So about a week ago, I was taking some BPO pics and saw another person on foot, taking pics of the same house. I asked him if he was doing an appraisal or BPO? He told me about the company that he was working for called Zaio and they go walking the streets from house to house taking multiple pics of homes (despite of what their advertisments say) and put them into a database.

I did a little checking on their website and they are trying to score some BPO business of their own by going to lenders and marketing their zone appraisals and Images.

I did some checking in my area and saw that 75% of the Bay Area is being covered by this service. You might want to check out your state and see if they are creeping up in your area. I haven't heard of this service from any other source but the photographer I met on the street and I wonder if they are making some sort of impact on the BPO quantities in all of our areas.

Anyone else heard of them? http://zaio.com/

Thanks, Ohsay, for posting the link and bringing this to our attention. Everyone should visit this site. 75% of the Bay Area is a lot of territory...this site deserved a quick look-see. A lot of thought went into it...lots of production-line concepts...time studies...etc. No stone left unturned in the planning...probably had been in the works a while...that's my first-glance impression.

Will it work? Don't know...but they have tapped into a previously under utilized source of energy for this type work--the (frustrated) appraiser. Toss in the appraiser trainer who can work and study, and add the "build a future for yourself" idea...they definitely have the business phychology and management theories on their side.

The above comments are just from my fast scan of the site, so I might have to adjust them when I read some more. May have misunderstood the way it will work. But one thing I do know at this point is that I would rather fill potholes than be a photographer for them...read and find out why. They are quite honest about it--MUST BE PHYSICALLY FIT or something like that. Translation--only the strong will survive. Of course, it may sound worst than it is. But I have a deep respect for the photograph you spoke with now that I have read the numbers they expect from the photographer-soon to be appraiser.

Thanks for the post, Ohsay...very interesting. Sometimes I think BPO agents are like antelope trying to feed in the wild. We need to eat, but we have to keep looking up and around for who is going to pounce on us next. I wonder if that is how the appraisers feel, too.

Oh yes, the physical part.

This guy told me that it's all on foot because they kicked back the pics from his car. I found him an a very 'hill-y' area and he was telling me that on hot days, he can only work for 2-3 hours.

I don't even know what the shelf life of these pics can be when dealing with a REO or Short sale. Damage can happen in a day and in the summer when it's hot, lawns can die within a week or 2 of no water.Just wait till we hit 115 degrees again this year.

OhSay -

There was actually an article in the SF Chronicle on Sunday talking about this company. They are growing quickly....apparently they buy appraisals from appraisers, enter the info into a huge database and sell it to lenders for years to come. Appraisers are throwing a sh!t fit. I didn't read all the details, though.....

Oh yeah, and they sell the report to the lenders for under $40.

Is this the company that the group of appraisers is suing? I was half listening to a news report about a group of appraisers suing someone for re-using/selling their appraisal information, but I don't remember who they were suing.

I googled them and came up with a bunch of things.

http://www.appraisercentral.com/zaio-corp.htm

that is just GREAT!!! I looked up my area and it said it was "sold" what does that mean? SOOOOO I guess they will put all appraisers and all of us little baby agents that do BPOs out of business, guess I need to start thinking about delivering newspapers NOW..OH Well..I guess I am gonna hang up my hat..how depressing..!!!
But wait do these people know our market, do they have access to the MLS..or are they just taking pics and stealing reports from the appraisers..

I'm not sure but can appraisers sell their appraisals?

They're probably using that very accurate Zillow site to get their details.

Make sure you go to this part of that article.It is amazing!WOW!
http://appraisercentral.com/AVM.htm

from what I have read they will licence the software to appraisers for approx $9600. I found this info from the stock market their stock symbol ZAO.V at yahoo. came up with all kinds of good stuff. http://biz.yahoo.com/cnw/070524/zaio_q1_results.html?.v=1 is the one for yahoo. they also own Realink Corporation now. a BPO company in Tempe AZ. they also had this "Zaio and its network of premiere, local appraiser experts photograph and appraise entire cities, one building at a time from the street. It is the only known company in the world that develops and maintains a site-verified database of photos, valuations and property information of virtually every property in entire cities, using a proprietary "GeoScore" property rating system." Lets hope that the appraiser start jumping all over them. I assume that if they are going to take business from the appraisers that they will find a way to shut them down. if not well we maybe in trouble.

Isn't this spooky...kind of like George Orwell spooky.

Who are these people? They have started here in Missouri but the June meeting was postponed...it may be the only time I will be grateful that Missouri is as backward and stubborn as it is!!

I don't think I would worry too much. Computerized valuations have been available for years and we are doing more BPOs than ever. If anything I would think an organization such as this might decrease the demand for appraisals. Than again so have BPOs.

And I think that they would rather have a "live" report like a BPO as compared to canned stuff like these guys. $40-50 ain't a big deal. $350 is.

Steele

Am I reading their info correctly that the appraisers have to BUY a zone? I could not find out how much they are charging per zone. To me it looks like they get people to buy zones and then once the zones are all sold oops we are closing shop.

*loooong sigh* This does not look good.

I don't understand..

They are getting all these appraisals done now, and then will sell them later?

Who would buy them? They will be outdated sooooooooo quickly, especially right now whee so many markets are in a rapid downturn.

Hey if they are taking pics of everyone's house, NO MATTER what, I am halfway wondering if this may be some type of invasion of privacy...not all homes are mortgaged...Maybe I don't want my house photographed.

it's not illegal from the road

You can actually go to the site and ask that your house not be photographed or have pictures already taken, deleted.

No, the suit is against FNC.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070603/news_1h03harney.html

Well, that does it for me...I'm signing up for appraisal classes. That way when the appraisers shut us brokers down, my income will be protected. Stay tuned, I'll be licensed by year's end.

I doubt this will cut into our business much. What bank is going to want an old picture from a database? They're going to want the current condition, and they don't have to pay much for BPOs anyway.

I would be interested in knowing if any appraisers on here are going to any of the training sessions. They are having them in virtually every metro area in the United States so it's not like you have to travel far. I am just really curious about this group. And about the selling of the regions.

I read about this company in my monthly CAR real estate magazine last month.

Do you think I could hire one of their photographers to take about 8 or 9 photos a day for me? It would be hard to pay them the $1.53, but I'm willing to work with them. Just a thought!

Go to http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/ZAIOAppraisersGroup/
where Zaio appraisers discuss related issues.