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Just a couple of questions regarding the Annual Meeting, which I could not attend, and other comments.
Regarding SPC's commitment to a maximum 5% annual Club dues increase, is this a sure thing? I have only the meeting presentation pdf as a basis to ask my questions, and the slide, on which this topic appears, is ambiguous as to its certainty, in my opinion. Maybe it is just the wording, but I would not read this as a done deal, just based on this slide. The topic is listed as only one of two, "Issues," of the Club, but under the page title, "RBCAI Action Plan," and not within a slide representing actions the Club would take. Thank you for your help.
"RBCAI Action Plan
3. Issues of the Rarity Bay Country Club
•Putting caps on annual social dues not to exceed 5.00%
•Freezing social club initiation fees at $5,000 until 2025
•Continuing discussions"
Regarding your entry about the comments of the Declarant/Club owner that Club membership has increased, did he claim this verbally? I ask because the numbers provided in his speech only represented "new families," who have "joined," the Club. He doesn't say how many have left the Club, so it is not possible to know from the numbers he provided if membership has increased. He also does not indicate the memberships that are being obtained, "in higher numbers, even voluntarily." Did he verbally differentiate whether they were social memberships obtained voluntarily by residents not mandated, or Golf memberships by those properties with free $25,000 initiation fees?
"Residents are joining the Club in higher numbers, even voluntarily. The following are statistics of
new families joining Rarity Bay Country Club.
• 2015: 20 new families
• 2016: 35
• 2017: 45
• 2018: on pace to hit 60"
Regarding the commitment to the maximum 5% increase in Club dues, and the decision to return the Board to resident majority control, my opinion is this is a response to the Resident lawsuit. The timing is too coincidental to dismiss the motives behind these unexpected moves.
Just a year ago, the Declarant took majority control under the claim that he wanted to, " . . . make efforts to abate and protect the community. In order to shield the resident members of the board and to protect the community as a whole, the Declarant will be appointing a non-resident candidate to occupy (1) one of the (3) three open seats."
I think the Declarant is now much more aware of the restraints on his capability to control the community, and his own shortcomings. And, who will now protect the resident members of the Board? Was that really an issue, as he claimed?
Rarity Bay is, indeed, a great place to live. I am not a Club member, however, so I am unaffected by the dramas created, not by the residents, but by those in charge.
Thank you, again, for any information you may provide.
Last edited by TennTitan; 06-18-2018 at 07:46 PM..
The interest in Rarity Bay, and the difficulty in obtaining factual, meaningful information is, and has been, a detriment to the community. It is time to document, on a timely basis, events as they occur so that details are captured and published to a website that is freely available to all who are interested.
I invite other Rarity Bay property owners and residents to contribute an account of their own experiences and their knowledge as well. The goal is not to convince a reader that Rarity Bay is, or is not, a place you should consider for your future home. The level of satisfaction in the community varies widely, and you may wonder, at times, if contributors are all talking about the same place. I've also heard comments from residents that reflect the sentiment, "I wish that I had known (this) before I purchased a lot (or house)."
Rarity Bay has a negative history that is actually not deserved. Although the developer, Mike Ross, made some very bad business decisions, Rarity Bay was the first of the "Rarity," properties built. His venture into other developments, and the repercussions from doing so, led to lawsuits related to the Rarity Pointe development, now WindRiver. There were other lawsuits, but Rarity Bay and its Association were doing quite well, relative to all the other developments. The "Rarity," brand, however, was damaged, and the mortgage crisis only added to a severe downturn in property values. The community is still trying to recover from this period in time.
I'm going to stop this very brief introduction and provide a link, below, that would be of interest to those who want to know more about the lawsuits from the Ross years, along with some additional information, encompassing the period of June, 2011 through May, 2015. The link is an auto-download, so it will not direct you to a website, but ask you to specify a folder in which to save the pdf file.
Due to the interest in Rarity Bay, and the increasing amount of questions regarding its history and current situation, I have started a new thread titled, "Rarity Bay, as it happens." It can be difficult for those outside the community, and even some within, to understand an answer to a question without knowledge of prior events.
My hope is that other Rarity Bay owners will contribute to this new thread because many of us hold different opinions on the various subjects that will be discussed. This is also an attempt to dispel rumors by providing factual information, in addition to personal opinion. I am not going to advise anyone as to whether an investment in Rarity Bay is prudent, or if you will find happiness as a "Bay," resident. I believe that if you obtain the information that you need to make an informed decision, that decision will not be one that you will regret. What the future holds is uncertain, so you can only utilize the information, at hand.
For those who are interested in reviewing documents from the most recent lawsuits, you can contact the Chancery Court of Monroe County, 423-442-2644, and request documents to be emailed to you. You will have to provide the case number for each lawsuit, #20053 for the Residents, and #19943 for the Declarant/Partners.
A hearing scheduled for today, 6/25/2018, had to be cancelled because the lawyers representing the Declarant/Club Owner (SPC), and lawyers for the Rarity Bay Association filed responses with the Court on 6/20/2018, which would not allow time for the Plaintiff's lawyers to respond before today's hearing.
At this time, the case has not advanced with any expediency. The Plaintiffs (residents) filed their original complaint on 9/29/2017, and the Defendants (SPC) responded by submitting, on 11/27/2018, a Motion to Dismiss for Failure to Join All Parties. SPC also claimed that the Association's Board, and the Real Estate side of the original partnership, now called RBP (Rarity Bay Properties) should be involved because all three entities were party to an agreement concerning some or all of the issues to be argued.
