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.
It is my personal belief that Joe Thomas and the “boards” of directors who have ruled Deer Ridge decided that they could not get the necessary 100% vote to accomplish the above goal of changing the Master Deed directly. Instead, it is my personal belief that Joe and the “board” have, instead, conspired to pursue their illegitimate goal of having all owners use RML. It is my opinion that they are wrongly attempting to manipulate every listing that comes up at Deer Ridge that uses Ridge Resort Realty – and even some listings that don’t use Ridge Resort Realty.
You can imagine how a few negative comments by a broker to a prospective buyer could often easily dissuade that buyer from serious consideration of buying at Deer Ridge.
Tennessee State Law For Brokers
If you are selling your unit, you might want to take a look at the web site for the Tennessee Real Estate Commissions by clicking Site. This is the state agency in charge of regulating real estate transactions and broker for Tennessee. You also might want to download the Official Manual of TREC while you are there.
If you read through those 210 pages of prose, you will find the following two excepts
Now, what this part in yellow means to me is that your broker owes you a fiduciary duty to protect your interest, even above his own, in the sale of your property. If your broker doesn’t do that – it is also my personal interpretation that a broker who is not protecting your interests, above his own or above any “organization or business entity in which the licensee has a personal interest…” is violating Tennessee state law and that broker could be subject to all kinds of penalties – including losing his license, etc.
Is it just me – or does anyone else see a possible conflict here if Joe Thomas and the “board” are REALLY conspiring to pursue their illegitimate goal of having all owners use RML by manipulating sales at Deer Ridge?
Only wanting to sell Deer Ridge units to those buyers who will use RML seems to me to be apparent violations of the law that should be fully investigated.
If you are selling your unit at Deer Ridge, you probably don’t care a hoot whether your unit is sold to an owner occupant or to some one who will rent it out using RML.
If you are selling your property and all your participation with Deer Ridge, you probably only care that you sell your unit as fast as possible for as high a price as possible.
Could it be that selling through Joe Thomas might, just maybe, be negatively impacting your sales goal for your unit?
It might be worth discussing this with Joe. He might even have a good excuse or a rational reason that might be believable. I don’t think so – but who knows?
How To Protect Yourself
If I was going to sell my unit at Deer Ridge, I would personally NEVER use Ridge Resort Realty or Joe Thomas because of all the above reasons. But that is just my personal opinion.
There are lots of great brokers in the Gatlinburg area – though you should pick one who knows Deer Ridge and all the problems and issues here.
One such Realtor is Crystal Chasan. I have never worked with her or even talked with her – but I know other Deer Ridge owners who have used her successfully and they were happy with her results. Her number is (865) 712-3026. I get zero compensation for recommending her – but wanted to at least give you a name of someone you can work with who is not influenced with the RML agenda at Deer Ridge.
Use whoever you think is best for YOU and your wallet – and best of luck with your sale.
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