Hey - it's me again... Eric Henderson, Broker of Advantage Partners LLC Realty in Wichita, Kansas.

I've been learning a lot on these boards, and on other sites... I've worked my butt off to get some good listings from Ocwen, First Preston, Bank of America, Fannie Mae and others - I do a ton of BPO orders...

If you are like me - you might be wanting to take your business to the next level - hire an assistant to help with the data input chores and contract followup.

I have long been a fan of delegating authority and responsibility with full oversight and final approval - if you catch my drift - but trying to find someone in your local market who understands what a BPO is, the vendors out there, what they require different from each other, how to get info from our MLS and county courts etc... well... they just don't exist in any large numbers... I learned the hard way...

I have tried hiring a local person - spending the time to train her - then realize she was related to another broker... sneaky... I found a younger college aged person to help organize things, be a customer care coordinator and follow up with all my leads online - but she moved... I found a ex-mortgage broker that wanted to get his license, so I paid for it - gave him listings, trained him on bpo order and how to research... but he got suckered into a low-paying hourly job working for another broker...

I've tried hiring from local employment center and companies that place individuals with disabilities... just trying to get some of these people to just show up for work is hard enough...

I just can't afford to spend so much time and money investing in an individual to find that it does not work out... Ever feel like this?

The point is, ladies and gents, it's dang hard to find someone to do what we do on a regular basis...

BUT THERE IS HOPE!!!

I remember reading many articles through the years - some even by "Mr. Internet" himself in the REALTOR magazines... all focused on "Virtual Assistants"... or real people that know the business but are now working from home or a small office to help professionals around the country - or world...

Basically - you decide what you need to have done on a regular or part time basis - even a one time job is acceptable to some agencies and individuals... someone with reasonable qualifications finds your help wanted post - and will basically be an assistant to you - remotely. No one ever needs to know... but does it work?

Now - this idea is not new - there are many resources online for finding help and hiring tele-commuting employees and contract work... but trying to find someone that is talented in sales, customer service, the Internet, and understands our processes as a listing and BPO agent - well - that gets difficult...

I am here to say - it WORKS. I recently hired a few assistants - one in Florida, on in Washington and the other is in California. One works on writing articles, updating my website and writing blog posts for me... another calls on all my leads, classifies them, gets them preapproved then sends each client back to me or to one of my agents as a prequalified hot buyer with a list of exactly what they are looking for... kinda cool right? The last one helps me with data entry chores - understands our mls service and how to pull comps. ALL of them are former or current real estate agents - most are full-time parents that just decided to stay home with the kids, and while they are in school they just want something to do... AND THEY ARE VERY AFFORDABLE TO MY SURPRISE!

I want to give you a tip - don't pay for listing your job... seek out qualified individuals, get referrals, and find out how much they know BEFORE you hire... Now, like some of the services out there that you will find - ones devoted to real estate agents seem to be the logical choice - I found that these were the most expensive and usualy set up by a broker or agent trying to supplement his or her income... not a bad idea - but more expensive to me...

Please help me add to this list - and write a review of your vendors and how you found them...

My favorite so far -

1) HireMyMom.com - believe it - the best place for top talent I have found. I was expecting a bunch of uneducated, unmotivated individuals and hoping for at least one or two good ones to choose from - what I get was a TON of VERY QUALIFIED professional women who are at home most of the time now - that really put my experiences to shame when it comes to expertise in the world of REO, mortgages, real estate in general and sales... I posted a simple Real Estate Virtual Assistant wanted ad - and instantly had resumes pouring in from all over the country! I have current and ex real estate agents, retired brokers, attorneys and corporate higher-ups who all have responded to the ad... All ages, and enough experience and knowledge between them all to seeming run this entire country! Seriously! I actually checked some of their claims out - like the one that had so much senior level underwriting experience or the one that ran a real estate law office in New York...

Simply the best... but for PENNIES! My ad was for $10-$15 per hour - THATS IT!!! Aprox $200/week for each position... and I am getting TONS of inquiries STILL TO DATE!

Guys - I found some help - these ladies are just awesome and will take care of your clients - AND YOU... If they help you with a big close - REWARD THEM! I am doing more business now than I ever thought possible - and I don't have the overhead of an in-house employee!

Go there - NOW - post a position if you are serious about getting some help - there are some amazing people there that are available NOW...

Got a favorite Real Estate Virtual Assistant? Tell us about it - pros. cons?

