The Devil is a Liar and so is the BPO Agent!

If you are selling Real Estate in this market I am sure you have a short sale listing with an eager buyer ready to buy it or a your working with a qualified buyer that has an offer on one of these listings and their waiting in the balance for "the decision". If you fall into one of these categories then you understand the title of my post "The Devil is a Liar and so is the BPO Agent!" I say that because BPO agents have been known to be "deal killers" and many agents are understandably nervous when its time for the BPO to be done.

I know the devil wears prada but he is also a liar...and sometimes so is the BPO Agent...

Case in point: I have a short sale Listing that I have been working on a few months and when we finally received an offer you know we were overly excited. After attorney review we understandably had to wait for a while before we got through to the bank and the buyer held on for 12 whole weeks while we fought with the lender for an approval. Low and behold we get word from the lender that they are ordering a BPO and that they will use this report as a major part of there decision making regarding the potential sale. So we agree (like we had a choice) and the BPO was scheduled for a week later.

I met with the agent who got lost and got to the property 30 minutes late...this tells me that he is not from the area and this was going to be longgggggg day.

So he conducts his report and I hand him some comps (knowing he had no clue about the area) I wait approx. 2 weeks and hear from the bank...guess what I hear? we got denied. Why you ask? offer is too low, property value is much higher than list price. I go into a long song and a dance backed by fact (sold listings) but of course, it falls on deaf ears.

The message and moral of the story is this; if you want to be a BPO agent, that's great!! just don't accept every assignment you get or choose to work in areas that you know and can accurately assess so that you achieve the best results for all involved. Understand that when a BPO is done incorrectly you hurt home owners (sellers) home buyers and agents. Just so you all know, I am not bashing BPO agents, I happen to be one but I feel its very important to work areas you know and understand and be truthful with not only the client but yourself, its really not worth the money if someones whole life might be riding on your opinion.

Follow up to the story...I had to wait 90 more days for another BPO to be ordered, which was done correctly. Luckily the buyer held on and we closed yesterday...