Short Sale Tip “Meet the BPO or Appraiser Sent By The Bank”!

As you are aware, the bank requires an independent assessment of value for the asset that you are short selling. These agents and appraisers are getting paid very little for what they do and are overworked. Make is easier for them, meet them at the home. Give them some comps that make sense. Remember, your short sale is in their hands. They are going to spend a few minutes in that house, pull up some comps from the MLS and reporting to the bank the value.

As you know, many agents MLS inputting skills are very sloppy!! Often agents may be forgetting a basement, garage or bath room which raises value. They may also be leaving out in the remarks items of value that raised the sale price. The BPO agent are pulling these listings that have more valuable then your short sale listing then comparing them as apple to apple. Plus the BPO agent might be out of area and unaware of some of the area deficiencies that comparable homes lack. Maybe your listing has a pool in an area that pools are devaluing. Perhaps your listing backs to a HWY or is aluminum sided in an all brick area. Perhaps a few homes have closed but are stll listed as pending and they are good comps.

I am not telling you to lie, or be dishonest. The fact remains is that the home is worth what a buyer is willing pay for it. Show the BPO agent all the showing you have had and the feed back. Let them see all the price reductions you have had. The truth is the best defense; we are selling the home for what someone will pay for it. Just make sure the BPO agent knows that this is the best we can get, and bank needs to know that too.

We are also helping the bank, I have seen past Short Sales fail because the bank thought the offer was to low and later I see it sold as a foreclosure for less then what the short sale offer was.

Mike Sher