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BPO (Broker
Price Opinion) Business
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NEW CUSTOMERS & CLIENTS - CLICK HERE TO ORDER A BPO )
One of the immediate benefits of
becoming an authorized RealNova Partner is the ability to start building your
BPO (Broker Price Opinion) Processing Business today. We provide BPO
(Broker Price Opinion) referrals to all partners that are in good standing.
In addition to the benefit of working with our national referral network, we
also provide each partner with our most current contact list of National BPO
banks, lenders and vendors. This valuable list is provided to each partner
immediately following enrollment in our partnership program...Click
Here To Become A Partner Today
Guide to earning $40,000.00 to
$50,000.00 per year performing BPOs......read
more
3 Basic BPO (Broker Price Opinion)
types.....read
more
5 Steps to building a
successfull BPO Business......read
more
10 DOs & Don'ts of the BPO
Business......read
more
List of BPO
(BROKER PRICE OPINION) Banks, Lenders, and Vendors......read
more
Real Estate
Guide to earning $40,000.00 to
50,000.00 per year performing Broker Price Opinions
Due to
the current market conditions REO and FORECLOSURE services are in demand like
never before. Banks, lenders, and third party companies request BPOs
(Broker Price Opinions) for the purpose of getting an in-expensive valuation of
their property.
There
are a number of reasons when a professional valuation of property is desired yet
a formal appraisal is not. In these instances, the Broker Price Opinion (BPO)
service is the preferred tool banks and 3rd
party providers use. The BPO of a commercial or residential
property is conducted by a local, licensed real estate professional. The report
combines information from a drive-by exterior examination, external data
sources, previous sale data, property assessment data, recent comparable sales
and current listings, as well as a photograph of the subject property. The BPO
may include estimate of repairs to obtain fair market value, community or
neighborhood information, and value estimate (90, 120, 180 day marketing time
for "as is" and "as repaired" values). Photographs include subject and street
scene photographs. Front photographs of all comparable sales are also available
for an additional fee’s.
This
can be a highly profitable business for Commercial & Residential Realtors. With
each “drive-by” BPO paying an average of $50 and taking 30 minutes to complete
for the average residential property and $200 and up for commercial properties,
it is easy to understand how quickly this can turn into a lucrative business.
Once you establish a relationship with a particular company, you can expect to
receive multiple BPO requests per day. You will be given the choice to accept or
decline each order, based on the due date and the
fee they are willing to pay.
Each company on our BPO Lender list has their own stipulations in accepting new
Real Estate vendors. If a vendor application is not readily
available on their web site, email them directly and put ATT: “New Vendor
Application” in the subject line. Or call them directly. When signing up be
prepared to provide:
• E&O insurance
• List of 3 references
• Licensing info
• Completed 1099 or W-9
• Brief Bio
• Zip Code coverage area
We do not detail what is entailed in completing each firms BPO because they all
vary. Each company has their own online template for you to complete. They are
all relatively simple and self-explanatory. If you have ever done a “CMA” you
will not have a problem completing a BPO.
A common question we get is whom do I list as references if
I am new to the BPO business? It is the age-old question of course, anytime you
are starting something relatively new. I once started with no experience and
managed to land my first account. Of course additional accounts became easier
once I had the first under my belt. If you want a strategy, then sign up with as
many companies as you can where references are not an issue. Once you completed
1 BPO, you now have a reference. It is very unlikely that these BPO vendors
follow up on your references (take that for what it is worth). They will however
confirm your licensure status.
The BPO vendors on our list pay for each order you
complete. There are companies that ask agents to do BPO’s for FREE. The
pay off they will say, is a potential shot at the listing. From
our experience, you will never see a listing from them. If you receive this type
of request, be very inquisitive about who they are and the chances of you
actually getting the listing. It may or may not ultimately becomes an REO for
you....JUST BE CAREFULL.
Establishing relationships with these companies will supply you an endless
stream of revenue for as long as you stay in business. Other companies are
selling similar lists of BPO Banks, Lenders and Vendor companies for $300 and
more. Our partners receive this list immediately following their annual
enrollment as an authorized RealNova partner.
Broker
Price Opinions & Short Sales: Additional revenue sources
The most common purpose for a BPO is because the commercial or residential
property owner is delinquent on their payments. Typically Drive By
BPO’s are ordered at 60,90,120,180 days delinquent.
