Real Estate Brokers Seeking New Revenue Turn to BPOs

Oct. 2, 2012 - PRLog -- Amid the short sale frenzy of recent years, Milwaukee broker Mia Scaffidi has revamped her business to accommodate lenders in need of broker price opinions (BPOs).

Scaffidi tells "Real Estate Broker's Insider" that roughly 80 percent of her revenue comes from preparing BPOs.

"It's a steady income, which is nice for Realtors who aren't used to a regular paycheck," says Scaffidi, owner of Xpress Realty. She urges brokers and agents looking for new revenue streams to consider preparing BPOs.

The latest addition to the real estate industry's alphabet soup, the BPO is a projection of selling price issued by an agent or broker. Lenders typically order one or more BPOs as part of the short sale process. Banks also use BPOs to get an idea of the value of their foreclosure portfolios.

Frank Dickens, a foreclosure specialist at Arizona Realty One Group, tells "Real Estate Broker's Insider" that he does a few BPOs a week for $25 to $125 apiece, but he has no interest in producing more than that.

"It's a good source of income," Dickens says. "You can't make a living on it, but I use them to get my foot in the door to get listings. I make it clear to the lenders that I would love to list the properties."

Details on how brokers and agents are incorporating BPOs into their businesses appear in the October issue of Real Estate Broker's Insider.

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