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.
Yes Or No, Luther Parker? An Open Letter To Luther Parker, President of Deer Ridge - GGRC and RML
This is a copy of an email sent to Luther, The Board of Directors and Joe Thomas on Sunday, October 4, 2009:
Luther,
I have not had ANY response back from you – in spite of my investigation uncovering MAJOR problems with GGRC and RML with the way things have been and are being done at Deer Ridge.
This investigation includes what appears to be either substantive fraudulent behavior or gross negligence by Joe Thomas and / or the Board of Directors affecting an amount exceeding at least a HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
As an owner, I deserve answers to my questions.
ALL owners deserve answers to their questions concerning their property and their investment. Whether you like them or not. Whether you like answering hard questions or not.
Yet, you appear to choose to sit in silence, unresponsive to your constituency. And, you allow Employee Joe to smugly refuse to provide copies of any documents. As I relayed in my prior emails to you, he intolerably wrote on September 30, 2009:
Dear Robert,
My positions stands, no copies. If you disagree with my position please feel free to take it up with my superiors.
Attached please find the current list of Board Member contract information.
Sorry for any inconvenience this is causing you.
Joe Thomas
General Manager
Does Joe Thomas’ despicable attitude and response accurately reflect that of you, Luther Parker, and the rest of the current Board of Directors?
Yes Or No, Luther Parker?
Further, let’s divide this demand into even smaller baby steps for you.
I hereby formally request that Joe Thomas provide me with:
An email attachment of the Word document that you use for printing current mailing labels for all owners at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.
A copy of the most currently completed and immediately available comprehensive financial statements for GGRC and RML showing both current month and year to date information – preferably as Acrobat files although paper printouts will work too. This includes balance sheets, income statements, general ledger, payables and receivables.
A copy of the currently in-force insurance policy for Deer Ridge including the pricing document.
Will you, or will you not, as President of the Deer Ridge Board of Directors, instruct Joe Thomas to deliver copies for my keeping of the above three sets of documents, exactly as requested, to me before 5:00 PM Monday, October 5, 2009?
Yes Or No, Luther Parker?
Bear in mind, your answer may evoke immediate legal action against GGRC and RML – so act accordingly.
Also bear in mind, your lack of any decisive answer will obviously be interpreted – not only as a NO – but also, in my mind and the minds of many other owners, as an ongoing attempt by the President of our Deer Ridge HOA to stonewall and interfere with a justifiable investigation of substantial wrong doings by the Board and Joe Thomas.
What Say You, Luther Parker?
Owners deserve answers – and full access to all books and records of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, GGRC and RML. Are you, as President, going to interfere with this investigation – or support its goal of finding out the truth about how deep the current half million dollar problem goes?
Robert
Owner, A-202
PS: If you liked the last major news on my blog, please stay tuned for another major news announcement in the next couple of days of even more, SIGNIFICANT, problems that are also, in my opinion, EITHER fraudulent behavior and / or gross negligence by Joe Thomas and / or the Board of Directors of Deer Ridge.
3 comments to Yes Or No, Luther Parker? An Open Letter To Luther Parker, President of Deer Ridge – GGRC and RML
For any reading this… Tina is correct I have been to 4 board meetings since owning here, The audio recording of the minutes has been discussed in all 4 “Don’t think you would have known that by the minutes” I video taped one meeting, the next meeting the board voted on all the “Rules” for owners who wanted to attend as observers only… and forbid the recording of the meetings by “Anyone” except the board, and that it would continue being recorded by hand and by memory as it had been… in the past…
Think about my offer to buy the recorder, and Robert’s offer to post it on this site and ask yourself… Why, if owners buy the equipment give it to the board for that specific use, and another owner is willing to spend his valuable time to format it and post it for all to hear, WHY would the board refuse ???
When i went to the board meeting in August ’08, i did not have to give a two week notice. When did that rule change?
