Broker Price Opinion - Realtor took pictures

[jlaperch]

A real estate agent came by the house today and took pictures for mortgage company. I am keeping the house and am current.

Needless to say, some days i feel good about how chapt 7 is going others no so good.

This kinda freaked me out.

Any thoughts?

[mom2three09]

Wow, that seems very strange to me. Who's your mortgage with?

Wondering how often this happens.

[PdxDavid]

Are you sure it was a Realtor? As in they want to sell it... One of the things I received from Citi was a notice that they could/would send someone out to make sure the property was secure. Seems they want to be aware if you have already vacated the property. Not sure if this the case for you, but it is a possibility.

Of course it also said that I would be charged for it...

[LSUTiger32]

Maybe it is standard that they check out the condition of the property before doing a re-affirmation agreement?

[HakunaMatata]

Are you sure it was a Realtor? As in they want to sell it... One of the things I received from Citi was a notice that they could/would send someone out to make sure the property was secure. Seems they want to be aware if you have already vacated the property. Not sure if this the case for you, but it is a possibility.

Of course it also said that I would be charged for it...

Heeheeeheee...received a very similar letter from HSBC today. I'm tempted to reply and request the inspector visit with a bulldozer and a bottle of celebratory wine!

Jla-

Did the realtor/photographer take photos inside, outside, or both? This seems odd to me (although, I'm new to this process and I don't intend to keep my house).

[BKorbust]

Think of a broker price opinion as a cheaper and somewhat less accurate version of an appraisal. An agent will come in take pictures and then put together a report with his/her opinion of value backed up by comparable properties. I am not aware of any banks that do not use BPOs. Fannie and Freddie also use BPOs to determine value.

[jlaperch]

At one point i got a notice of a BPO but that was before i got current...so maybe something crossing in the mail.

I can't logically see how i'm not ok but still freaky.

The agent took outside pictures and was very apologetic about it...but basically said don't worry...more than likely just the bank taking pictures of their "asset"

ugh!

[StartingOver08]

OP, call your bank to make sure your payment has been posted to your account. You may have made the payment(s), but it may be in a 'suspense' account. If it is, that means it has not been applied to your balance and may still show as payment due. Servicers are known to do this because they can charge extra fees to both the borrower and the lender for servicing an account in 'default'. Wells Fargo does this very thing regularly (so do others).

Otherwise the lender usually does not send out an agent to do a BPO - they send them out when you are behind, not current.

[fooked]

Be wary of a BPO... there's no liability to the broker... he can say whatever he wants as far as value goes with no recourse... and who does he work for? In addition, does price = value? If you were to list your house at that PRICE, does that mean that's what it would sell for?

did you get a copy of the BPO? Does the value appear reasonable? Meaning, is your home similar in condition to the homes they used to compare it to? How does the value compare to zillow? Zillow isn't an exact science, but gives a ballpark value.

[reeltrouble]

A BPO is usually ordered to determine a "quick sale" value. Meaning what the bank would have to list the home at in hopes of selling in < 90 days. This value is determined by the condition of the property, as well as recent sales AND current listings of comparable properties. The most weight is given to sales and listings of foreclosures, and short-sales, as they are what currently determines the "market" value. Typically, a BPO quick sale price is significantly less than the "fair market" value.

You will most likely not get a copy of the BPO, as the company who services your mortgage is paying for it. As for Zillow, take it from someone who has worked in the mortgage industry for about 9 years, it's wildly inaccurate. I've gotten BPO's back that were 25% of the Zillow estimate, and others that were actually higher, but generally an appraisal or BPO in the current market as well below the Zillow figure. I used to use Zillow regularly, but don't really bother any more

[fooked]

don't get me wrong, I'm not a big fan of zillow either... I'm just saying to keep the motivation of the broker in mind... and there are good brokers and not-so-good brokers... plus, you've got to look at the verbage included in the BPO... is it market value, liquidation value, etc... liquidation value is similar to the "quick sale" price indicated above.. a price that would sell the property quickly, typically 90-180 days..

as long as they're comparing apples to apples, I don't have a problem with them... but more often than not, generally speaking, they're optimistic...