Hey Lady: Why Did You Take a Picture of My House?

Have you ever seen anyone drive by your home slowly and take a picture of your home?  Wouldn’t that be creepy?

It happens quite a bit and for different reasons:

• Sometimes when your insurance policy needs to be updated
• Sometimes when an appraiser is using your home as a “comp”  (or comparable) and there isn’t a good exterior photo available in public records
• Sometimes a Tax Assessor may need to update the file
• Sometimes when the home is in default, being sold as a short sale, or the lienholder needs to “update” a file a BPO is ordered

A BPO is short for a “Broker Price Opinion”.  Basically a BPO comes in two forms:   interior or exterior (commonly known as “drive by”.)

Interiors are commonly ordered for pre-list REO second opinion pricing, deed in lieu of foreclosure or a short sale.

Exteriors (the “Drive-By”) is commonly ordered for short sale, default and simply updating a file.  Please NOTE:  You do not have to be in default to have an exterior BPO ordered.  I do not want tenants paranoid or freaking out about this!  Here is a short tutorial on how to find out if a Las Vegas Area home is in default.

Our goals are different from appraisers.  Appraisers value the property and BPO agents formulate marketing strategy and analyze a list price for the home in today’s market.

Most BPOs are ordered from third party systems and we do not (generally speaking) receive orders from the lienholder or investors themselves.

Please feel free to ask questions about this process if you have any!  I have performed close to 2000 BPOs since 2007 and I just wanted to let potential occupants of these homes know what is going on with this tutorial.  Back in 2007 most homes were unoccupied but since this past spring many of the homes ARE occupied.

When you see me (or us) there is no need to panic, we are not here to “take your home” nor are we here “casing it for burglary”.  If you are curious why you may have been subject to the BPO, call your mortgage servicing company or your insurance company before you call the cops!

Renee Burrows

Real Estate Agent in the Las Vegas - Henderson Area. Affiliated with: NAR, NVAR, GLVAR (Local Realtor Associations), REBAC (Real Estate Buyer's Agency Council), NABPOP (National Association of Broker Price Opinion Professionals) Seven Designations/Certifications: REALTOR®, ABR (Accredited Buyer's Representative), AHWD (at Home With Diversity), RSPS (Resort & Second Property Specialist), SFR (Short Sale/Foreclosure Resource), SRES (Senior Real Estate Specialist), SRS (Seller Representative Specialist).

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