What is a BPO?

BPO's are very common now- and here is my basic overview!
BPO's or Broker Price Opinions are the "new appraisal"! I like to call them "mini-appraisals". They are an independent opinion of value of a given piece of property.
Banks order BPO's for Short Sales, REO's (bank owned properties), Pre-Foreclosure, Loan Modifications and Market Updates.

BPO's consist of a Interior or Exterior drive-by inspections of the subject property.
Interior BPO's require photos of the Front, Sides, interior, bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, common areas, back yard, back of the subject, photo of the address or street sign (if no posted address), street photos (looking down the street), what the subject faces and any damages or amenities. Exterior BPO's only require photos of the street, address or street sign, front of the subject, sides of the subject, any damages or amenities and what the subject faces.

The BPO form requires 3 sold comps and 3 active/pending comps to confirm agent/brokers values. Comparable properties are selected from within 1/4 mile of the subject to 15 miles of the subject with regard to urban, suburban or rural properties, but that is a blog in itself.

The agent/broker will make neighborhood, condition and market comments, that include- active listing ranges, sold value ranges and average days on market.

The agent/broker will then comment on the differences and the similarities the the subject has with the selected properties and make adjustments for square foot, lot size, damages, repairs, garage capacity, age, location, condition, amenity, market trends and property type.
Once the adjustments are a value range can be established and the agent/broker can complete the BPO!

I hope this was helpful for all you out there looking to start doing BPO's or if you were just wondering what the heck a BPO is!

FYI-Feel free to contact me if you need any BPO help, I have completed well over 700 BPO's in the last 6 months and I am still alive!