Broker price opinions

[Maxwell Silva]

Hi, I’m a new agent and one of the brokers I’m interviewed with mentioned the opportunity to fill out BPO reports in order to generate a little bit of income while sales are slow.   What exactly does does a BPO entail and is it worth it? Does a broker has a special license to do this, or can any license agent do this under any broker?   Yes, I could just ask my broker but I always feel it’s better to get a broader range of opinions.   

[Ebony Martin]

@Maxwell Silva In Texas, to perform BPOs, licensed agents are required to sign up with a BPO company under their sponsoring broker. No special permits are required but some BPO companies require you to do their inhouse training. The agent has to provide E&O and W9 information along with other supporting docs during the application process. Once all information and docs are on file and approved, the agent performs and submits the BPO in their name.

Though the pay is minimal per BPO ($25-$50) and can be time consuming i.e- taking exterior photos of property, running active & sold comps, entering and analyzing the data, and determining a valuation; it is a very good way for new agents to get experience  and learn to price homes comparatively.  Some agents get pretty efficient with doing BPOs by doing 20 plus BPOs weekly and the $25-$50 per BPO is not too bad.  It's also definitely good when things are slow and like you mentioned, it gets your name out there with banks.  However, I do agree with @Christopher Phillips , a lot of experience is needed before a bank or asset manager hands over a listing.