
Donate Button below.
Even a donation of just a few dollars would be very greatly appreciated as a way of showing that we have financial support from thousands of Americans for these important issues!
Thanks so much to all of those of you who have already contributed!
Please help us broadcast this Press Release to others you know who can spread the word. You are welcome to link to this site from Twitter, Facebook or other sites.
With your help we can fight and win this $1 Million lawsuit - and keep this blog active - and an inspiration and model for other HOA Abuse Blogs across the nation.
Robert you are absolutely correct.
After the HOA fee raise last year to support the RML (bailout), and the timely and vague assessments,(a portion of that could end up more RML bailouts for the future) i continue to realize that not only is the RML not self-supporting now, but maybe it has NOT been standing on it’s own, for most of RML’s existence. Or for the past 12-14 years. Had it been, or had it been managed properly there would have been funds set aside to pay for, or assist in paying a portion of these assessments thru HOA’s. Huge assessments are now looming in our not so distant future. The amount of these assessements and frequency (next 2 years) would be much less had their been a true management. This has been total mis-management of Owners funding for years. Reason? Well, this is just my opinion but it is too easy sifen funds in other locations/places/people. Where? Maybe it was supporting the RML? Maybe something or someone else? It will come out eventually. It is in desperate need of a true fix.
We can continue this regime of permitting ‘no-tel explanation from board/Joe = no accountability’ and just hand over the money unspoken, and it will soon vanish again ~ or we can make more constructive choices and decisions (as Robert has mentioned) for our economic future and stability and be accountable to 84 owners.
fyi….I use to work here. I drive a 2001 maroon Lumina, that i try to keep looking nice. It is the only car i have because i only have one parking place! (Haven’t checked i may be permitted two parking places!?) so, i DO NOT have any Owner’s money but my own!