I just finished working on a BPO for a house built on the side of a hill.  The house has a daylight basement.  A daylight basement is a basement based on the fact that it is on a level below the front door.  It is not underground.  There are windows, you can walk outside to the patio which is on the same level.  If I did not tell you it was a basement, you would not know it was a basement.  It looks like the rest of the house, same walls, ceiling, carpet. From the front of the house, it looks like a 1 story home.  From the back of the house, it looks like a 2 story home.

According to this companies BPO rules, you do not count the basement square footage.  This house has been listed 5 times, each time including the basement square footage in the MLS square footage.  QC insisted that they had a previous BPO which did not include the basement and that I could not use the basement square footage.  So, instead of a 2700 sq foot 2 story home with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, I did the BPO on a 1900 sq foot 1 story home with 1 bedroom and 1.5 baths. 

When this property gets listed, the only thing that the bank will know is that it sold the first day and the agent double ended it.  

I just received an interior BPO for vacant land.  I wonder why it is an interior, not an exterior.  Should I bring a shovel?

I just saw this gorgeous house on the golf course.   Why do people plan trees and bushes to block the view?  Take the bush and move it over 20 feet and add $50,000 to the price.  It is an REO and this bank will not spend any money.  Anybody want an easy flip?

Yesterday, I posted this blog about the solution to Nevada's unemployment propblem.

http://activerain.com/blogsview/1831239/the-solution-to-nevada-s-unemployement-problem-

The solution is for the unemployed people to move to other states.

Currently 15 people unemployed out of 100.  If 8 unemployed people move, then we will have 7 people unemployed out of 93.  Our rate will drop to 7.5%.

 No matter who is elected governor, senator, Representative, in the coming election, 4 years from now they will be able say that their policies caused the drop in unemployment. It will not matter if they raise taxes, lower taxes, have an affair, do nothing, or actually bring jobs to the state.  The rate dropped and it must be their policies that caused it. 

I love statistics. 

I heard this over the weekend.  I do not necessarily agree with it, but it is interesting to think about.  Nevada is # 1 in the nation in unemployment, over 14.5%. 

Nevada's unemployment problem will be solved when the unemployed people find jobs in other states and move out of Nevada.

I am sick and tired of looking at MLS sheets that say this is a house for sale, guess about the details.  I have seen too many listings with no information and the comments say "House is for sale as-is, buyer to verify all".  The listing does not say if the house has a view, has a patio, has a fence, has air conditioning, has a fireplace, has a pool.  Yes, I have seen listings that do not mention a pool and when I go to the house, there is one, right in the middle of the back yard, surprise.  

 Better than that is the incorrect information.  I have gone into 3 bedroom houses per the listing and counted 5 bedrooms (all with closets).  It is amazing how many agents miss a .5 bathroom.  Square footages are wrong, garages are wrong, HOA information is wrong, taxes are wrong.

It makes me wonder if the agent has seen the home they are listing. 

I have been getting many BPOs recently on homes I did in the past.  The company calls me up and says you did a BPO on this property 6 months ago, can you do it again? 

Comparing the old and new BPOs is interesting.   The house was purchased 3 years ago for $1,000,000.   6 months ago, the only comp sales were in the $500,00-$600,000 range.  Nothing higher.  I had to price the homes in the range.   Now we have sales in the $650,000 - $750,000 range.  These are the best comps, so I priced the home in that range. 

Then quality control gets on the phone and wants to know why I raised the value in a declining market.  The rules of the BPO require that it be bracketed by comp sales.  If there are few comp sales, that is what you use.

I recieved an email today from Aspen Grove.  They have new software to mange REOs.  If you want business from Wells Fargo - PAS you much pay them $99 for the first year and $349 for the second year.  They are charging $115 for each property.  You much take a training course on the software.  You will not get a listing after Aug 31 without the software.

Wells Fargo recently lowered their commission to 2.5% 

I am in a low price market.  My average sale is under $100,000.  My last commission check after the company took its cut and I split with my partner was $251. 

Many of the companies are finding new ways to make the agents pay.  They are going to drive the small REO shop out of business.

I do not like the "what if" game.  When I was new in real estate, that took up all of my time and most of my money.   There is no end to "what if".  What if doing X gets you a listing or a buyer?  All it takes is just 1 sale to make X worthwhile.

 You can advertise on supermarket carts, on bus stops, on buses, on billboards, on the radio, on TV, in newspapers, in magazines, on the internet, direct mail, etc.  You can do open houses, door knock, give away pens, telephone, join groups and go to meetings every day of the week, be active in your church, etc.  Anything and everything might lead to a sale.  I have a friend who got a listing by walking his dog, another by riding his horse.   Does that mean, I should walk my dog while horseback riding?

We were just mailed out our new property taxes for 2010.  In our area, our property taxes have gone down an average of 10%.  Every listing I have checked shows the old property taxes.  The last one I checked was $300 high.  Check your listings and update the taxes in the MLS.