Community,
Let me introduce myself,
Craig Phillips is my name. I am 1 year into real estate here in Northern New York. I originally was licensed in Nevada over a year ago, but since have moved back to NY and re-licensed here back where I grew up.
A great friend of mine in Colorado is a very successful REO agent and when I got my license he told me to specifically sign up for bpo work. I didn't really understand why at first, but now that I am in the groove of things I feel they are doing me a lot of good.
I don't really consider myself a salesman or pretend to be one, I much rather would like to consider myself a professional in real estate as I move ahead with this career. Doing the BPO work has made me feel this is more of something I feel comfortable with in this sense.
Now I know that I am unlikely to make the bank that conventional realtors are making in sales, but I feel that with continued work doing BPO's I actually could make consistent pay for my work. In the past few weeks I have expanded my coverage range to just over 100 miles (driving is one of my favorite past times), and I have more orders than I think I can handle.
I'm hoping a few of the long time pros can give me some advice on a few things:
1-Is it going to be possible to sustain a high level of orders for a long period of time?
2-How many orders can and should I take on per week? or how many is too many?
3-what long term goals should I be making if this is the real estate field I want to pursue (designations, qualifications, training)?
Thanks in advance taking your time to help, I look forward to being a part of the community.
Craig Phillips
Replies
Hey Craig,
I have been doing this for 7 years now, been in Real Estate for 20 and can offer you some solid advise but you need to accpet my "freind" request and I will write you back
Craig, I started doing BPO's just before the REO market started, back in 2004. I had a short sale and the agent who called me told me he was doing a BPO. I had no idea what that was and when I asked what that was, he told me it was an appraisal with no measurements. He told me he was getting paid $ 200. When I came home that morning, I started to research BPO work. This is how I started selling REO's. There will be soooooo many agents telling you this is a waist of time. I love that, I do about 20 ordrers a week and have been since 2004. My wife works with me from home and keeps us busy. It keeps me in with asset managers and make enough $$$ to stay in the business, which equals to about one home sale a month. I'm my own broker, so I keep all my money. If you work for a broker, see if he will let you keep all the BPO money. If not get your brokers license or work for someone who will let you keep your money. Now a days they pay $40- 55 for exteriors and upto $100 for exteriors. The key is to do a high volume of orders. This is the best advise anyone will ever give you. DON'T stop working you standard real estate business and don't go farther than 15-25 miles as if the homes go REO you will be too far awat and will NOT get the listing. BPO work is a great way to make money and stay in the business when work is slow. Just apply with companies and stay the course, good luck!!!
where arey ou in Northern NY???
Welcome Craig,
1.Yes it is highly likely you can maintain a high level of orders IF you are doing them well and on time or early. There are companies which provide a steady stream of work.You can apply to many through this site. Are you going to be the only one working on the BPOs?
2. This really depends on how large your service area is. If you need to travel 20-30 minutes in between each property, it will really cut into how many you can get done per day. I am located in Connecticut and in the winter, daylight hours for photographing are limited.
3.Check out VRM University for training and other resources here on ReoPro.
Don't sell yourself short- it sounds like you feel that being in "sales" is a negative. First let me say that real estate is unique in that we act more as facilitators then actual sales people. You cannot use sales gimmicks or pressure to make someone buy a home. It will be most likely the largest purchase of their lives. The process is too long with too many contingencies where the buyer can back out. Our job as REALTORS is to assist buyers/sellers with the process in an ethical manner. I believe we provide a valuable service.
Craig,
1-Is it going to be possible to sustain a high level of orders for a long period of time?
No it absolutely unsustainable if done wrong and somewhat crazy if you can juggle the balls in the air for a long period of time..- after a while money is great but you really get burnt out Learn how to mange people which can be infinite versus YOUR time which is finite...
2-How many orders can and should I take on per week? or how many is too many?
Anything more than investing 70 mins a day per each BPO order is too much ( I calculate the driving, comps, and research, and upload/resizing pictures, QC's ...) - Now you do the math on if you want to work on weekends and or Sundays etc...Want to work 10 hours a day? Great you can do about 250 Reports a month ( its possible!)
3-what long term goals should I be making if this is the real estate field I want to pursue (designations, qualifications, training)?
If you think you are really successful at it then the next step is work towards and appraisers license, its lots of driving and now with AMC's in the picture you really don't have to "talk" to live people....its all on the platforms etc
4. In rural markets....charge an arm and leg! One of our clients in Idaho charges approximately $1.00-$1.55 a mile when quoting a rate for a BPO- they are more money because its harder to find an agent AND you can get comps so the reports come back more often than not
Hi,
First off: This is the greatest place to come to for information....and a lot of different opinions....
As far as BPO's go...they can be addicting, Be careful who you work for,don't sell yourself short and try to keep a balance between them and regular listings and sales......that's where the money is.......good luck to you.
Judi