Oh My All the BPO Certification Classes
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Real estate professionals are starting to realize more and more that BPOs (Broker Price Opinions) are a fantastic way to bring in additional income each week. If you’re starting to consider doing BPOs as an additional income stream, you might wonder whether you need a BPO certification or not. By understanding the process, you can determine whether a BPO certification is right for you.
What is a BPO Certification?
Typically, real estate professionals will go through an organization like the National Association of Broker Price Opinion Professionals to become certified. They will pay around $200 to $300 for a one-day course or webinar that covers certain topics like how to find BPOs, how they should be used, and more. Along with the certification you may get the opportunity to be given BPO offers and start making money. However, many real estate professionals believe that this is a waste of money.
Do You Really Need BPO Certification?
While organizations like NABPOP will have you believe that you must be certified in order to perform BPOs, the truth is that most companies do not even check for certification. As long as you’re a licensed real estate agent, you don’t really need to pay a few hundred dollars for a one day course that says you’re certified. In fact, many agents work for several companies each month and have never been asked to go through any kind of certification. If you can perform BPOs without the certification, why would you even worry about it?
The Benefits of a BPO Certification
Even still, some real estate agents feel that it’s worth their while to go through the BPO certification classes. For most people, the biggest benefit is the offer of work. This may be for individuals who don’t know where else to search for work or aren’t sure whether they can find work anywhere else. There are many, many companies that will offer BPOs to uncertified real estate professionals. You simply have to know where to look.
How Much Money Can You Make with BPOs?
The amount of money one can make with BPOs will really depend on the types of BPOs they do each month and how many they do each month. For instance, an internal BPO will pay more than an external one, although it will take a little longer. Internal BPOs will usually pay around $50 while external BPOs pay about half that. Therefore, if a real estate agent can line up just 3 internal BPOs per day, they can make $150. In Conclusion For most companies offering BPOs to professional real estate agents, a BPO certification simply doesn’t matter. If you’re having a hard time finding BPO offers without going through an organization like NABPOP, research some of the other BPO companies or network with fellow real estate professionals. A few companies that offer BPOs include Clear Capital, Equator, ProTeck, Ocwen andOldRepublic. For a detailed list of BPO Companies see our comprehensive free list of bpo companies and our ebook on How to Complete a BPO.
