After finding out that my MLS photos had been stolen by another agent, I went on the hunt for this post by Roberta Anderson.  I had hoped that this would shed a little light for me and hopefully answer my questions, but really it has only made me think more about it.

Yes, I agree that IF the Homeowner/Agent pays for the services of a Stager, then perhaps, ownership of the photos should remain with the Homeowner/Agent. 

I take my own photos, and charge nothing up front for doing so.  It's just part of the job.  I make nothing until the home sells and usually spend hundreds of dollars on advertising before receiving a check.  It sickens me when I lose a listing for any reason.  Most of the times, it is for reasons that I have no control over.  This particular listing was a hard sell to begin with, and I knew that going in.  It is the nicer home in a small subdivision that was built by a builder with a bad reputation.     

The Homeowners actually listed the home with me twice.  They took it off of the market for a few months the first time that it expired, then they called me last Spring to list again.  It expired again, and they have had it off the market for another 6 months waiting for the market to recover some.  This morning, I noticed that it is back in MLS with a different agent now, and they are using MY photos. 

Knowing how much time, money, sweat, tears, and effort I put into this home, it REALLY angers me that another agent would be so LAZY as to use my work, instead of getting up off their a$$ and doing their job. 

Do the homeowners know that they have a hired a "lazy" agent who won't even take the time to drive out of town to take pictures of their home? (Yes, I think I failed to mention that the new listing agent is from out of the area)  

How do you handle this?  What do you do?

UPDATE:  This is what MLS terms of use says:

The copyright in all material provided on this Site is held by Georgia MLS or by the original creator of the material. Except as stated herein, none of the material may be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including, but not limited to, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Georgia MLS or the copyright owner. Permission is granted to display, copy, distribute and download the materials on this Site for personal, non-commercial use only provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the materials. This permission terminates automatically if you breach any of these terms or conditions. Upon termination, you will immediately destroy any downloaded and printed materials. You also may not, without Georgia MLS's permission, "mirror" any material contained on this Site on any other server. Any unauthorized use of any material contained on this Site may violate copyright laws, trademark laws, the laws of privacy and publicity, and communications regulations and statutes.

This year, I'm taking a personal role in the fight against cancer by participating in the American Cancer Society Relay For Life®. I'm volunteering as a member of a team that's raising money for the fight against cancer, and I need your help in the fight.

It's amazing to think that more than one million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year. Someone close to us may be one of them. That's why I'm asking everyone I know to help sponsor my Relay For Life efforts and support the American Cancer Society and their important work. The Society works hard every day to prevent cancer and save lives through groundbreaking research, public education, and better laws that protect people from cancer.  They help people who are diagnosed with cancer right here in our own community and have already helped save millions of lives from cancer. If we work together, we have a chance to do even more.

Not long ago, I posted asking for your support.  I wanted to post another to make sure you know how strongly I feel about eliminating cancer.  I hope you will help me by making a donation to this important cause. Your support will help people in our community, and around the world, in the fight against this disease.

If you would like, you can make a secure online contribution from my Personal Page by clicking on the link below. On behalf of cancer survivors, their families and my Relay team, thank you for your support!

Click Here to Make a Donation

Can you believe that more than 1.3 million people will be diagnosed with cancer in the United States this year? Those are staggering statistics, but there is hope. Each of us can do something to save lives and help those already fighting this disease. That's why I've decided to take action against cancer by supporting the American Cancer Society Relay For Life® event in my community.

Relay For Life is an overnight event that brings our community together to help support the American Cancer Society and its lifesaving mission to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. The Society works hard every day to prevent cancer and save lives by supporting groundbreaking research, affecting public policies that protect us from cancer, and educating people on how to prevent or detect cancer early. The Society helps people with cancer right here in our own community, and our efforts at Relay For Life can help the American Cancer Society to keep working toward a cancer-free future.

I want to invite you to show your support in the ongoing fight against cancer by teaming up with us for this year's Relay. Please click on the link below for more information, including details on the inspirational Survivors' Lap and the moving Luminaria Ceremony. We hope to see you there! If you can't join us, will you please visit the site and make a donation to support our efforts? Either way, you will make a real difference in the lives of people facing cancer and in the lives of the people who love them. Thank you!

Click Here To Donate

Back in February of last year, I got a call from one of the banks that I had listed a foreclosure for in the past.  The guy had a friend who had a sister who needed help here in my area.  After speaking with the sister I got in touch with the potential client.

At that time she already had her home listed with another agent, but was in the process of withdrawing the listing.  While that was being worked out, I researched the property, got all the tax info, and pulled the current MLS listing.  The home was currently listed at $249,900.  There was no way I was going to be able to market this home for that.  I got all my data and comps together to show her at our first meeting.

