What do you think about some BPO agents sending out non agents to take the pictures?
I have had several short sales messed up because the agent doing the BPO never really saw the property and the values they put on the properties were way off. One of the biggest BPOers in my neighborhood never leaves his office he has a couple of teenagers running around taking pictures. Who can I report this to?

On several bpo orders recently I have seen this instruction ( to this effect anyway) do not accept this order if you are not personally going to view the property. I think if you have a realtor/or licensed assistant who has gone with you to take pictures and knows what you look for on a drive by this might be ok. but how would the company know that it was a licensed realtor who took the picture versus a teen?

Maybe the "Certification" at the end which says you produced the Opinion should be expanded to include something to the effect that you also did the photography?

Perhaps they are just expecting people to be truthful, rather than dishonest.

For what a lot of these companies pay it does not suprise me.

I had a short sale with 10 offers 2 years ago when I had it listed at 104,900. It was a single uninsured conventional loan.

The house was a complete mess with graffiti and everything else.Her son and friends stayed there and paid rent and she lived with her husband elsewhere.

The bpo agent who lived 3 counties away sent her husband who was unlicensed to take the pictures and she paid him so much for each set of pictures.The subject was a 3 bed 2 bath ranch.

So her bpo value came in really high and when they gave me the comps it was laughable.One was a trailer on 5 acres of commercial property and another was house 40 percent larger than hers with a 2 car garage and not a carport but had no adjustments. I got the supervisor to do a second bpo and when it came back totally different they ordered a reconciliation of values.

For whatever reason they did not accept a short of 102,000 and the property foreclosed. 2 to 3 months later the city was sending multiple ordinance fines to the previous owner because on the tax record the new foreclosure deed wasn't showing up yet. I told her to tell the sheriff the property was foreclosed so she is not responsible for the fines and to contact the bank as they own it now.


So the bank got hammered with fines over a thousand dollars,had to clean up a ton of crap outside the property,and when it sold the bank got 82,000 and paid 3,00 closing costs. So they basically lost about 25k not accepting the short sale.

Sometimes in life stupidity prevails.

I've asked several of my BPO companies if they were ok with a photographer taking the pictures. You'd be surprised how many said it's fine and are aware of their agents doing it. They just want a licensed agent to do the report.

Depends if you are talking about interior or exterior photos. There's no excuse for an agent not visiting the property on an interior. For exteriors, though, I don't think that makes as much of a difference.


What are you going to report?? And who are you going to complain to? I'm sure your state board doesn't care nor will your association. So that means you will have to complain to the client ordering the BPO. Do you really think that by doing that you are going to get the work??? There's no reason to whine, cry, or complain about it. If that agent is not doing a good job, he'll hang himself in good time. You don't have to worry about it at all.

If I could find someone I could depend on I would hire a photographer. I know the areas well, and given good photos, could do just as good a job valuing a property as if I drove by it myself.

I just haven't found someone I trust. My concern is them flaking out or getting me the wrong pictures and me missing my deadlines.

Its not that I want his work, Its just that he is killing my short sales which are very time consuming and it can take months to correct an unrealistic value.

If the BPO doesn't require that pictures be taken by the agent, then I don't have a problem with someone else doing it. You don't need to be a licensed real estate agent to take 1 front, 1 street scene, 1 address verification, and photos of any damages.

Note: I'm sure many REO kings and queens don't take BPO photos themselves. The top agent in my area has someone who takes photos and a virtual assistant who enters the data. He provides the comps, comments, and reviews the end product.

What about these guys who dont even live in the same state as the bPO's they do?

Remember the guy who said he's not here to care about his work, he's here to make money.

I think it's criminal.

The exact quote-

"Dude, I do this for money not pride. You can have that. You hire a picture taker and you'll learn the market. Maybe you can't do it but I can. Soon I'll be in Florida taking your orders too because the companies like me better because I get all my orders done with the value they want with 24 hrs."

Please.... This really should be a non-issue, as this topic has been discussed more times that I can remember. Most BPO agents (including myself) don't even get out of the car for a drive-by! So whether the pics are taken by a Realtor or a 16 year old kid really should not matter.

I will agree that an interior BPO is another story altogether, and that the person doing the photos should be licensed due mostly to repairs, upgrades, floorplan issues, etc.

Every short sale I've seen requires at least 2 opinions so it's not just him who is killing your short sales. There are a multitude of reasons short sales don't work so pinning it on one bpo is difficult to do.

Ive closed over 20 short sales this year, only fannie requires more than 1 interior. They may order several exteriors but the interior is the one they base the value on most.

I normally go out with them after they are hired and I also show them the previous photos I have taken so they can see what I'm looking for. And their deadline is earlier than the deadline I'm given for the bpo, in case I need to reshoot. I do my own interiors. Everything is working well.

I have hired church members, my husband, and son to help out. A lot of people need the extra cash. I hope you find someone.