I have found that being in the BPO and REO business is much like playing a competitive sport when you were a youngster. Whether your favorite sport is football, basketball, baseball, soccer or any other sport, one of the first things you were taught was offensive skills, which of course was soon followed by defensive skills. The better you were at both, the more likely that you would be successful at beating your opponent, right?

The same scenario and expectations applies within anyone's BPO and REO business, the only difference is that we are now all grown up and more is on the line and at stake.

When I got started in the BPO business in Sept. of 2006 the phrase, 'Broker Price Opinions' was something that a very select group of people in the real estate business knew about. I'm guessing that the percentage was very low at the time.

I was able to put together a BPO Manual for others (in Jan 2008) who wondered what a BPO was, what it involved and every possible question under the sun as it applied to broker price opinions. Sales of my BPO Manual really took off in early to mid 2007. I had to presume that at this point the 'secret' was out of the bag. So, it had to be a matter of time before everyone jumped on the bandwagon. I was right!

For those that heard about and saw the tremendous opportunity they benefited greatly if they dove into doing BPO's. For many REO listing became the next logical product of the vast amount of BPO work they did. For the next two years, I saw more and more people jumping into the BPO and REO business.

During this time I also talked to lots and lots of people in the business. They came from all walks of life, backgrounds, time in the real estate business and everyone had own their opinions about the BPO business. I appreciated each and every phone call, email and letter that I shared with my fellow peers. They helped me understand so much about the business that I would never have been able to figure out on my own. I owe a lot to these countless number of fine folks. If you are one of them, thank you very much for everything! :-)

I guess a good secret can't stay hidden for long though, huh! Thank goodness. This business is filled to the brim with open-ended possibilities.

And in the end, if you have found or are finding that many in this business stay very guarded and extremely secretive about their own BPO and REO business (I can respect and understand the need behind this) there are a few others that will share their knowledge and expertise with you. Me being one!

Feel free to drop me a line sometime, I'd be more than happy to help in anyway I can!

Keep your chin up and keep shooting for the stars!

Warmly,

Nicole Ocean

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Nicole Ocean was a national speaker, previously certified real estate instructor, BPO trainer and coach. She's worked with every MLS system in the US and has been teaching and helping thousands of real estate professionals all over the United States for the last 17+ years. She is now retired

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Comments

  • Catherine's comment is accurate, the workload weeds out a lot of hopeful REO agents. I've heard agents scoff at a $40 BPO saying "I won't get in my car for $40." That's music to my ears.
  • A very successful agent told me years ago that she had no secrets, she said if she laid out her success model to the tee that very few would want to do the work to achieve the result. That really stuck with me. There are no quick fixes or easy rides in RE. It is work, but for me it has always been something I loved. Except for when we were selling homes above appraisal value, I did not enjoy that. Now I feel the market is correcting itself and there are opportunities for selling and home ownership for buyers. I like the BPO work because I enjoy finding the values. Call me weird, but its fun.
  • Nicole...There is a ol saying...what goes around comes around! You are correct this business is so secretive and just plain luck sometimes. Thanks for the great blog.
  • Thank you so much Nicole. I too feel like you. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
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