For those of you (which are many) that have never attended a board meeting and since this Aug 08 was my first one i can tell you that “Folks ~ well, it isn’t 100% of what you will read in the minutes!” Well, you might read 30% of it, in odd snippets. Maybe. If you are lucky! I guarantee you it will be the 30% that THEY want you (should i say “need you”) to know about. That is the TRUTH.
These so called board meetings (which i will call grueling, unproductive discussions, that should last 2 to 3 hours) last a LONG, LONG time. Look at the minutes, like i think the last one was 10 or so hours, wasn’t it? Look at the time frame on that last meeting, in the minutes. When the minutes are written, somehow it becomes condensed to basically a few sheets of paper. For as long as they are talking it would kill at least 3 or 4 trees if they wrote what really occurred! It doesn’t’ take a rocket scientist to figure out there is a lot more going on than what you are reading on that short version. After reading it many times I personally have more questions. The minutes of the 08/08 meeting did not even resemble what actually occurred! Had i not been there i would have no idea what really occurred.
Question is: Now, is really that important?
**/Well, The UPside is the board did not kill 3 or 4 trees in the process of writing what actually occurred.
**But, the DOWNside is you are not privy to all the FACTS of what is truly being said or occurring. Which means you are blind sighted. You are only getting portions and those statements and those portions can become seriously misrepresented, in my opinion. That to me is incorrigible. Negligent. Sometimes topics that are mentioned for a couple of hours didn’t even make it to the minutes! It is like playing cards (with OUR money!) without a full deck! Or, should i say for a few a STACKED DECK! There is at least 1 JOKER and 5 WILD CARDS! Game really stinks!!
Getting back to being serious:
The truth of the matter is some would like to attend board meetings, but because of logistics, scheduling, work, or personal economics they are unable. Still and all we are ALL owners/paying dues/assessments on OUR property, and we deserve the RIGHT to know 100% of what is going on at ALL TIMES. It should also be made convenient for us to do so.
Robert (not the board or Joe) is giving all of us THAT RIGHT that we all DESERVE by Digital Recordings of 100% meeting. We can listen to it at our own convenience, or elect not, it would be OUR choice! We would hear the WHOLE PICTURE not a portion of what we are PERMITTED to read.
I have and i am sure you are also asking yourself WHY NOT use a digital recorder? Why would the board and Joe not want this done and FREE to them? It is about 2 things in my opinion
1. Openness/Honesty (which needs to happen)
2. Control
Manipulation comes in loss of rights/freedom for ALL, when openness and honesty are no longer present. It is up to US. DEMAND IT!
Below is a copy of an email sent October 6, 2009 to Luther Parker, President, and the Board of Directors of Deer Ridge, and to Joe Thomas:
Luther,
I have still not heard back from you or Joe as to the proper amount for me to pay for my October 2009 payment for GGRC HOA Fee and my CORRECT amount to pay for water and cable TV.
As I have notified you several prior times, the current amounts being charged to 1-1 units at Deer Ridge are GROSSLY in error and have been miscalculated as a result of gross negligence, gross incompetence and/or fraud.
Knowing this, you are required to NOW deal with these issues immediately – or bear the risks of knowingly propagating this overcharge to all 1-1 owners.
Since I want to pay my fair share for my ownership at Deer Ridge, I will make payment tomorrow before it becomes “late” on the 10th. I have been asking you to tell me the correct amount – but you remain completely silent – unresponsive to your constituents and frozen by inaction.
If I do not receive guidance today from you as to the CORRECT amounts, I will be forced to OVERPAY the prior stated amounts as a result of your negligence to deal with this issue. All payments will include the notation, “Disputed Amount.”
Be prepared for the consequences of your negligence.
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.
For any reading this… Tina is correct I have been to 4 board meetings since owning here, The audio recording of the minutes has been discussed in all 4 “Don’t think you would have known that by the minutes” I video taped one meeting, the next meeting the board voted on all the “Rules” for owners who wanted to attend as observers only… and forbid the recording of the meetings by “Anyone” except the board, and that it would continue being recorded by hand and by memory as it had been… in the past…
Think about my offer to buy the recorder, and Robert’s offer to post it on this site and ask yourself… Why, if owners buy the equipment give it to the board for that specific use, and another owner is willing to spend his valuable time to format it and post it for all to hear, WHY would the board refuse ???
