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.
Digital Recordings of Deer Ridge Board Meetings
This page should be filled with clickable link after clickable link – letting ALL Deer Ridge Mountain Resort owners hear every word of every Board meeting so that every owner can know what is REALLY happening with their investment.
Unfortunately, the Board continues to refuse this kind of transparency be made available to Deer Ridge owners – so all you can hear right now is this test.
If you have your speakers turned on for your computer, you can hear a sample of the quality of audio that is available with a $90 DS-30 Olympus Digital Recorder that I use for business. Neil has offered to even buy the recorder – and I have offered to make all of them available to ALL owners on this very page. They would be sorted and identified by date – and all you would have to do is click on the ones you wanted to hear.
Why is the Board sooooo dead set against having audio recordings of all Board meetings made available to all owners to hear?
What POSSIBLE excuse can the Board have for saying NO???
This is all that was reported during the last Board Meeting Minutes reported by Luther:
Digital Recording of Board Meetings. Larry Ohm and Marge Duncan both stated they felt the minutes of the Board meetings are being recorded well. The Board decided it is at its discretion as to how the minutes of the meetings are recorded. At this time the current methods of recording have been deemed sufficient.
Well, golly gee whiz, Larry and Marge – you all are THERE. Most owners are not. You would think anyone could understand that difference.
Likewise, I understand that the Board has gone on record that an Owner can’t even record any Board meeting using their own equipment. Do any other Owners find this position as outrageous as I do?
The current haphazard, incomplete and I believe intentionally vague recap of the meeting shenanigans are NOT sufficient by a long shot – and the ONLY reason I can think of why soooooo much resistance to this ZERO cost issue is SECRECRY and SIDE DEALS and LIES to all the owners. There simply can’t be any other reason NOT to provide this record to all owners.
Could it be that the Board knows if the meetings are recorded, then the subterfuge about the assessments are being partly done as a way to cover “operating deficit” caused by the Board continuing to feed OUR cash into RML?
I suggest that Owners consider filing a lawsuit to force the Board to provide this record.
At our condo in Florida, not only do they digitally record the meetings – they just started doing a live webcam broadcast than ANY owner can watch from anywhere in the world. Plus they are recorded, so, like You Tube, owners can watch the Board meeting videos anytime they want – as often as they want.
Isn’t it about time that Deer Ridge joined the new millennium for the benefit of ALL owners – and be COMPLETELY transparent?
Please comment below.
5 comments to Digital Recordings of Deer Ridge Board Meetings
Well, you speak for yourself as far as the ‘lazy duff’ thing!
Many owners actually have a life, other obligations, work, family etc… so their duff isn’t exactly as lazy as yours, as you have stated. They just do not have the funds to drive or fly to a board meeting. I am sure they do not like the idea of being frisked either! Or, apprehensive to even say anything as in the last board meeting it was mentioned by some of the board that they wanted to ‘get rid’ of some owners. I am sure you do not want that digitally recorded and you would have to sit there with duct tape over your own mouth for 10 hours, which would be worth my time and offer some amusement in the process, i will admit!
Besides, not everyone’s mileage is paid for and no free air tickets or perks. I am sure you are aware of some of that, aren’t you Saywhat?!
It is imperative that digital recordings are necessary to keep the board above board and their hands above the table!
So the rest of us are supposed to believe and trust you to transcribe the recordings? I think the best thing to do is get off our lazy duffs and attend the meetings. That’s what I have done and I can see for myself what is truth and what is not.
Sorry, ‘nice tidings and trust’ with 353G doesn’t cut it. The rest of the 84 needs it! Truly, it is in the board/Joe’s best interest as well to record it. Openness needs to play in for all of us.
As Margie and Larry mentioned that the meetings are recorded well? Don’t need this recorder. Well……for them maybe it is? And a handful of others that are sitting by their sides around a table at these meetings. I guess that leave the rest of us OUT?
I guess the reluctance to keep all owners informed speaks volumes! Doesn’t it?