After meeting with *Sonia, and showing her my research, she was devastated.  The other agent had never shown her what she was competing with.  We talked for a while, and she explained to me that she was currently going through a bitter divorce.  He had bought the home before they were married and it was just an ordinary builder's spec home.  After thay married, they made some a lot of changes to the home. 

They expanded the garage and turned it into a wonderful teen suite.  It was a detached garage with a breezeway, so they enclosed the breezeway so that it would all be part of the house.  The suite had 2 large bedrooms with large closets, a kitchenette with it's own fridge, sink, microwave, washer and dryer, a dining room, a full bathroom, and a living room.  It also had it's own septic tank and well.

When all these changes were made, and the home was refinanced, the mortgage company decided to use both the husband's and the wife's incomes for the loan, but they only put her name on the note.  So, now that they were getting a divorce, sorry-no-good-soon-to-be-ex-hubby gets off scott free and is no longer responsible for having to help pay for the house.  This woman has twin teenage daughters and was making a $2000 a month house payment on a teacher's salary. 

She struggled for months trying to keep from going into foreclosure.  She spoke with people at the mortgage company on a weekly basis.  We had the home priced as low as we could get it without her having to come out of pocket.  I annoyed the mess out of other agents trying depserately to find a buyer.  But, with the market as it was, and the competition as it was, we didn't get very far.  The home was a GREAT home, don't get me wrong.  It was cozy, well decorated, and spacious, but it lacked curb appeal.  It was "just an ordinary builder's spec house".  We were competing with custom brick homes and nice landscaping.

FINALLY, in late October, a lady from the mortgage company contacted me and said that we could start advertising the home for a short sale.  We got all of the necessary documents together and by the middle of November we had the price down to $195,000 where we were starting  to genearte some activity.

Early in December I showed the house to a couple and it was EXACTLY what they needed.  We went back to the office and wrote an offer right then.  A good one too.  It was only $2000 less than asking price.  I called my seller and she was ecstatic!  By this point she had already moved out of the house and was renting closer to work.  This was the answer to our prayers. 

Since this was being advertised as a short sale, we had to have the lender's approval.  I called the lady who had been handling this file, and to my surprise, she was no longer handling this file.  She gave me the number to the new contact person on the file.  I called him and left a message on his voicemail, and in the menatime faxed the offer to the number that was on his voicemail.  He didn't return my call.  This led to an ongoing saga of me leaving voicemail day after day with no response.  I called and tried to talk supervisors or anyone that would listen.  They all kept redirecting me to this man that would never return my calls.  I finally tried to talk to the woman who had initiated the short sale in the beginning.  She was SO rude to me!  She shouted, "I already told you that I am not handling this file anymore.  There is nothing I can do to help you!"

This was the most frustrating thing!!!  Here I was with a ready, willing, and able buyer, and I couldn't get so much as an acknowledgement from these people that they had even seen this offer.  I called every day, twice a day and left voicemails for over a month.  By this time, the home had already started running in the paper to be foreclosed on February 4.  The buyers were discouraged because I had no answers and they walked away from the deal. 

On February 2, 2 days before the home was to be foreclosed on, "the guy" calls and wants to know if the buyers are still interested.  Can you believe this %$&@?  I called the buyers and they had decided to wait for their other home to sell.  As you can imagine, my seller and I were both crushed.  This had been very emotional for the both of us.  I had formed a bond with *Sonia over the past year and I felt as though I had failed her. 

On February 4, they went through with the foreclosure.  That next week, the agent who would be listing the property called me looking for a key so that he could get in.  I had already removed my lockbox and the bank had not had the home rekeyed yet.  I was cooperative and talked to him for a little while and pretty much unloaded what I had been through over the past several months.  He was really nice and listened to me vent.  He also let me know that he would be listing the property at $174,000 if the buyers were still interested. 

WHAT???  I felt as though I had been kicked in the stomach when he said those words.  I had an offer sitting in front of them for $193,000 and they could not bother to return my call, and now they're going to list it for $19,000 less?  This was insanity!  How could they do this???

How do you deal with this?  How can you spend a year working so hard for someone and not get emotionally tied up?  How do these people sleep at night after putting someone through this?  I for one don't understand it.

*Name has been changed as I have not yet obtained permission to use seller's real name.

On Tuesday of this week I scheduled an appointment to show a home this evening at 5:15.  I let the buyer know that I would call and confirm the appointment on the morning of the showing.  I called this morning, and everything was set.  We would meet at the house at 5:15.