When i went to the board meeting in August ’08, i did not have to give a two week notice. When did that rule change?
For those of you (which are many) that have never attended a board meeting and since this Aug 08 was my first one i can tell you that “Folks ~ well, it isn’t 100% of what you will read in the minutes!” Well, you might read 30% of it, in odd snippets. Maybe. If you are lucky! I guarantee you it will be the 30% that THEY want you (should i say “need you”) to know about. That is the TRUTH.
These so called board meetings (which i will call grueling, unproductive discussions, that should last 2 to 3 hours) last a LONG, LONG time. Look at the minutes, like i think the last one was 10 or so hours, wasn’t it? Look at the time frame on that last meeting, in the minutes. When the minutes are written, somehow it becomes condensed to basically a few sheets of paper. For as long as they are talking it would kill at least 3 or 4 trees if they wrote what really occurred! It doesn’t’ take a rocket scientist to figure out there is a lot more going on than what you are reading on that short version. After reading it many times I personally have more questions. The minutes of the 08/08 meeting did not even resemble what actually occurred! Had i not been there i would have no idea what really occurred.
Question is: Now, is really that important?
**/Well, The UPside is the board did not kill 3 or 4 trees in the process of writing what actually occurred.
**But, the DOWNside is you are not privy to all the FACTS of what is truly being said or occurring. Which means you are blind sighted. You are only getting portions and those statements and those portions can become seriously misrepresented, in my opinion. That to me is incorrigible. Negligent. Sometimes topics that are mentioned for a couple of hours didn’t even make it to the minutes! It is like playing cards (with OUR money!) without a full deck! Or, should i say for a few a STACKED DECK! There is at least 1 JOKER and 5 WILD CARDS! Game really stinks!!
Getting back to being serious:
The truth of the matter is some would like to attend board meetings, but because of logistics, scheduling, work, or personal economics they are unable. Still and all we are ALL owners/paying dues/assessments on OUR property, and we deserve the RIGHT to know 100% of what is going on at ALL TIMES. It should also be made convenient for us to do so.
Robert (not the board or Joe) is giving all of us THAT RIGHT that we all DESERVE by Digital Recordings of 100% meeting. We can listen to it at our own convenience, or elect not, it would be OUR choice! We would hear the WHOLE PICTURE not a portion of what we are PERMITTED to read.
I have and i am sure you are also asking yourself WHY NOT use a digital recorder? Why would the board and Joe not want this done and FREE to them? It is about 2 things in my opinion
1. Openness/Honesty (which needs to happen)
2. Control
Manipulation comes in loss of rights/freedom for ALL, when openness and honesty are no longer present. It is up to US. DEMAND IT!
Below is a copy of an email sent October 6, 2009 to Luther Parker, President, and the Board of Directors of Deer Ridge, and to Joe Thomas:
Luther,
I have still not heard back from you or Joe as to the proper amount for me to pay for my October 2009 payment for GGRC HOA Fee and my CORRECT amount to pay for water and cable TV.
As I have notified you several prior times, the current amounts being charged to 1-1 units at Deer Ridge are GROSSLY in error and have been miscalculated as a result of gross negligence, gross incompetence and/or fraud.
Knowing this, you are required to NOW deal with these issues immediately – or bear the risks of knowingly propagating this overcharge to all 1-1 owners.
Since I want to pay my fair share for my ownership at Deer Ridge, I will make payment tomorrow before it becomes “late” on the 10th. I have been asking you to tell me the correct amount – but you remain completely silent – unresponsive to your constituents and frozen by inaction.
If I do not receive guidance today from you as to the CORRECT amounts, I will be forced to OVERPAY the prior stated amounts as a result of your negligence to deal with this issue. All payments will include the notation, “Disputed Amount.”
Be prepared for the consequences of your negligence.
Robert
A-202