Thanks Neil! That’s generous of you – and it will leave NO doubts about the transparency intentions of the Board. It even records in high quality for up to 17 hours…so all they have to do is:
= pull out of pocket
= press on button
= press record button
= press stop button when meeting done
= put in pocket
= deliver to my unit – and I take care of getting it off the machine and on the blog.
Six little steps that do not require rocket scientists to implement (actually, I AM a rocket scientist (NASA – Marshall Space Flight Center) – but I digress.)
If the Board doesn’t do use your gift for every meeting from now on – then the more than obvious conclusion is that the board IS hiding things from all the owners. Period.
If you have not listened to the Sample recording of the DS-30 take a listen, I’m going to go ahead and purchase one of these units and Donate it to the Association. If the board chooses not to use it, and make the recordings available, then most owners will have to realize WE Are NOT Fully informed on the business of OUR Association, Any and ALL 84 Owners should be concerned that the board doesn’t want anyone not able to attend the meetings to know all the details of how $340,000.00 of our money has already been decided on… Please tell any owner you may know about this website… Thanks, Neil C-208
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.
you can hear a sample of the quality of audio that is available with a $90 DS-30 Olympus Digital Recorder that I use for business. Neil has offered to even buy the recorder – and I have offered to make all of them available to ALL owners on this very page. They would be sorted and identified by date – and all you would have to do is click on the ones you wanted to hear.
Saywhat,
Well, you speak for yourself as far as the ‘lazy duff’ thing!
Many owners actually have a life, other obligations, work, family etc… so their duff isn’t exactly as lazy as yours, as you have stated. They just do not have the funds to drive or fly to a board meeting. I am sure they do not like the idea of being frisked either! Or, apprehensive to even say anything as in the last board meeting it was mentioned by some of the board that they wanted to ‘get rid’ of some owners. I am sure you do not want that digitally recorded and you would have to sit there with duct tape over your own mouth for 10 hours, which would be worth my time and offer some amusement in the process, i will admit!
Besides, not everyone’s mileage is paid for and no free air tickets or perks. I am sure you are aware of some of that, aren’t you Saywhat?!
It is imperative that digital recordings are necessary to keep the board above board and their hands above the table!
So the rest of us are supposed to believe and trust you to transcribe the recordings? I think the best thing to do is get off our lazy duffs and attend the meetings. That’s what I have done and I can see for myself what is truth and what is not.
No recorder, response from board/Joe?
Sorry, ‘nice tidings and trust’ with 353G doesn’t cut it. The rest of the 84 needs it! Truly, it is in the board/Joe’s best interest as well to record it. Openness needs to play in for all of us.
As Margie and Larry mentioned that the meetings are recorded well? Don’t need this recorder. Well……for them maybe it is? And a handful of others that are sitting by their sides around a table at these meetings. I guess that leave the rest of us OUT?
I guess the reluctance to keep all owners informed speaks volumes! Doesn’t it?
tm
Thanks Neil! That’s generous of you – and it will leave NO doubts about the transparency intentions of the Board. It even records in high quality for up to 17 hours…so all they have to do is:
= pull out of pocket
= press on button
= press record button
= press stop button when meeting done
= put in pocket
= deliver to my unit – and I take care of getting it off the machine and on the blog.
Six little steps that do not require rocket scientists to implement (actually, I AM a rocket scientist (NASA – Marshall Space Flight Center) – but I digress.)
If the Board doesn’t do use your gift for every meeting from now on – then the more than obvious conclusion is that the board IS hiding things from all the owners. Period.
If you have not listened to the Sample recording of the DS-30 take a listen, I’m going to go ahead and purchase one of these units and Donate it to the Association. If the board chooses not to use it, and make the recordings available, then most owners will have to realize WE Are NOT Fully informed on the business of OUR Association, Any and ALL 84 Owners should be concerned that the board doesn’t want anyone not able to attend the meetings to know all the details of how $340,000.00 of our money has already been decided on… Please tell any owner you may know about this website… Thanks, Neil C-208