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
----------------------------
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?
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.
Open Letter To Luther Parker and Board: Joe Thomas Accosts Owner In Laundry Room
At approximately 3:45 PM on Friday October 16, 2009, Employee, and General Manager of GGRC, Joe Thomas accosted my wife Janet in the laundry room of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.
Janet had been talking with Janice, head of housekeeping, while she did laundry. A few minutes after Janice left, while Janet was alone in the laundry room, Employee Joe stormed into the room, yelling that she was to NEVER talk with his employees again about anything. Thomas then backed Janet into a corner crowding her personal space by approaching her within inches of her face and body.
Thomas then repeatedly demanded that Janet recite word for word exactly what she had said to Janice. In spite of Janet telling Bully Joe to get out of her face and leave her alone, he continued to act in a threatening manner – continuing to corner her using his big bulk to try and tower over and intimidate my 5’3″ 110 lb wife – and not allowing her to escape his pinning her in the corner.
Fortunately, Janet does not intimidate easily – and she made it clear to Employee Joe that HE was the employee, that we pay his salaries, that he had zero right to talk to her like that, that he has no power or authority to attempt to control who she speaks to….employees, other owners or guests of Deer Ridge…nor does he have any right to control what is said or even to know what was said. She tried to make it clear, even to him, that Americans – and even Deer Ridge owners – are FREE to express their opinions about anything they want, to whomever they want, whenever they want – without dictatorial censorship.
This is not the first time that Employee Joe has attempted to intimidate other owners at Deer Ridge…especially those of us who “do not toe the RML line.” We have been told of several instances where this petty tyrant employee has had delusions of adequacy and importance and feigned authority over owners…even to the point of threatening owners with, “You better watch your back.”
This is also not the first time we have reported bad behavior by Petty Tyrant Joe Thomas at DeerRidgeOwners.com: Please click the following link from March 2007:
Luther, this indefensible, deplorable and totally inappropriate behavior by YOUR employee is completely unacceptable in every sense of the word. While we are investigating whether we can press criminal charges against Joe Thomas for his actions yesterday, we DEMAND that you finally do something to control YOUR employee. If GGRC chooses to continue to ignore these antics of its employee, GGRC risks being held legally culpable for his actions.
We demand that you and the Board finally take immediate disciplinary actions against Employee Joe Thomas including providing us with:
A copy of your letter of reprimand to Employee Joe about his deplorable behavior – including language about his immediate termination on the next occurrence of ANY attempted intimidation or threats to any owner or their guests. Also, this letter of reprimand should clearly state that Employee Joe is to NEVER talk with Janet again unless another female employee is present.
A written letter of apology from Joe Thomas to Janet, on GGRC letterhead.
Stating that he was completely out of line to approach her and attempt to intimidate her.
Stating that she has every right to talk with any employee, guest or owner that she wishes to without limit.
That he promises to never talk with her again in any threatening manner.
That another woman employee will always be present for any future conversation with any woman owner or guest.
A statement of policy signed by you, on GGRC letterhead, clearly stating that:
Any owner or visitor to Deer Ridge has the total right to talk with, or communicate with in any manner, any other owner, employee or guest of Deer Ridge
Without limitation as to when, where or topic
Without any need whatsoever to report to Employee Joe
That any and all employees of GGRC and RML have the right to talk with and communicate with ALL owners – including us. (Apparently, Petty Tyrant Joe has demanded that employees not talk or communicate with us. We both personally very much like the staff at Deer Ridge – all of them are GREAT folks – and we regret that they have been caught in the middle with Employee Joe’s tirades.)
Deer Ridge is our home – and we will NOT allow the hired help to ever do this again – to us – or to any other owner.
Luther, your very questionable impotent management style of blithely overlooking and ignoring serious problems at Deer Ridge cannot be used for this obscene behavior by your employee. Good management would dictate that you immediately terminate Joe Thomas with cause. Please act accordingly.
At a minimum, we demand IMMEDIATE action as described above – or GGRC will bear the legal consequences.
PS: We encourage other owners who have suffered any kind of attempted intimidation by Petty Tyrant Joe Thomas to post comments to this blog posting below describing what happened. Employee Joe has apparently depended in the past on owners not having a forum to compare his attempts at intimidation. I am hopeful that this blog helps solve that problem – and will let the light of day expose all of the questionable actions of both Joe Thomas and the Board.
4 comments to Open Letter To Luther Parker and Board: Joe Thomas Accosts Owner In Laundry Room
Luther Parker, as your Board president, has not responded even on this indefensible, deplorable and totally inappropriate behavior by General Manager Joe Thomas.
