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Questions and Answers - FAQs

Q: How do I know my credit card and personal information is safe if I order from your site?

A: Just like you I want to know my credit card and personal information is safe when I purchase something online. If you choose to purchase one of my guides, the first page where you are asked to enter personal information is on the shopping cart "check out" page. This is the page that asks you to enter your email address, a password and your first and last name. When your browser is open to the "check out" page of the shopping cart there are a few ways to tell that the connection to the server is encrypted and secure;

• To the right of the internet address line (the line where you enter www.whateversite.com) you will see a padlock image. This padlock image tells you the connection to the server is encrypted and secure. If you click on the pad lock image you will see the secure connection information and you can view the certificate if you'd like.

  Example:

• Another way to tell if a connection is secure is to look at the internet address line again but this time look at the beginning of the internet address. When you are in the "check out" page of the shopping cart where you are first asked to enter personal information you will see the internet address begins with https://. The "s" in https means secure which is telling you that the site is using secure socket layer and that the data being transferred is encrypted. When you only see http:// in the internet address line that internet page is not secure and the data is not encrypted. Data only needs to be encrypted when you are entering personal or private information into a site - internet pages that are view only where no personal or private data is being asked for are perfectly fine as http://.

  Example:

My credit card processor is Card Service International (www.cardservice.com). They are one of the largest online credit card processing companies and very reputable. As the merchant, I never see your credit card number and I NEVER share or sell your personal information.

Q: Do you ship hard copies of your guides?

My guide is available is electronic form only. I do not ship hard copies of my guides. Once the payment transaction is complete you will be able to immediately download the guide(s) and get started making money with BPOs.

Q: What is a BPO?

A: BPO is an acronym for Broker Price Opinion. BPOs are ordered by mortgage servicers typically through BPO companies, with the goal of determining fair market value for a specific property. Less expensive and faster than an appraisal, a BPO is performed by a licensed real estate agent.

Q: Why are BPOs ordered?

A: The most common reason for a BPO is a delinquent debtor. The mortgage servicer now needs to find the value of the property in order to determine a course of action, i.e. restructure of payments, short sale or foreclosure. Removal of mortgage insurance and mortgage refinancing are two other common reasons for a BPO.

Q: What information is required on a BPO order?

A: Much like a comparative market analysis (CMA), the information typically requested on a BPO order is the specific physical characteristics of the subject property, 3 active listing properties, 3 sold listing properties and digital photos of the subject property.

Q: How long does it take to complete a standard BPO order?

A: Not including the time to drive to the subject property and back, a standard BPO order should take you about 30 minutes to complete on line. Of course it will take you longer in the beginning, but after about 5 to 10 orders you should be able to complete a standard BPO in a half an hour.

Q: How much money can I make performing BPOs?

A: It's really up to you - agents are typically paid between $45 and $125 per completed BPO order. A standard BPO will take between 30 minutes to 1 hour, not including the drive time to take the pictures of the property. You can earn just under $55,000 per year completing 3 BPO orders a day with an average payment of $50. $50 is low side, by following the information in the guide, you'll start receiving the BPO orders that pay $65 and up.

Q: How do I get paid?

A: The BPO companies pay either you directly or your broker by check. The check can either come to your house or your office - you provide that information when you sign up with the BPO company.

Q: What is required to perform BPOs?

A: Any active real estate agent already has the items required to perform BPOs - an active real estate license, broker's license or appraiser's license is required along with access to your local Multiple Listing Service, a computer with internet access and a digital camera.

Q: How much experience is required?

A: BPOs are perfect for new and experienced agents alike.

Q: Do I have to commit to a schedule or timeframe?

A: No, BPO's are completely and entirely flexible. You receive the BPO order and then based on your schedule, you determine if you want to accept it or not. You can perform as many or few BPOs as you'd like.

Q: How far away are the subject properties?

A: That's also up to you - when you sign up with the BPO companies, you enter the cities and/or zip codes where you want to work. You can make your list as narrow or wide as you'd like. However, the larger the area you're willing to work the more orders you'll receive.

