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.
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!
Disclaimer
Legalese On
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.
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.
Jeff is right about many of the issues he cites. In my opinion, the problems rest partly with the negligent owners – but in my opinion, the major problems are fundamental issues with Ridge Management, the onsite property management company…and I highly recommend that tourists not use their services based on all the complaints about them that we hear.
On the other hand, we have heard nothing but GREAT things about Jeff’s unit and his management style. He genuinely bends over backwards to ensure that his guests have a spectacular time – including no surprise “cleaning charges” like Ridge Management charges. I wholeheartedly recommend you rent from Jeff if you want to stay at Deer Ridge. His website is https://aboveparcondo.com – check it out and make your reservations at Jeff’s site.
The only issue I have with Jeff’s comments is with Trip Advisor. In an MSNBC article titled, “TripAdvisor warns of fake reviews” they had this to say:
Trip Advisor, the influential travel Web site, “has been quietly posting disclaimers to warn customers of hotels writing fake reviews to improve their popularity rankings or hurt competitors.” This is according to the AP and MSNBC. The article goes on to say that,
“The problem of policing online reviews is not limited to TripAdvisor…People early on were not playing games with it. Now there are lots of games. Tucker said travel industry insiders — but often not casual travelers — understand the financial incentives hotels have to artificially inflate their rankings on the site. Some offer discounts or freebies to patrons who write positive reviews or hire public relations companies who say they can improve the reviews.”
Other articles cite how marketing and ad agencies are creating whole new departments on generating bogus reviews for travel related companies like hotels and motels. The bogus review business has apparently gotten so competitive that many marketing companies are outsourcing their bogus review writing and posting to cheaper, overseas locations so they can better price match all of their competition. There are even videos on YouTube on how to do this stuff.
It is my personal belief that many of these “good” reviews you will find for Deer Ridge are bogus.
For example, as mentioned above, Trip Advisor used to allow anyone to leave a review anonymously. Now, you have to set up an account…but as one of the YouTube videos shows, all you need is one of the free proxy sites, one of the free email sites like Google or Yahoo…and you can, in one day, create hundreds if not thousands of fake user accounts on Trip Advisor. Then, you can post whatever glowing report you want to have the World see.
It is my personal belief that many of these “outstanding” reviews may be done by the RML marketing and PR companies and Ridge Management personnel as a way of overwhelming the more honest and negative reviews. Again, I have no direct proof of this. But one thing that I wanted to accomplish with our special Deer Ridge Mountain Resort Review Page was to unbury the negative that have been obscured with these “good” reviews and accurately reflect what my wife and I hear in the parking lot and office on a monthly basis for the past two years.
Decide for yourself – or better yet – just rent Jeff’s unit for an outstanding experience by going to https://aboveparcondo.com
Just to be clear. Deer Ridge is currently rated #7 of 93 hotels in Gatlinburg. Deer Ridge is consistently in the top 10 on Trip Advisor.
Based on the negative review posted here, the Owner of this unit is the problem, not Deer Ridge Management. Deer Ridge does have to own the linens and towels problem. However, the guest states that “Overall the unit needed to be refurbished”, this falls to the owner, not Deer Ridge. The guest states that the cleanliness was satisfactory.
I would attribute the majority of the overall small number of negative reviews of Deer Ridge to be the fault of the hand full of Deer Ridge owners that seem to think that you can neglect your condo and still have satisfied guests. These owners should not own investment property.
Deer Ridge is a beautiful facility in a superior location. The drive into Deer Ridge is beautiful and not littered with unsightly surroundings like many of the other area resorts. Deer Ridge is a great destination and it is unfortunate that a few of the owners don’t wish to take their investments seriously. Hopefully these owners have their units up for sale and we will get more responsible owners that care about their units.
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.
Best Sellers – Hiking
Subscribe!
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.
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Jeff is right about many of the issues he cites. In my opinion, the problems rest partly with the negligent owners – but in my opinion, the major problems are fundamental issues with Ridge Management, the onsite property management company…and I highly recommend that tourists not use their services based on all the complaints about them that we hear.
On the other hand, we have heard nothing but GREAT things about Jeff’s unit and his management style. He genuinely bends over backwards to ensure that his guests have a spectacular time – including no surprise “cleaning charges” like Ridge Management charges. I wholeheartedly recommend you rent from Jeff if you want to stay at Deer Ridge. His website is https://aboveparcondo.com – check it out and make your reservations at Jeff’s site.
The only issue I have with Jeff’s comments is with Trip Advisor. In an MSNBC article titled, “TripAdvisor warns of fake reviews” they had this to say:
You can read the whole article by clicking http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31928795/ns/travel-news/.
Other articles cite how marketing and ad agencies are creating whole new departments on generating bogus reviews for travel related companies like hotels and motels. The bogus review business has apparently gotten so competitive that many marketing companies are outsourcing their bogus review writing and posting to cheaper, overseas locations so they can better price match all of their competition. There are even videos on YouTube on how to do this stuff.
It is my personal belief that many of these “good” reviews you will find for Deer Ridge are bogus.
For example, as mentioned above, Trip Advisor used to allow anyone to leave a review anonymously. Now, you have to set up an account…but as one of the YouTube videos shows, all you need is one of the free proxy sites, one of the free email sites like Google or Yahoo…and you can, in one day, create hundreds if not thousands of fake user accounts on Trip Advisor. Then, you can post whatever glowing report you want to have the World see.
It is my personal belief that many of these “outstanding” reviews may be done by the RML marketing and PR companies and Ridge Management personnel as a way of overwhelming the more honest and negative reviews. Again, I have no direct proof of this. But one thing that I wanted to accomplish with our special Deer Ridge Mountain Resort Review Page was to unbury the negative that have been obscured with these “good” reviews and accurately reflect what my wife and I hear in the parking lot and office on a monthly basis for the past two years.
Decide for yourself – or better yet – just rent Jeff’s unit for an outstanding experience by going to https://aboveparcondo.com
Just to be clear. Deer Ridge is currently rated #7 of 93 hotels in Gatlinburg. Deer Ridge is consistently in the top 10 on Trip Advisor.
Based on the negative review posted here, the Owner of this unit is the problem, not Deer Ridge Management. Deer Ridge does have to own the linens and towels problem. However, the guest states that “Overall the unit needed to be refurbished”, this falls to the owner, not Deer Ridge. The guest states that the cleanliness was satisfactory.
I would attribute the majority of the overall small number of negative reviews of Deer Ridge to be the fault of the hand full of Deer Ridge owners that seem to think that you can neglect your condo and still have satisfied guests. These owners should not own investment property.
Deer Ridge is a beautiful facility in a superior location. The drive into Deer Ridge is beautiful and not littered with unsightly surroundings like many of the other area resorts. Deer Ridge is a great destination and it is unfortunate that a few of the owners don’t wish to take their investments seriously. Hopefully these owners have their units up for sale and we will get more responsible owners that care about their units.
Credit where credit is due.