Once again, it appears that the Board will do nothing to control their out-of-control Employee Joe – no matter what. Their lack of action, and their implicit approval of Joe’s assault on Janet opens up the GGRC HOA to all kinds of potential claims.
Makes you wonder what Luther’s pecking order of priorities must be as Deer Ridge President?
We are already considering getting a court-ordered peace bond filed against Employee Joe for his accosting Janet in the laundry room. If anything like that EVER happens again, we won’t even hesitate a day. Then, again, we may even make what has already happened part of the upcoming litigation – and get that peace bond in place before he tries anything like that again.
Maybe some day the Board members will get their collective heads out of other body parts – and attempt to manage this property with at least some small measure of competence – and the correct priorities.
Yes, me as well. I do not put anyone in jeopardy. From an employee’s standpoint, ‘repercussions’ from management would be astronomical and detrimental for anyone saying anything.
I have never witnessed anything quite like this. Strong arm technique and a control factor. This creates the no-tel motel.
I have experienced having the Employee being afraid to speak more than a few words to me, even though I have never brought up anything that would be a sensitive subject, it’s always been personal and small talk…
I am sorry this has happened to you. I can truly understand how you feel.
I also know the odd behavior and timing of Joe Thomas. I have explained some of this with Luther Parker a long time ago with Debra Coogle present. Other topics, as well.
Like Janet and Robert, no one is going to tell me whom I can or cannot speak with. Not while I am living in the USA.
However: Please, realize and all must, that the employee’s must not speak with us, or whomever they may be ‘instructed not to talk to’ at any given time. Simply in order to keep their jobs. This is not new procedure. It has been going on for YEARS, or since I have owned here. I am sure long before that. I know, as well as the employee’s both sides of the ‘no-tel’ fence very well. They will not be permitted to speak candidly on this either, or may have to deny. Incorrigible.
So, if the board wishes to contemplate how and why all this happens (along with all other Deer Ridge Owners) this is also just a ‘portion’ of what can and does occur here. Hard to imagine, or even BELIEVE, I realize. If it had not happened to Janet, I am sure she would not have understood. Been there, seen and heard it and I understand.
Living here is a Blessing. Some things should never be tolerated.
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.
Luther Parker, as your Board president, has not responded even on this indefensible, deplorable and totally inappropriate behavior by General Manager Joe Thomas.
Once again, it appears that the Board will do nothing to control their out-of-control Employee Joe – no matter what. Their lack of action, and their implicit approval of Joe’s assault on Janet opens up the GGRC HOA to all kinds of potential claims.
Makes you wonder what Luther’s pecking order of priorities must be as Deer Ridge President?
We are already considering getting a court-ordered peace bond filed against Employee Joe for his accosting Janet in the laundry room. If anything like that EVER happens again, we won’t even hesitate a day. Then, again, we may even make what has already happened part of the upcoming litigation – and get that peace bond in place before he tries anything like that again.
Maybe some day the Board members will get their collective heads out of other body parts – and attempt to manage this property with at least some small measure of competence – and the correct priorities.
Neil,
Yes, me as well. I do not put anyone in jeopardy. From an employee’s standpoint, ‘repercussions’ from management would be astronomical and detrimental for anyone saying anything.
I have never witnessed anything quite like this. Strong arm technique and a control factor. This creates the no-tel motel.
I have experienced having the Employee being afraid to speak more than a few words to me, even though I have never brought up anything that would be a sensitive subject, it’s always been personal and small talk…
Janet,
I am sorry this has happened to you. I can truly understand how you feel.
I also know the odd behavior and timing of Joe Thomas. I have explained some of this with Luther Parker a long time ago with Debra Coogle present. Other topics, as well.
Like Janet and Robert, no one is going to tell me whom I can or cannot speak with. Not while I am living in the USA.
However: Please, realize and all must, that the employee’s must not speak with us, or whomever they may be ‘instructed not to talk to’ at any given time. Simply in order to keep their jobs. This is not new procedure. It has been going on for YEARS, or since I have owned here. I am sure long before that. I know, as well as the employee’s both sides of the ‘no-tel’ fence very well. They will not be permitted to speak candidly on this either, or may have to deny. Incorrigible.
So, if the board wishes to contemplate how and why all this happens (along with all other Deer Ridge Owners) this is also just a ‘portion’ of what can and does occur here. Hard to imagine, or even BELIEVE, I realize. If it had not happened to Janet, I am sure she would not have understood. Been there, seen and heard it and I understand.
Living here is a Blessing. Some things should never be tolerated.