Become a BPO Agent in 5 Simple Steps

With the latest changes in the mortgage and real estate industry, it seems that everything is taking a turn for the worse. If you are like me and have been working in the real estate market for several years, you are wondering when will this end! There used to be a time when I could easily sell a real estate property in the matter of days, but now it has become ever challenging to move a piece of property and to make a good return that is enough to provide financially for my family. Well, I felt this way, until I discovered that there are other options available out there for me. Options where I can use the same knowledge and skills that I learned through real estate while allowing me to work in the career that I love - "real estate". These options lead me to become a BPO agent.

A Broker Price Opinion (BPO agent) is a real estate professional who provides estimations for what properties will be able to sell for in the given market. These are comparable to a comparative market analysis (CMA) that most real estate professionals are familiar with doing. The difference between the two is that BPO agents do not perform estimates for homeowners when they are trying to sell their property - these BPO's are requested by different real estate and financial institutions. These clients requesting BPO agents include:

Financial industry analysts who may be evaluating the market in a given area

Private mortgage insurance companies that have insured a piece of property that is in foreclosure

Lending institutions that are in the process of beginning foreclosure on a real estate property

Lending institutions that have already foreclosed on a property and are in the process of listing it based upon the BPO analysis

So, there are various companies and clients for BPO agents. These companies and clients can hire a broker price opinion agent at a much less expensive price than if they hired an appraiser or a real estate professional to perform the analysis.

This is why there is such a demand for BPO agents! With over 7 million foreclosures expected to hit nationwide, real estate agents are in high demand. Banks need real estate agents to help sell all of the bank foreclosure listings. Banks also need real estate agents to complete Broker Price Opinions.

When you act as a BPO Agent you primarily work as an independent contractor for the client who is requesting this service on their behalf. You receive your earnings through this company alone. Many BPO agents work for several companies so that they have multiple streams of possible work that can be referred to them. Remember that lending institutions (for example) lend to homebuyers all over the nation. Therefore, you can have the possibility of working for several companies who are willing to hire BPO agents. As long as the market is down in your area, then there is a possibility of available assignments. I personally don't know any area where the market is up. Today's market is the BEST market to begin becoming a BPO agent as there continues to be a raising climb of foreclosures in the industry.

(1) Ensure that you have the credentials - To become a BPO agent you need to have the following credentials:

A current real estate license

Access to the local MLS for your area

List of BPO companies

(2) Apply to as many companies as possible - In order to obtain assignments as a BPO agent, you must apply as a vendor to each company that you are interested in working for. There are several different websites available that provide a directory of banks and institutions who are currently hiring BPO agents. When I first started, I used the BPO and REO Kit at REO Agent 411. This kit provided a really comprehensive source of information. They offer a list of bank institutions that are hiring BPO's. In order to be successful at becoming a broker price opinion agent, you must have a list of institutions to target in order to get BSO assignments. Just like we target new clients in order to sell their homes as real estate agents, we have to target the banking institutions to provide our service as a BPO agent.

(3) Get the proper equipment - Make sure that you have access to a computer, MLS listings, and a digital camera. Besides the forms that you will receive from the client requesting the BPO, then this should be all that you need to get started.

(4) Maintain a good relationship with the institutions that you receive assignments from - Just like we strive to maintain a good relationship with our real estate clients, we need to treat these clients in the same manner. This will help you to get referrals again and again.

(5) Know the areas that you want to cover - Make sure that you are aware of the areas within your city that you want to cover. If you are not willing to drive across to town to do a BPO, then go ahead and exclude them. With the exceeding high cost of gas, this step is very important. You will need to know the zip codes of your areas of interest. Make sure that you note these.

I hope that this information does help to shed some light on an opportunity that you may not have initially thought about as an option to help you as we wait on the market to rebound. See the link below on how to become a BPO Agent to Get Started:

Become a BPO Agent

YOUR PATH TO SUCCESS BEGINS TODAY!