Behind Closed Doors: The Deal That Left Property Owners Out
On January 30th, residents learned a shocking and hard truth: Big Canoe doesn’t own its name, its logo, or even its domain name—BigCanoe.com.
Even more troubling? The POA paid $500,000 to a private real estate company, Big Canoe Brokerage, to “buy back” partial rights to use the name. That firm is owned by a non-resident, Mike Rhodes and his agents who has profited from this community for years—and still owns and controls the website that defines our online presence, BigCanoe.com.
- Property owners weren’t informed.
- We weren’t consulted.
- And we certainly were not asked for input before nearly half a million dollars of our property owner funds were spent.
We were told this was a legal dispute. But multiple trademark attorneys have made it clear: Big Canoe is a location—and under U.S. trademark law, locations can’t be trademarked. The POA, as the long-standing commercial user of the name, could’ve fought the claim. And likely won. For far less.
But they didn’t. They quietly paid. And the questions keep piling up:
- How did we lose control of our community’s identity?
- Why wasn’t it protected in the first place?
- Who made this deal—and why weren’t residents informed sooner?
- And most importantly, why does Big Canoe Brokerage still own our domain and digital brand?
This isn’t just a legal misstep. It’s a breach of community trust.
If you’re a property owner, ask yourself:
Is this the kind of company you want to support with your business?
Big Canoe Brokerage took our name, charged us $500,000 to give part of it back—and still controls what the world sees when they Google “Big Canoe” or goto BigCanoe.com.
We may not be able to change what outsiders see, but as owners and residents, we can decide who to do business with. You might want to think twice before selling or buying with BCB and it’s agents.
With Respect, A Growing Group of Concerned Property Owners & Residents