Obviously these are property owners in trouble. And you know about them before
anyone else (except their lender or mortgage company). More than likely they are
upside down in their mortgage. In other words, in all probability they would
already have their property on the market (and some will) if they had equity in
the property.
These are the most PRIME, pre-foreclosure leads that exist!
A very high percentage of these property owners will either fall into
foreclosure or list their property with a Realtor to pursue a short
sale.
Therefore, when you do your drive-by photo, either knock on their door
personally or leave a promotional piece at the property with your business card.
Position your marketing to them with a generic message that you can
HELP them. That message should state you're a foreclosure
specialist and that you are an expert at helping property owners out
of foreclosure.
Leave the marketing piece and a business card at the property, put them on a
bi-weekly mailing list and you should be following up with telephone calls.
In your first mailing, introduce yourself and provide them with some local
government sources in which they may receive foreclosure assistance. (Do a local
web search for local agencies that assist property owners in foreclosures).
Follow your 1st
mailer with a phone call to ask them if they have received the information you
sent them.
The homeowner of course has no idea that you know anything about their
situation. And make sure you do not mention ANYTHING about the BPO. This is
proprietary information between you and the company you are completing the BPO
for. And most if not all BPO vendors will require you to stipulate that you will
in no way contact the property owner.
If you are doing any volume of BPO business, and you follow up each BPO property
with an aggressive marketing campaign, you will quickly build a large book of
short sale business.
If you do not want to get into the short sale business, you need to be
referring these leads to a Realtor that specializes in Pre-Foreclosures
and/or Short Sales. Negotiate a fair referral fee (20%-30% is
reasonable). Most agents working the pre-foreclosure market will be ecstatic to
work out a deal with you.
To earn over $100k per year, you need to average “6.5” BPO’s per Day and average
$50 per job. $50 is the minimum compensation provided by most companies. If you
sign up for each of the companies on our BPO Lender & Vendor list and follow up
with each to earn their business, you will in no time be at your 6.5 per day
average. Conversely, to earn $50,000 per year, you will have to complete 2.25
BPO’s per day.
Lastly, you
must pursue the BPO business like any other business. I assume you cannot afford
to simply sign up for these companies and passively hope to hear back from them
(although there is a good chance that will work). Proactively pursue these
companies business!
.........Click
Here To Become A RealNova Partner Today
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3
Basic BPO Types
External Analytical Only BPO / Drive-By BPO / Internal
BPO
External Analytical Only BPO -
This type of BPO does not require a visit to the subject
property. It is very similar to the CMA (Comparabel Market Analysis) that
agents provide to potential buyers and sellers at no charge. However, the
Analytical BPO will require more detail information than the traditional CMA
(Comparable Market Analysis).
Drive-By BPO
-
The lenders and companies
that hire real estate brokers to do BPOs, or Broker Price Opinions, have very
specific requirements. Don't assume from the name that a "Drive By" BPO will
involve only a couple of photos from the car and a short form with information
about what you saw. The forms used by lenders and loss mitigation companies vary
greatly in how they are laid out and the information they require for a Drive By
BPO.
Internal BPO -
We can begin by stating that
all the requirements of a drive-by BPO would also be a part of an Internal BPO.
However, an interior BPO might require that you verify things like square
footage and room count rather than estimate them. Of course, there will be a
requirement for photos of the interior rooms of the home. Unless the home is
unoccupied, an internal BPO will likely involve contact with the homeowner or a
tenant. If the BPO is for refinance purposes, this likely will not be an issue
or problem. However, if a pre-foreclosure situation exists, care must be
exercised in personal contact situations. Different lenders and loss mitigation
companies will have different policies in this respect. Obviously, the best
situation would be that you are expected and treated with courtesy.
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5 Steps to Success in the BPO Business
1. Get your required information together so you can be prepared to fill out
numerous BPO vendor applications.
a) Your Real Estate License
b) Your Broker or your personal errors and omissions Insurance ( expiration
date, policy amount)
c) List of References ( past clients, associates in your office, friends)
d) Completed 1099 or W-9 ( usually provided by each of the vendors)
e) Coverage Area (the areas you want to cover by zip code) create your zip code
list in word or notepad so you can easily copy and paste the zip code list
into each BPO Vendor Application.
