Many of the seller’s of Central Oregon short sales are finding that banks are starting to work with them prior to having an offer on the table. Some of the banks are willing to start looking at pricing prior to having an offer. Especially when the market does not support the loan amount.
Sometimes a bank will order what is called in the real estate industry a BPO – which is a Broker Price Opinion. This gets a little tricky, there are specific rules and laws about Real Estate Brokers giving a price opinion. There are some companies that actually discourage or prohibit their brokers from giving a BPO.
A BPO is done similar to a Comparative Markey Analysis. The agent will go to the property and hopefully go inside, they will find a number of similar homes that have sold in the last 3 to 6 months. Most banks have a form they want all the data put on then the broker will give their personal opinion of the property.
This all sounds pretty easy – sadly it is not – many times the broker does not know the particular area or neighborhood and gives an opinion that is not as accurate as it could be.
The great thing is once the BPO has been received by the bank they have a little clearer idea of what the home is worth. Even if the BPO is off a little it certainly gives everyone a better prospective.