Q: How do I sign up with the BPO companies?

A: The hyper-linked list of BPO companies provided in the Step by Step BPO guide will take you to each company's sign up web page. Typically sign up takes about 5 minutes, the more companies you sign up with the more orders you'll receive.

Q: If I get started signing up with BPO companies and performing BPOs today, am I too late to get into the game? Is there still enough business out there for new agents?

A: You are never too late for the BPO game, especially in this market. You may (or may not) find a few of the BPO companies on the list are not accepting new agents in your area, but if you encounter that it would only be a few companies. Most BPO companies are scrambling to get BPO agents signed up in order to keep up with the demand. Since most BPO orders are sent out via email and are first come first served, you have the same chance of getting the orders as all the other agents - and my guide gives you tips and tricks on how to get the most BPO orders.

Q: Do I need a BPO certification? I see there are some websites that offer a BPO certification and I worried that if I don't have one, I won't get orders.

A: A special BPO certification is not required to perform BPOs - your active real estate/broker/ appraiser license is the certification the BPO companies are looking for. As a matter of fact, I can't think of one BPO company that has a field on their sign up page asking if you have a BPO certification. Simply put, there is no industry standard for BPO certification and it is not a criteria for the BPO companies when adding agents to their available agent roster.

Q: Does it cost anything to sign up with the BPO companies?

A: No

Q: I've heard there are some BPO companies that offer payment for a completed BPO order but after you complete the order you never get paid. Is this true? How do I know what companies to stay away from?

A: Yes - there are a few BPO companies that offer payment for a completed BPO order but never send the check. Unfortunately, I have worked for some of them. I give you a list of companies to not sign up with - this list is located on the email you receive after you've purchased my guide. I included the list on the email instead of in the guide since I can edit the email in a few quick minutes - this "companies not to sign up with" list is ALWAYS up to date.

Q: What does REO stand for and how do I get listings from BPOs?

A: REO is an acronym for Real Estate Owned (a.k.a. bank owned foreclosure properties). Since most BPOs are ordered because the debtor is in default, it's possible that the subject property will be sold at a later date by the same company that ordered the BPO. Once you've established yourself as a reliable agent by performing accurate and timely BPO orders, the lenders will begin to ask you to list the property. BPOs are the necessary first step.

Q: Some websites sell their guides for $12.00 and some for $150.00 or $300.00! Why is your guide priced at $45?

A: I purposely priced my guide at $45 since that is the lower end of the BPO payment scale. As an agent myself, I understand how painful it is to watch all your earnings go to expenses and at $45 you will break even after one BPO order. It was also very important to me to sell a quality product that I would be proud to talk to people about before or after their purchase. The $12 guide will probably be a couple pages of a word document and a poorly researched list of BPO companies (do they tell you which companies not to sign up with?). My guide has all the information (and probably more) as the guides selling for $150 or $300 - I just didn't want to take advantage of other agents, who like me are just trying to make it work.

Q: Is your guide up to date? Do you send out updates?

A: I update my guide when I come across new information or have received questions that I think should be added to the guide. I continually research BPO and Field Inspection companies, looking for new ones or weeding out ones that no longer exist. Some of the BPO companies change their sign up page or information and I make those changes as I find out about them. I send out free updates to all purchasers to the email provided during payment. The update is not the complete guide, but the specific updated information.

Q: Why should I buy the Step by Step BPO guide?

A: The Step by Step BPO guide is a comprehensive, effective and easy to understand guide that will provide you with all the resources you need to start earning money by performing BPOs. Full of information, pictures and lists you will hit the ground running from your very first BPO. Take a look at the table of contents and you'll see how complete the coverage of this guide book is. You will recoup the cost the Step by Step BPO guide with 1 completed BPO order. Don't start out like I did, spending months and months compiling the list of BPO companies, muddling your way through the orders trying to figure out what information they were looking and how they wanted it presented only to have to redo my work over again.