I usually get to a showing 15 minutes ahead of time just to make sure everything is in order; lights are on, toilet lids are closed, closet doors are open, spiderwebs in the corners are cleared away, and anything else that may need to be tended to.  Today was no different.  This is a vacant home, so it didn't take very long to do these things. 

With my extra time, I walked next door to let the neighbors know that I was showing to man that I had never met and asked them to watch and listen for anything suspicious.  They were happy to do so, and I stood around and chatted with them for a few minutes.  Then 5:20 rolls around.  No buyer.  Hmmm..maybe he got stuck at work and is running a few minutes late?

I stayed with the neighbors a few more minutes and played with their kids.  5:30 and still no show.

5:45 - I walked back over to the house and tried to call the buyer.  No answer.  Hmmm...what do I do?  Well, I walked back over to the neighbors and waited another 30 minutes before finally giving up and going back to the house to lock up.

So here it is 6:15, and not even a courtesy call to let me know that he was not going to be able to keep his appointment.  On the way out of the subdivision, I tried to call one last time.  I got his voicemail.  I left a very pleasant message, and let him know that I had waited for him and that I hoped everything was ok, and that I knew something must have come up or he would have called.  I also left the door open for him to call and reschedule the appointment.

Now it is 9:50 and I still have heard nothing.  To me, this is just plain rude and disrespectful.  Do people think that we have time to just sit and wait?  Do they think that because this is our job that we don't mind waiting an hour for a no show with no explanation?  How long do you guys wait? 

**Also, I must note that I really enjoyed the time I spent at the neighbor's, so it wasn't a total loss.  I also think that while talking to them, I may have gotten a new lead.  Her husbands parents are getting ready to relocate from out of state so they can be closer to them :)

I am a stong supporter of our military.  I believe in the work that they are doing in Iraq and I also believe that it is a job that needs to be completed.  I have a brother-in-law and 2 cousins who are serving in Iraq right now.  I also have 3 friends who have completed previous tours in Iraq and are gearing up for another. 

If you were to ask any 1 of these men how thay feel about the job that they are doing, they will tell you that it is the most important thing they have ever been a part of.  Do they miss their families?  YES!  Are they ready to pull out and come home?  HELL NO! 

I think my brother-in-law said it best when he went to my daughter's school to eat lunch with her.  He had just gotten off the plane and made it home and his very first stop was my daughter's school to eat with her.  When the teachers found out who he was and that he was just getting in from Iraq, they asked him to speak to the kids. 

He told them that the war is not about constant fighting. Most  days  all they do is walk through the streets and talk to the people that live there and try to help them.  The children over there love to see them coming.  They try to keep their pockets full of candy, paper, and pens or pencils to give to these children.  He also told them that the war in Iraq is about Iraqi freedom.  Something that many men have fought and lost their lives to give us.  Isn't it time we gave someone else that same gift?  (After his visit, the school had a pen & paper drive that turned out to be very successful.) 

I have a link on my website for a company that is working hard to make sure that our troops have everything that they need to fight this war.  It's called Armor 4 Troops.  I am hoping that by this post I will be able to get many other people involved in this.  If you can, make a donation.  If you can't, put a link for this site on your website.  Every little bit counts. 

Most people don't just jump into a cold pool of water.  It takes some getting used to.  You know, you stick your toe in and you yank it out real fast.  Then, you get a little braver and stick your foot in.  Eventually, you move up to your calves, then the knees.  Once you make it to your waist you've decided to either get out or take the plunge and go all the way.

That's been my experience with ActiveRain.  I've read a few posts lately where some are arguing the points system.  I, for one, think that there is nothing wrong with the points system. 

I found AR under a negative circumstance.  Had it not been for the points, I probably would have walked away with a bad taste in my mouth for AR in general.  I noticed the points, and then I started reading other people's blogs and the multitude of advice and knowledge that can be found here.  At that point I made the decision to put my foot in. 

I started making comments on blogs and building my points to become first in my city, and then my county.  Then I decided to move in a little further and post a few blogs.  I admit probably not great content, but it gave me the courage to get in up to my calves.  One of my blogs, however, was a solicitation for advice.  It got a feature, and I got lots of great advice.  I guess that puts me in up to my knees now...

I haven't yet made it to my waist, so I haven't decided whether to take the plunge or get out.  I will say this though, I have met a few really good people, and I have even gotten my first lead from AR.  For having only been here for 2 months, I don't think that's too shabby.

What's my opinion so far?  I think AR is great.  I think that there is plenty to learn here and I think that we all have plenty to share.  Maybe soon I'll make it up to my waist and make the plunge...    

