The other day I was sipping some cold tea and was having a smoke (cigar) on my porch and I noticed something very interesting...there was a guy in a car taking pictures of the house next door to me. He actually had the nerve to get out and take even more pictures...Now some might say, maybe he was an appraiser or an interested buyer... but to that notion, I would say, NO WAY! this guy was low in his seat and was trying to remain undetected as he took picture after picture...I honestly don't think he saw me sitting there watching him...
Now I know the house next door looks great and all but its not for sale, so why is he taking pictures?. Now Being a New Jersey Real Estate Broker I've come across all types of situations, so I understood right away what was going on.
This guy was probably doing a BPO...what is a BPO (Broker price opinion)? A Broker’s Price Opinion is the process a hired sales agent utilizes to determine the selling price of a real estate property. BPOs are popularly used in situations where lenders and mortgage companies believe the expense and delay of an appraisal to determine the value of properties is unnecessary. A financial institution will order a BPO from a Real Estate Broker in which the broker will do a drive by BPO or an interior BPO
I actually asked him what he was doing and he confirmed my suspicions by telling me he was taking pictures for a bpo. I didn't say much after that but it did force me to think a little....
Now the BPO is almost a sure sign that there are troubles in the waters and finding out my neighbor is having a tough time is a hard pill to swallow.
do I ask if I can help them? do I do nothing? I am still considering my options as I do not want to put them on the spot or open any can of worms....what do you think?
Now I'll be honest, I have done 100's of bpo's in my day and I understand the territory, but there was also a part of me that was uncomfortable watching this go down. I honestly did not like the feeling it gave me to see the whole thing go down the way it did. I actually felt bad being a witness to it, its funny being that I have done so many in the past I never thought about it because the people weren't anyone that I knew.
I will say I understand the significance of the BPO and what it means to home owners pursuing short sales and loan modifications, but I wish it could be done somewhat differently.
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