thought I would bump this one back up to the front.. thanks gulf winds this was a great idea and what this form was about.

41. don't wait till your signs are stolen for scrape metal 3 times. in some areas it may be a good idea to use a plastic sign or put it in a front window.

#42 - If you can't find an address because the area is covered in new construction drop by your local firehouse and ask if you can get a copy of their map.

I've found them a great help for this, and a small donation makes them very happy.

#43 Use a checklist for every BPO you do.

#44 Trying to track down an "occupant" that won't answer door? Great FREE site http://www.peopledata.com - enter their name and state and you can even get a phone number on most for FREE! and if you need more information on occupant, put his/her name and state into http://www.veromi.net to get their relative's names (you can tell moms, dads, sisters and brothers by their ages which are also displayed) and i love the state court records -- my state actually shows addresses and birthdays so that if your occupant has been to court recently another place to track them down - these sites have helped me tremendously.

#45 - Kall8 Numbers. Better than any other portable number out there, including efax, ureach (which I also like), trust me, there is no better toll-free solution. What's nice about Kall8 numers are you can BLOCK unwanted calls (if the number falls into the wrong hands), and real-time, unstoppable caller ID(even if caller ID is blocked) with address reversal for .12. You can actually forward your cell into one of these numbers and never have to give out your true cell number (for all you bar flys and players). You can also get local numbers, which have toll-free capabilities. These numbers are great for sneaky things too.

http://www.Kall8.com

#46 Get the Sony T100 camera. It's 1 inch thick, about the dimensions of a credit card and with it's 25X zoom will enable you to shoot house number shots from a block away. I take them at time when the owners are sitting on their porch and don't have a clue about what I am doing.

It can shoot up to 8 Megapixel so it is great for family shots also.

Another great feature is that its Lithium battery lasts about 300 minutes of shooting so you will seldom run out of juice. Charge once a week and forget it.

Also, with a 4 gig pro duo disk, you could put 10,000,000 images on the disk before you would run out of disk space.


This shot was taken from 7 houses away from the subject at the maximum 25X zoom.

#47 Guess it's time for me to add a tip... The best way I've found to resize quickly is Microsoft's Picture Resizer power toy for Windows XP. Select one or more pictures and right click them. The resizer is in the right click menu. Slick and quick. Does not work with Vista from what I can tell. For my Vista Machine, I use VSO. Both are free. Microsoft's is better IMO.

Quick download - links provided below.

Microsoft Resizer Power Toy for Windows XP
VSO Image Resizer for Windows Vista

#48 - Mag Light Upgrade - We all have one laying around...

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A great upgrade and mod for that dated 3-D Cell MagLite everybody has laying around.

Yes, it’s an LED upgrade and although similar in price, it’s not the same one you find at Wally Mart. This one is digitally controlled and bright – 150-200 lumens compared to the 35-40 lumens Maglight LED upgrade.

Efficient too – an expected 60 hours on Akalines (yes, 60 HOURS).

The total upgrade and mod takes about 5 minutes and will set you back $29.95 for the new LED upgrade/shipping.

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For the bulb upgrade, purchase a TerraLUX TLE-6EX MiniStar5 SSC P4 U bin LED upgrade for 3-6 C/D cell Maglites. The drop-in upgrade is $24.95 and you can find it online, or at http://www.batteryjunction.com, .

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For the mod, all you need is some masking, electrical, or duct tape. The end result is turning your 3-D cells into a 4-C cell light. This increases the voltage by 1.5V – so you get the performance of a 4-D cell light, in the 3-D cell body.

This mod physically balances the light too. It reduces the weight by 8.5 ounces, and when you pick it up, it’s like, huh? Since the extra weight is gone – you can use this thing to whack something efficiently without worrying about snapping your own wrist.

Remove the rear cap, and remove the foam/spare bulb. Flip the spring. You are nearly done.

Next, take one of your C batteries and wrap it in tape so that it fits sug inside the Maglight body. The goal here is to be sure the C battery diode will always be cenetered on the Maglight positive switch. Be sure to trim off any tape around the edges so the batteries will make contact with each other. No need to wrap the other 3 C cells, the spring will hold them tight (and no, they will not rattle around sinside the body). Done.

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For $25, you’re getting a light with comparable performace to many lights costing $300-$400. Not to mention with the 4-C cell mod, it has a 60 hour runtime – that’s a long, long time in flashlight hours.

Personally, I like the new, smaller LED lights. These guys (www.fenix-store.com) make great lights now approaching 200 lumens – which is surprisingly bright – and the light is only 2/75” in length!

Enjoy

#49
Can't legally carry "heat" here in Ca so I've always got my pepper spray. Attached to my keys so its in my hands at all times. If I have an interior BPO and am going in alone, I make sure I'm on the phone with someone who knows where I am and what I'm doing there such as my husband or the listing agent. The agents are always happy to assist me as they are familiar with the property & circumstances. A bluetooth makes talking and snapping photos at the same time much easier =)

#50
Mapquest has a new feature to route 10 destinations in a trip.

Route your subject properties and print the directions. Once you begin taking pics, just jot down the number of pics that you took of each property beside the address on your sheet. No need to take pics of the street signs to remember which house is which. And you have a record of mileage for the day too!

Before you print the directions, there is a notes box at the top. I always enter "BPO route for (Date)" keeps everything organized.

#51

Fleas are a common problem in many of the REOs in my area. It's very easy to walk out of a property covered in them. Get rid of them by starting your car and standing in front of the exhaust pipe. Be sure to leave the garage door open if performing #51 in your garage!

#52

Open a separate checking account for payment of REO expenses. This is also a good idea if you work for companies who do ACH payments for reimbursements and/or BPOs.

#53 For those who want the extra set of business cards (as TexasGal recommends - me, too) go to vistaprint.com. You can get all kinds of really neat and nearly free business cards and other stuff. Cannot beat the price.

#54 I use dictionary.com to find new words when I feel I'm being repetitive in my descriptions. It's a good spellchecker, too.

#55
Photo separator
Blank between the pictures I’m using order form from each company with big number on 1,2,3…and snap blank.. When I download the pictures I know which photos belong to which address.