This is not a discussion of fees. Please do not include fees in this discussion. I heard an REO broker that does a lot of REO listings and does BPOs as required to support that business brag that she can pull comps in 5 minutes. Sure, I can do that, but are they good comps? Are they the BEST comps?

Are they worth anything if not the best comps? Now maybe I'm too slow but I can spend hours doing the best BPO I can. I take pride in my work. Without that I would not do any BPOs.

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  • Time is relative to the subject property and the thoroughness of the agent. I find there are 3 areas that can be time-consuming. 1) pulling the comps after checking the tax records and previous mls reports, flood info and pertinent information which can be find about the subdivision, either online or on the docs/mls of a comp; 2) finding the analysis-type information, such as neighborhood absorption, etc (I confess, as a former English teacher this math part confounds me!); or 3) data entry - including labeling and uploading photos to some funky word doc. That said, I've done BPOs since the bad ol' days (2006) and have taken from 45 minutes to 2.5 hours on the paperwork part.

  • I know my market pretty well. I can pull comps in about 5-7 minutes for "normal" subjects. If the subject is a multiplex it can take longer because I have to keep expanding until I find something suitable.

    • These people crack me up, nice to see someone knows what they are doing, did you see the ones about automated comps search lol......

  • As an REO broker myself I understand the time spent handling BPOs. Everyone that completes BPOs has two dilemmas, one is locating the comparables and two would be filling out the data from those comparables. Since every agent is different on how they search for comps, comps will always end up with a subjective result. The only way to remedy this would be to use an Automated Value Model (AVM) to pull the comparables otherwise your results will be different each time unless you use preset search fields from the MLS. Some AVMs also provide confidence scores that rate the comp to the subject property. This is how the asset companies pull their comps to validate the agent's comps. AVMs use algorithms and regression models to determine the results so your answers will always be the same based on all the data entered for a property.

    The second issue is data entry. There are a finite number of ways to do this, 1. Hire a company to perform this for you and risk losing the account if the client finds out. 2. Manually enter it yourself. 3. Use an outdated system called Macro and risk security breaches and breach licensing agreements with the asset company and platform provider. 4. Use a true autofill system that pulls from the MLS and fills the BPO form using a browser extension or direct feed from the MLS Real Estate Transaction System (RETS). Only company that fills directly from the MLS that I am aware of is Concourse360 by Realty Pilot. This last option is safe and fills the BPO instantly.

    In conclusion the data entry is the one area in which the most time can be saved. Also minimizing errors caused by manual entry is another good reason to use an autofill system which will allow you to concentrate on the quality of the BPO and not the speed at which you do it.

  • I work off two computer screens and it does take less time but I average 30 minutes and some take longer, I can do PCR's in 5 minutes but there are no comps

  • I do a lot of BPO's and I think I spend an average of 45 minutes in office pulling, sifting and comparing. It also takes time to do the drive by pics and if it's an interior there is the time setting the appointment and (hopefully) getting in to the property. I couldn't give an average but I bet it's above 1.5 hours each.

    Of course I could do them in 10-15 minutes if I outsourced the data and pics but that cuts into gross margin.

    • I would never out source , however if there is a program I can download I would be interested,  I never tried cutting and pasting, that sounds like too much wasted time

  • I have a service that types in the information after I down load it. Normal 30 minutes to search the MLS, 10 minutes to down load to the form, 10 to 30 minutes for photos and drive by inspection. Then 10 to 30 minutes to finish the typing in the BPO form. About an hour to hour and a half for a simple local drive-by, if comps are a bear than it takes longer. Some BPO forms are a bear and eat my lunch manually inputting all the information, Finity, NVS and other multi page forms

    • what is your service, I am interested

    • I have thought about using one of those companies but some of my BPO providers don't pay enough for me to justify paying someone to just enter info

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