Real estate agents or brokers who want to pick up an extra source of income can take advantage of broker price opinion orders. While many already draw an extra income by formulating BPOs, others may not be familiar with the process or exactly what BPOs are. By understanding more about broker price opinions, you can learn to take advantage of the demand for them.
What is the common pay for BPOs?
An agent can make a great extra income from broker price opinions, especially if they’re able to get quite a few each week. A typical BPO will pay about $50, which isn’t much, but it can be completed in just about an hour. An exterior BPO only requires a basic look at the property and the surrounding properties. An interior BPO may require interior pictures and a slightly more in-depth look, and those pay about $80. Exterior BPOs can still be completed in less than an hour, so it’s still great pay. For agents and brokers who are able to get several BPOs per week, the pay will definitely add up.
Why are BPOs ordered?
BPOs are usually ordered by a bank when they want to know the value of a property. This could be because they want to determine whether the owner should be able to refinance the home, or if the property is in foreclosure and the bank is considering a short sale for the home, or any number of other reasons. With the huge number of properties in foreclosure around the US, BPOs have become very popular and there is typically a large demand for them.
What are the requirements to be able to perform a BPO?
Banks only typically require broker price opinions to be performed by a licensed real estate professional, so this makes it a great extra income for agents and brokers.
Are broker price opinion orders obtained through the banks?
No. Although the banks do order these BPOs, they typically make their needs known to an asset management company. Real estate professionals can register with asset management companies and then be informed of properties that are in need of a BPO in their area. The trick to getting enough BPOs to make a decent income is to register with more than one company. Many agents use a separate email address that they save for this purpose only, and then forward their emails to their cell phones so that they can quickly claim BPOs for their area.
What are the other benefits of BPOs?
Many agents enjoy doing BPOs that could turn into REOs, which are real estate owned properties. This gives the agent a chance to sell the bank-owned property for a commission. Many asset management companies who assign BPOs will give the agent that performed the BPO a chance to sell the REO home. This is another way in which BPOs can be profitable for agents.
Overall, BPOs are a wonderful thing to look into for an extra income as well as building a second income stream from eventual REOs.