I guess I am just tired of seeing so many of my firends go down the wrong path with REO sales and BPO's... paying too much money, especially the ones that can't afford gas in these economic times, for books and memberships to companies or brokerages that promise to provide leads and reo listings... These "trade groups" and "experts" tend to gloss over the industry as a way make lots of extra cash on the side and as a way to get more listings... well... it's partly true... it can definitely help suppliemnet your income... perhaps turn into a full time job for you... but there is a lot of work involved... in my opinion - more so than as a regular agent...

The truth of REO listings and BPO's is that you just DON'T make a killing off of the business... REO listings often require more work and more professionalism than any other type of listing. Asset managers often charge you for being their vendor and pay you very little to perform valuations... but - getting listings and having another stream of revenues entices thousands of agents each year to this growing and now booming sub-industry within the real estate sales world...

I don't like the asset managers that charge for membership... stay away... get your feet wet with respected organizations like rrreview.com or realtrans.

There are a ton of great posts online and on activerain about how to get started... the main ting is that you understand it is real work and you do it professionaly! It can lead to a lot of future clients as investors and happy lenders... networking...

http://activerain.com/blogsview/422486/How-I-Got-To

http://activerain.com/blogsview/65843/You-Don-t-Scare

Please share your links to your favorite REO trainings (only FREE to access please!), bpo guides, asset managers and links to places to sign up! Tips and tricks you learned along the way...

I have been looking at a lot of blogs lately to see which reo managers and bpo companies are worth even the time to sign up for much less any cash that some charge for...

anyone have any ideas?

I have a rule that if the company charges a broker to join - they probably will not send enough business to make it worth the money or time - most companies are happy to accept new applicants for their files in case they need us... they pay us as a vendor for them... I dont feel so warm and fuzzy when a bank or asset manager tells me I have to pay them before I can have access to their website just to beg for reo listings and bpos... so... the answer for me is - No...

so - no good news for camreo...

I like ocwen - realtrans - they started me off doing a few paid bpo's then gave me a dozen listings over a 8 month period - of course I continued to perform BPOs too.. the do not pay on listing bpos/cma's - but you get the listing... the big thing no one talks about is that they also make you turn on all utilities and pay for repairs in your name... they then reimburse you for utilities but charge you a service fee for reimbursments on repairs - for instance I was charged over $100 when I did all the work to get 3 roofer bids and then have them select one to perform the job which I had to pay for, then provide reciepts to them before the transaction closed and only get paid back a part of what I paid out... now I think thats not too fair - but I still made money on the deal because I was buyer and seller transaction broker... it another agent had come in with an offer I would not have gotten very much at all as the listing side of the equation for commission is also discounted...

There are a lot of unique experiences out there - so have fun and keep your eyes open for large contract changes (bank or mortgage institutions that select or bid out to a new asset management company). Get in early with these new contracts and you are almost guaranteed extra listings and bpo business... provided that you spend enough time to do them accurately...

One thing for any out there just thinking about going into this business - PLEASE PLEASE do accurate BPOS!!! I am an investor too - I have many investor clients... even regular home buyers making offers on bank owned or preforeclosure houses... the bank will order a bpo more often than a full appraisal now days... I have seen $80,000 houses in an area of $105,000 houses get bpo's for close to $180,000.... (just add a couple of 0's if you are on the coast states... I'm in KS and we still have affordable houses here!) - that means that the bank got unreliable data and there is a huge difference between the offer and the bpo... another might be ordered or not. The bpo is being ordered for a reason folks... banks dont just throw out $50 here a there to brokers to keep us alive... a contract is resting on your professional knowledge... so make them accurate... the same goes for low ball bpo's too.. dont get caught making it too low... I constantly see these REO trainers and foreclosure gurus - even other brokers - making a point to show how to make low-ball offers on properties, take devioius photos and pay off brokers or otherwise to encourage the broker who is meeting the investor or buyer agent at a propert to do a walk-thru or other bpo service in an effort to influence the bpo... Now - some of this might be OK as the listing agent or investor might acutally know more about the property than the bpo agent on a quick drive by or walk thru... however there is a lot of out-right fraud going on... and I hate it... it will catch up to these agents and bpo providers... banks dont like loosing money - no one does... so the next time someone asks you to provide a bpo at any specific value - take note of it and what the person is saying - make note of it in the bpo report if you feel it wise - but do not rely on $ values - just use your professional knowledge of the market, trends and actual provable comps from the area... make your best judgement on value ranges and estimates of damages... if the other agent or owner gives you a list of damages and bids - great... it makes it easier to come up with this on the bpo form you will have to fill out... but do not take their value or the offer they made as the value you must put on the bpo report to the bank..

anyhow... good luck all... and have fun - learn a new neighborhood by doing a few bpos... sign up with a lot of companies and find the best fit for you!