Let me begin this post by saying, Murphy's Law was written for ME!  It's actually a running joke in our office that if it can or if it is going to happen, it will be me that it happens to.  I wasn't going to write this, but 2 of the agents in the office insisted that I HAD to, that it was too funny not to share.

This morning started off like any other.  got up early, got ready, got the kids up, got them ready for school.  I have and 8 year old daughter and a 3 year old son.  My daughter of course loves to try to be the little "Mommy Bird" to my son.  He HATES it!  Every morning there is some kind of argument between the two.  Apparently this morning he had had enough!  She had followed him into the bathroom while he was trying to go potty, and BOOM!  He turns around and soaks her!  I was in another room at the time and all I heard was, "GROSSSSSS.....MOMMY!!!!!!  BUBBA JUST PEED ON ME!!!  Well, of course he got in trouble, and she had to go change clothes.  She wound up being late for school which really made her mad because it was her first tardy of the year.

Next, I take him to daycare.  Then it is off to work for me.  While in the office, I got an e-mail from one of the banks I list for.  They needed an occupancy check on a home that is about to go into foreclosure.  I tell my broker that I am about to head to Thomaston, and he decides to ride with me.  One of the agents in the office is about to list a really nice piece of property down there and he wanted to go see it.  So we are off. 

I do the occupancy check, and then we head out to look at the other piece of property.  By this time, I start to realize that  I really should have gone potty before leaving the office.  Too late now.  I'll have to wait until we get back to the office, because we were headed out to "Booger Holler" (that's my mother-in-law's term for "the sticks").  I tell myself, "Oh, this won't take long, we'll be back to the office in no time."  Did I mention this was a 50+ acre tract?  And of course, my broker wanted to walk it. 

So, here I am in slippery sandals, and literally about to burst.  We walk the property, look at the barn, and the old tractor, then we walk down to the creek.  Yes, the creek.  Do you know what running water does to a person who has to pee?  Well, it ain't funny!  (At least it wasn't then).  We start heading back to the car, and my broker says, "Hey, you keep walking, I'm gonna stop and water this tree".  Hallelujah!  That was my opening!!  If he could do it, so could I.

I walk back up to the house and found the perfect spot.  The gas tank had a privacy fence in front of it, so it made the perfect screen.  I squat, and "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH".  So much better.  But then, oops, my slippery sandal slips and I pee all over my foot.  EWWWWWWWW...

"Now, where is the water hose??  There has to be one somewhere."  No hose, but there is a faucet.  I walk over to it, and dang.  The water has been turned off.  So then I start looking for grass.  I have got to at least dry my foot off.  No grass on the side of the house, just red clay.  I walk around to the front of the house.  Lots of thick pretty grass there.  I'm standing there scrubbing my foot in the grass and holding my sandal between my finger and my thumb and here comes my broker.  It takes him a minute, but he figures it out and starts laughing.  I make it through the day and decide that it wasn't too bad, I mean I have heard before that pee is supposed to soften your skin, and hey, who couldn't use softer feet?

This brings us to time to pick my daughter and her friend up from school.  I always take her friend to the high school to wait for her older sister in the afternoons.  While we wait, I let the girls get out and play, so that they don't get bored in the car.  They wandered off today, and I could not see them from the car, so I got out and went looking for them.  There is a little patch of woods along the road into the school so I head that way.  Would you believe, I walked up on my daughter squatting in the woods??  It was hilarious!

So, it just seemed to me that today's running theme was "Pee".  Anyone else have any embarrassing or just plain funny stories?  I'd love to hear them!

When I was about 4 years old, my dad was in the Army.  When he came home from basic training he had gotten a rose tattoo on his arm.  I thought that was the coolest thing I had ever seen.  From that moment, I knew I wanted one too.  I always knew it would be a rose, like my dad's, but I wasn't sure where I wanted it. That was ok though.  I had time to figure it out.  14 years to be exact.    By the time I turned 18, I had made up my mind.  The rose was going on my lower back, so that it would be easy to cover.  After all, it was for me, not everyone else.  I LOVE it and have never regretted it.

 Before I got my Real Estate license, I was a bartender.  This particular bar that I worked in hosted a yearly benefit for the March of Dimes along with the Southside Riders Association.  So we nick-named it "Bike Nite" because of all the bikers that would turn out for the event. 

One of the fundraising booths was a tattoo parlor.  Up to this point, I had not had a desire to get another tattoo.  I was happy with what I had.  BUT...put a few shots on the table and everything goes out the window.  I woke up the next morning and had a moon on my ankle.

I am very self-conscious now about wearing skirts, dresses, capris, or shorts when showing property for fear of what the client will think.

What about you guys?  Do any of you have tattoos that you regret?  Have any of you had clients look at you differently because of tattoos that you have?