2. Reference our BPO Lender and Vendor list and start submitting vendor
applications. Send applications through the internet, email submissions, fax or by calling. Don’t give up
until you get
your application in to a BPO Company. Make sure to confirm they got your application.
When filling out your applications, discover which email address is associated with
your cell phone.
Most cell phones have an email address associated with that cell phone,
if you don’t know the email address call your cell phone service provider, and get that
email address. Then take that
email address, and enter that email address in all of your BPO
vendor applications. Then when a BPO Assignment gets blasted out to the all real estate agents
in your service area zip code you will be alerted by text to your cell phone, giving you an
edge over the general population. This way you can get right back to the BPO Company and accept
the assignment.
3. Create a filing system for each BPO Company so you don’t get BPO’s mixed up.
This will also help you keep track of who you spoke with at each company, so
that you can create a tickler
system for your follow up system. Make sure to follow up with
that specific person if you can. This will help you build rapport. Get friendly, make small
talk, it goes a long way.
4. Now that you have submitted all of your applications, develop a spreadsheet
in order to keep track of your BPO’s. This will ensure you get paid on
all of the BPOs you perform. Set up your
spreadsheet columns as follows.
a) Property Address
b) Bedrooms
c) Bathrooms
d) Square footage
e) Value Given
f) BPO Company Info (This is the Company that requested
the BPO)
g) Amount to be paid
h) Agreed payment terms ( Upon Receipt, Net 30, Advance
Payment, etc)
5. Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up! Don’t just submit the vendor applications
and wait around for the BPO Companies to contact you. Start building rapport,
after you submit your initial
applications contact the BPO Companies and confirm receipt of
your application, let them know your ready to go right now. If they don’t have work for you
at that specific moment let them
know you will follow up next week. Don’t pester the BPO
Companies, split the list up and contact them weekly, stay on their mind. Once you start
completing BPO’s and start getting
rated you won’t have to follow up the business will come to you.........Click
Here To Become A RealNova Partner Today
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The 10 Do’s and Don’ts of the BPO Business
1. DO
Be Prepared to Offer Up All Of the Required Information
a) Proof of Real Estate License
b) Errors and Omissions Insurance
c) A
Completed 1099 Form
d) The Area You Want to Cover
e) References
2. DO
keep track of all the BPO’s you complete preferably by using a spreadsheet
program. When you get busy things will get chaotic, so keep track of your deals.
This ensures you get paid on all your BPO’s.
3. DO
make sure you get back to all the BPO companies or banks when they contact you.
Do not let any stone go unturned. This will ensure you stay highly rated, and
continue to receive BPO requests. If you can’t fulfill a BPO request do not
ignore the BPO Company, or bank. Please make sure to return their call, and pass
on the request. They will understand if your busy, but if you ignore them, that
is poor business practice, then they will ignore you.
5. DO
make sure to FOLLOW UP, FOLLOW UP, FOLLOW UP with the list of BPO Companies and
Banks. Sitting around and waiting for them to contact you after you submit your
initial vendor application isn’t going to get you business. Proactively calling
them regularly will help you stay on their mind. We don’t suggest you pester
them, the best technique is to divide the list up and call a different set every
day, then the following week start over. That way, your on their mind once a
week without being a pest.
6. DON’T
Ever Perform a BPO for FREE, even the companies or bank entice you with the
listing this is an industry ploy. Disregard working for FREE tell them your
expertise is worth money.
7. DON’T
perform a fake BPO or enter incorrect information. BPO Companies have quality
control divisions that check on random BPO’s to ensure accurateness. If you get
caught consider yourself blackballed.
8. DON’T
contact the seller and try to get business from them. You will risk losing
credibility with the bank and BPO Company, and right now that is where the gold
is, stay on the bank’s good side.
9. DON’T
eliminate referrals. Just because you can’t contact the seller doesn’t mean a
colleague can’t. Therefore if you see a property that isn’t listed refer the
lead out to a colleague, and collect a handsome referral fee. This keeps you
focused on doing BPO’s while getting some nice pops from great priced listings
without having to service them.
10. DON’T
submit BPO’s on your own form, or mix up forms from another BPO Company, this
poor business practice. By doing this you are showing disorganization in your
organization. This business runs on accurate organized information, and a poor
representation of that will ensure you out of the business.
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