Once one business cuts its cost to win the contract for nationwide coverage of BPOs and then reduce the price paid to Real Estate agents, we (as Independent Contractors) suffer from the reduced fee structure. Surely other firms will quickly pick up on the idea and say hey why pay more when we can get them for less. Then the pricing wars begin and from there its a "Downward Spiral" very similar to a toilet flushing.
As this race to the bottom accelerates, You'll have fewer and fewer alternatives unless of course at some point you want to work for nothing.
At least ponder this idea before you accept the next Low Fee BPO, Please don't take part in the "Race to the Bottom"
Comments
Folks, I keep seeing agents say 'I only work for' (place figure here) and I laugh my rump off. Maybe ONCE IN A WHILE they will give that to you if no one else wants the deal of they have agent near it. There are 1,000 starving agents who will do it for a dollar for every one of you who wont do it for less than a certain amount. Look what STUPID FARFF does with their BID SYSTEM, lol. Its a way to get us to lower the fees on ourselves without being able to grumble at them. Dont you guys get it? They dont want quality!! They want to get the orders back to the lenders FAST so they get paid. They are as bad as the lenders were who sold dangerous portfolios to stupid pension fund managers. SOme of the BPO sites dont even use adjustments. They never contact you back to elaborate on anything no matter what you do. A few will work you but off justifying everything to a point of absurdity. Ive been averaging $2000 a month income for the last 5 years doing these. They are not all I do. Ive completed over 5,000 BPOs total for almost all the portals. Of all, FARVV is the best and the worst. Their form allow line item adjusting. However---their site is seriously flawed and takes three times what it should. ANd, all the stuff goes to India where doofs give you a bad time over things they cant understand. I know that FARVV just sold and now its USA underwriting, I think, but their site is still a mess and they steal BPOs from you after youve done the work. I just told thewm today to go to hell after working for them for 5 years. I wont touch them again. Not worth the anguish. I thin they are now MCS Evaluations.
But to the point, they will drop as low as people will take and that bottom will be established regardless of how broke the agents are. At some point you have at least make a dollar on the deal. I have one company that gives me $30 for a 3 photo driveby and NO COMP WORK, just answer some questions. I made $10,000 from them last year on those $30 jobs.
So some of you can say you only work for a high amount but trust me---you only get those few when they have nobody else to take the crappy or farr away deal.
I have $100 min. and I am getting it sometimes!
Very well said...... I refuse low fees, I know what my time is worth. With that said, people who work for low fees do poor work......you get what you pay for
I do not accept low fees. I have a "platinum" score at Core Logic, but am rated "silver" because I will not accept orders at the new lower fees. I live on a chain of Islands and easily drive 20 miles round trip. I use to do a majority of my business with them, but even the volume did not make it work doing and interior for $55.
Thank you Ron, so very true and so very sad.
I think you all miss the point. I really don't believe we are in a downward race with the Professionals. we are in trouble becasue of the lack of the BPO providers policing the actual product they are satisfied with providing their clients. Unfortunately they don't care AND THE CLIENT REALLY DOESN'T CARE OR WANT TO KNOW! We all know it is not worth our time and actually are insulted by what they are paying. Here is what I'm pretty sure is happening. R.E. agents are NOT actually doing the work. There are bad apples in every group and they use outsourcers like those in India to Capture the BPO for $4.00 Then they pay another $8.00 for the completed client ready product and either just take the pictures or pay a nominal fee and send these there also(ie; need to hire student to locate and photo properties). They do absolutely nothing and receive approximately $20.00 per order and have an extremely wide zip code range.!!!!!!!!!!! It all adds up to big money.
I stopped doing BPOs late last year because of the low fees and the companies seemed to be more challenging to work with too. No thanks.
Yep, don't ever forget you guys are professionals and deserve to be treated as such. Have respect for yourselves and don't be afraid to ask for what you are worth.
Understand, as a contract for hire, you are going to run into the discounters and it's up to you to instill value for what you are asking. Once you learn how to project your value, you'll find it's easier to say NO. God Bless everyone!
I agree as well. Add to the fact that most of these BPO companies don't even pay in a timely manner creating more costs to you (time value of money).
I think it may be time for NAR to step up and start lobbying state legislatures on these issues:
1) Strict guidelines making sure the agent is the one actually conducting the BPO;
2) Guidelines on operating a BPO business in a state - make the BPO company become a member of the local MLS and the associated real estate board(s) so that they are TRULY subject to complaints and Fair Housing rules;
3) If they choose not the do this, then they choose not to do business in that state.
Just my two cents, but NAR should step up and do this.
I agree with Kathy Fisher, I work in a market that is primarily rural. Even though I'm in Southern California my area is the High Desert and local mountain communities. So my distances and drive times are minimally 30 miles one way and can easily take an hour round trip. Throw in the issue that many rural and mountain properties do not have addresses out by the street or on the homes because the owners have PO boxes issued by the Post Office or are part of a Rural Route centrally located mail box down by the main road. That requires me to spend additional time looking at plat maps to make sure I go to the correct property. So, I can't afford to be accepting BPO orders that are less than $50. And I need to have at least 5 orders for the area that I am going to. Otherwise it is just not worth the time and effort to hunt down a property. I would rather be working on getting listings and selling what listings I do have.
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