BPO and Appraisal Blog

Agents who do BPOs on a regular basis eventually are asked to list properties that have gone into foreclosure (REO); this is what increases agents annual earnings substantially. We at Valuations Today have recently learned that some BPO vendors are removing your name and number from the BPO and putting in its place, “Available Upon Request.” They are doing this because if the REO manager in charge of the property needs a local agent to list the property they would normally just call you directly however the vendor wants to get the call first so they can get a referral fee from you.

We at Valuations Today say, “give me a break.” We would never ask for a referral fee and always insist that your name, phone and email are on the report. It’s important that the REO and Asset Managers get used to seeing your name. You getting listings is part of your business plan not ours.

Stating the correct sales price of the subject and how long it’s been on the market is vitally important. Why, you ask, here is a typical example:

You estimate the subject’s market value at $100,000 and provide supporting sales and listings however you neglect to note the house has been for sale for over six months at $85,000, this makes you look at the very least, careless.

If however after careful analysis you feel confident in your value then the below market sales price could be a red flag that there is something wrong with the property such as, poor condition or bad location.

Vendors and institutions often complain that agents will many times put that the subject is not for sale when there is a huge FOR SALE sign in the front yard. Attention to detail is what makes you a professional.

When agents or appraisers doing BPOs get in a hurry they typically cut corners. One common thing we and lenders have noticed is, the distances from the subject to the comparables is sometimes guessed or made up. Instead of me going on and on about how unethical this is let’s focus on the positive solutions. When inputting the distances use: http://maps.google.com/, http://maps.live.com/, or http://www.mapquest.com/.

It makes us all look bad when the lender or investment company catches it.

These are all free web sites that we use regularly.