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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

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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.


Independent Legal Opinion: GGRC Board Guilty Of Numerous Violations / $353,500 Assessment Is Null And Void

Independent Legal Opinion:   GGRC “Board” Guilty Of Numerous Violations / $353,500 Assessment Is Null And Void
The following is a copy of an email sent to Luther Parker, other “board” members and Joe Thomas on February 18, 2010 describing the legal findings of a real estate law firm concerning Gatlinburg Golf and Racquet Club – GGRC [...]

Deer Ridge History - Historical Documents And Smoking Guns - Coming Soon

We have just been presented with two massive notebooks of historical documents on Deer Ridge that date back to about the time the property was built!
This 11″ stack of papers make absolutely fascinating reading – board minutes, incorporation papers for RML, annual meeting presentations, promises, excuses, provisional hiring, political force outs, side deals – the [...]

Knoxville Law Firm Hired - Retainer Paid

We have just hired an established real estate-focused law firm in Knoxville to begin our legal pursuits against GGRC, Joe Thomas and the current Board of Directors of Deer Ridge Mountain Resort.
We have already paid the necessary retainer – so watch this blog closely for upcoming developments.
Do YOU believe that ALL owners of Deer Ridge [...]

New Official Mail Tampering Complaints Filed Against Joe Thomas At Deer Ridge

This is an open letter to Luther Parker and the Board regarding what we see as ongoing mail tampering at Deer Ridge.
As a result of this blog, and the efforts of other full time residents at Deer Ridge, we were able to finally force Joe Thomas and the Board to erect private postal boxes like [...]

Investment Analysis For A Single Rental Condo Unit At Deer Ridge Mountain Resort, Gatlinburg, Tennessee

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 [...]

My Response To The Board's Attack Letter

Thank You!
I want to thank the growing number of owners at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort who are supporting this blog and its primary goals. Those goals include making GGRC and RML transparent, accountable and compliant with the controlling documents of our property: The Master Deed and Bylaws.
These documents are the “law of the land” for [...]

Owners Beware: Your Trash Is Being Read By RML Personnel At Deer Ridge?

It has just come to our attention that our trash is actually being opened and READ by RML personnel.   We are investigating whether this goes all the way to the top or not.
We have heard unsubstantiated reports that Joe Thomas has special software to intercept and read what is being sent and received on the [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Upcoming Mailing To All Deer Ridge Mountain Resort Owners

I have special postcards on order right now that will be mailed to all owners at Deer Ridge.
The goal is to let all owners know about the new Deer Ridge Owners Blog – so they can know what is going on with their property, participate in the online discussions and get to know their co-owners.
You [...]

Open Letter to Deer Ridge Board: Lawsuit Being Prepared Against GGRC and RML

Luther,
Yesterday, I received the below email from Employee Joe Thomas regarding maintenance on our unit at Deer Ridge Mountain Resort – indicating that:

“At this time, due to reduced staffing in our maintenance department and
their duties & responsibilities to the GGRC common area and the RML
Participants, I am unable to honor your current request [...]

Postmaster Says We Have A Right To Demand Individual Mailboxes

UPDATE!  – FORMAL COMPLAINT FILED WITH POSTAL INSPECTORS – SEE BELOW

The Board and RML need to understand that this property is trending toward more and more full time residences – and the property’s operation needs to reflect this. We are not sure if our mail is being tampered with – but we seem to [...]

Full Time Residents - This Is NOT a Condo-Hotel No Matter What Luther Says

For one thing, more and more units are being occupied by full time residents – and those residents have as much right to this property being run as an owner occupied property as those who choose to operate their individual units as rentals.
Deer Ridge, itself, should NOT be in the

Tags: Full Time Residents, [...]

Deer Ridge Mountain Resort An Economic Prediction For 2008-2010

On April 12, 2008, I went out on a limb and made some very specific predictions of the future.
You can still see that same prediction, unedited from the time it was posted, by clicking Prediction or by clicking the tab at the top of this page.
It’s now almost 18 months later….what do you think?  How [...]

Initial Thoughts About The Asinine Assessment

Just some initial thoughts about the asinine assessment letter sent out by Luther:
The assessment is based on VERY rounded numbers…like EXACTLY $50,000 for “nuts and bolts” (that’s a LOT of nuts and bolts) which makes me think they don’t even have real bids…PLUS…the “contingency” is about $400 a unit on the current assessment….that is huge…and [...]

Joe's Folly Pavilion - $80,000 Plus - Wasted GGRC Money

Sandee’s report to the board was interesting:  it shows that the pavilion is rented for $150 a day…and that it was rented for 17 days in 2009.  That makes an annual revenue of $2,550.
As I recall, WE all paid about $45,000 for Joe’s Folly – PLUS about $26,000 in architectural drawings, etc.  The Board continues [...]