Plaintiffs responded with an Amended Complaint, 3/23/2018, requesting the Court to join similarly situated property owners (class certification), and addressed the involvement of the other two parties as requested by SPC.
SPC and the Board didn't like the Plaintiff's Amended Complaint, and here is where it gets very interesting. Both parties argued that the Plaintiff's Amended Complaint did not adhere to the standards for meeting the burden of establishing class certification. And both argued that the Plaintiff's cannot obtain class certification because there are TWO MANY DIFFERENT classes.
Effectively, the intent is to deny property owners the right to seek redress in the Court. SPC first claimed there must be class certification; the Plaintiffs responded appropriately to this request. Now, both SPC and the Board claim there are too many different classes for this lawsuit.
I am convinced that the Court will resolve this matter because it has wide discretion in deciding these matters. More importantly, Rarity Bay residents cannot be prejudiced by situations that were brought about by the Developer, Declarant, and the Club Owner. Are they really trying to say that Rarity Bay property owners will never be able to defend their individual self-interests in a Tennessee Court?
I wouldn't draw any conclusions that the Board is collaborating with SPC, just because both submitted their responses on 6/20, or that they presented the same argument, as to class certification.
In April, 2018, attempts to serve a summons, upon an RBP partner, were met with refusal at his place of business. An employee at the location told the officer that they would not accept or sign for the delivery, and refused service.
A copy of this summons can be emailed to you upon request from the Monroe County, TN, Chancery Court, 423-442-2644, case #20053.
Last edited by TennTitan; 06-26-2018 at 09:14 AM..
Reason: Correct spelling
TennTitan, thank you very much for starting this thread and providing this level of information.
As someone who is interested in Rarity Bay, I'm sometimes startled by how little information I pick up during the normal course of having a realtor show us homes for sale. If the "fully disclosed" story of Rarity Bay is equivalent to a full length novel, then I feel like I'm getting just a handful of paragraphs scattered somewhere in the middle of the book.
The prior thread was of some assistance but, overall, there seems to be some reluctance on the part of many who reside at RB to share their thoughts and info in a forum such as this.
In fact, it strikes me as somewhat funny that I previously inquired about the availability and strength of internet access at RB, while I am now complaining about the lack of participation of RB residents on this internet forum. Perhaps it is a community consisting primarily of the digitally unconnected. And, of course, when it comes to the internet, the "untethered" are not silent voices () but non-existent voices.
Perhaps this new thread will encourage those at RB who have internet (and are aware of this forum) to throw in their two cents. They should think of it this way. If they have a home to sell, I may turn out to be the person interested in buying it at a decent price. If I feel I do not have adequate info, I will certainly not buy it and they may get less from the next person or perhaps not have the opportunity to sell it at all.
These days, once the spotlight is on a community in an internet forum, and especially if any negative info comes to light, there is no putting the squeezed toothpaste back in the tube. There is only the opportunity to address it. Sometimes the problems are not as bad as they seem or not even problems at all. And sometimes the problems are worse than imagined and you find yourself screaming at the top of your lungs and running for the hills (or mountains in this case).
Would love to hear the various opinions and experiences and then take it from there. So, Rarity Bay residents, please share your thoughts.
The vast majority of residents in RB are digitally connected and tethered. They just have other ways to spend their time, other sources of information, and, even if they have heard of City Data, see no personal value in a forum like this. Some who do participate want to share what they know/think to help people who are seriously considering Rarity Bay, others may be working personal agendas.
A culture of secrecy has evolved over time, but that culture does not serve this community well. Outsiders often express the sentiment that it is difficult to obtain meaningful information. Exrvi's explanation is right on in response to your complaint about the absence of Rarity Bay contributors on this forum. The community is active and strong bonds have developed through the many social groups and activities. Residents don't dwell on their predicament and they make the most of what the community has to offer. Michael Ross may have been a business failure, among other things, but in Rarity Bay, he created a jewel that has the potential to shine much brighter.
lotpoor:
We are trying our best to continue to stay interested in Rarity Bay. Even though we tend to give far more weigh to any positive statements than negative statements, it is getting more and more difficult to ignore some of the more concerning matters raised by TennTitan and lotpoor in this thread and the other thread. At this point, it makes sense for us to take another look at Farragut and even Tellico Village (I almost decided not to mention TV as, if we go that route after my numerous exchanges with TheShadow, she may take credit for "converting" me and may even ask the seller's realtor for part of the commission ).
I sure wish I could get a commission! I have no need to convert anybody. I only present the facts as I know them, and where RB is concerned, I know darn little. I've toured it. I have a few friends that live there, and I spoke to a realtor or two while there. But other than that, and what I read in the paper or on the internet, I'm as clueless as the next person. TV I can talk about, and often do. Several of the folks I've communicated with over the years live here now, and I even have met a few of them when they visited after messaging on C-D. We have a welcome center and the employees of the POA marketing department there hook visitors up with residents for a tour of the village and to answer as many questions as they can. I'm just the unofficial C-D ambassador I guess. Every time I run into the marketing guy Joe at the pickleball court I tell him he owes me a beer!
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Rarity Bay, as it happens.
) but non-existent voices. 
).
