HOW TO INFLUENCE THE SHORT SALE BPO Working With the Lender s BPO Agent to Get a Fair and Accurate As Is Market Value Understanding what a Broker Price Opinion is and what it is used for is a key component to working the distressed property niche market. The following is a guideline for you to consider when performing BPOs. Ok, so you've received the short sale requirements from the lender and you've made friends with the loss mitigation's rep that's assigned to your potential deal. Next, you are now ready for the lender to order a BPO on the property. Notice that I emphasize "you"; this is because I don't want you to miss out on a key opportunity to influence the overall outcome of your short sale. BPO stands for Broker's Price Opinion. All this means is that a real estate agent or broker will assess the property and give their professional opinion of its value to the lender. The closer that number is to your offer the better. You want the BPO to be as low as possible. Listed below is a snap shot of a BPO requirement. Page 1 of 7
There are two types of BPO's: a) Full BPO - The agent does a full inspection of the home. b) Drive by BPO - The agent only takes pictures of the outside and other homes in the area. Always insist the lender does a full BPO. If a drive by BPO is done you will eliminate any chance to meet with the BPO agent, influence the outcome, or get an accurate as is value. Although many agents/investors are aware of the benefits of influencing the BPO, few know exactly how it's done. The BPO is the single most influential component that the lender considers when deciding how much they are willing to accept as a reasonable short sale offer. If your offer is not in the ballpark of the BPO it will most likely be rejected. Many agents/investors give up at this point and assume that the lender is not willing to accept a short sale. It's not that the lender is not willing to accept a short sale; it's that the short sale offer does not come close enough to the amount of the BPO. It's just that simple. There is a big difference between a lender not accepting a short sale and a lender not accepting the offer. Always Be Present During A Lender s BPO Page 2 of 7
Chances are, if you don t show up at your BPO appointments, your deals are going to turn sour. You better show up to the BPO appointment with your gun loaded with the proper ammunition to help shed light about what is really going on. What Kind of Research Do You Need To Do Before You Go To Meet With The BPO Agent? 1. LOW COMPS You need to show up at the BPO appointment with the lowest comps you can find. If there are other short sales or REO properties that have sold at a discount, use them. Make these comps as current as possible, particularly in a falling market. Many banks will update their BPO evaluation every 30 days or so. Use the 3 lowest sold comps and the 3 lowest pending comps if available. Call the listing realtors and ask if there were any seller concessions which would lower the actual sale price. 2. DAYS ON THE MARKET You need to look at the homes/comps that have sold and determine the average days on the market before they sold. This is critical information and let me tell you why. If a bank is looking to take a property back and its comps in the area are taking 210 days, on average, to sell, they are looking at losing some serious money if they take it back as an REO! Think about it, if it is taking almost 7 months for homes like the one you are discounting to sell, and it takes the bank about 4 months to get it into their possession, they are looking at almost a year before they sell that non-performing asset.. It doesn t take an accountant to see the loose of monthly interest and holding costs adding up! What is equally as powerful in this market is the depreciation they will experience over that year. Page 3 of 7
If a BPO agent says the home I am shorting is worth $200,000 today and they turn that into the bank, the bank is likely going to want to net about $175,000 after the short sale is said and done. That s no deal when you consider your time, effort, commission, closing costs, etc However, if I explain to the BPO agent that although there are comps that may show $200,000, my market is experiencing a depreciation of about 12% annually, so by the time the bank gets the home back and sells it on the open market, it will be worth about $176,000 ($200,000 12%) So, do you want your BPO at $200,000 or $176,000? 3. ACTIVE LISTINGS You need to show up at your BPO appointment with some active listings that validate your discount. If you are in a declining market, does it really matter that a house sold for $200,000 six months ago if the same model or something similar is now listed for $175,000? PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR ACTIVE LISTINGS!!!!! A home may comp for $200,000 off of past comparables but if the ACTIVE competition is at $175,000, you will end up with a short sale at full market value!. 4. EXPIRED LISTINGS You need to show the BPO agent how many comparable homes have expired in the surrounding area. So not only will it take forever to sell, it might not sell at all. It might just expire, and start growing mold. How long were those expires on the market? 5. SIMILAR UPGRADES - Provide a full print out of all the sold comparables in your CMA so the BPO agent can view the similar conditions of this property with the Page 4 of 7
others. You don t want them to compare your property with little or no upgrades to others that have been fully upgraded. 6. ITEMIZED REPAIR LIST - Make an itemized list of all repairs. Especially those that the agent will not see with their naked eye (i.e.: roof and water damage, faulty plumbing or electrical fixtures, pests, mold, etc. This list will contain more serious problems. Be sure to have an itemized breakdown of the costs involved. Bring this information with you to the BPO appointment. Be prepared to explain in detail how you came up with your estimates. 7. Property Profile Report You can get this from your title company or off the MLS. Some Of The Additional Things That Should Be Included In A Good CMA/BPO Are: 1. Detail the ingress and egress. Describe the access roads. Are they paved or gravel? Are there side walks? Is the property located close to a major road in the community? 2. Is this a neighborhood where residents take pride in their homes? Are the yards mowed? Do any homes seem greatly in need of external repairs? What is the overall condition of the neighborhood? 3. Is the property close to a commercial zone or a commercial shopping zone? Is the property zoned commercial? 4. Is the property near a railroad track? 5. Is the property in a flood zone? 6. What is the condition of the roof, structure or HVAC? 7. What is the community like? Is there high unemployment in the area? Is the community economically depressed? Check all factors related to the market conditions of the area. Page 5 of 7
8. Check local MLS listings and look at the inventory. Is the inventory high or low? 9. Check the market absorption rate. Calculate the number of new residential listings and divide it by the number of closed sales during a certain time period. 10. Snap a photo of any estimated repairs you see. Real estate professionals are not contractors or building inspectors, but common sense and a good photo will provide an illustration of the condition of a property. Before the BPO is complete, ask the agent if they have a ballpark estimate in their head. They will most likely tell you that the numbers will be determined once they complete their report. At this time, ask when they will be finished and if you can give them a call at a specific time to get their final numbers. Note: The agent works for the lender and more than likely they will inform you that their report is proprietary to the lender. You have to feel that person out and see if they may be willing to share that information with you. It doesn't hurt to ask more than once if necessary. Let the agent know that you are very familiar with the neighborhood and tell them what you think the property is worth. The agent doing the BPO knows only what they have researched and what they discover once they actually see the property. You will be surprised as to how much your opinion matters. Also, make sure you let the agent know the house is a short sale and you are trying to help the homeowner avoid foreclosure. Show them a copy of the hardship letter. If the agent views you as someone who is educated about the property and the activity in the neighborhood, your opinion will be valued and taken into consideration when they make their report to the lender. Most Banks Will Use The As-Is Quick Sale Value Page 6 of 7
The as-is value accounts for the property as it sits. A quick sale value is considered to be an appraised value less a certain percentage to obtain sales price that a property would sell for in less than 90 days (usually 30-60) The bank will be looking to net 80 90% of that number on a short sale. Your goal is to get that value to 10% or more below the lowest comp. Here is an example if everything goes as planned: Current as-is value: $200,000 Target lender BPO Price: $190,000 Bank s net: $152,000 - $171,000 Projected sale price: $190,000 Spread: $19,000 - $38,000 Page 7 of 7