Question to the gurus-

on bpo's, do you ever ask for reassignment of an order ?

if so, what circumstances and does it hurt your rating with a company?

I have one with a company that pays beans- it's in an "inclusionary" neighborhood surrounded by million dollar homes and there are no other low income neighborhoods to compare it to with the low income requirements I know of, no mls , nada. Asked for help from bpo co and not getting it.

When do you say pass?

Question - Were you automatically assigned the order, or did you accept it?

I accepted it. It's in an obscure subdivision that is low income, surrounded by lots that sell for a million plus in a rural area. I don't even know of any other inclusionary tracts and getting nonresponse from company.

yes, yes, yes, I accepted it..lol..grrrr

You accepted it my friend, what more can I tell you? Just comment, comment, comment. GL !

lol.. I am hating life right this minute. It's probably worth 300k because of income limitations ( that I don't know ) and the comps will come in at 800k... woo hoo Cowgirl Up!

I accepted an assigned order. It had no comps. It was an unusual situation. After QC checked it, they found no similiar comparables either. They returned it back to the lender. It wasn't held against me.

"This too shall pass"; so don't drive yourself crazy, Crazy!

I am reminded once again of my recent episode with emile, described here:

A charge of UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT

They ought pay you 50% just for the research (or Consultation) already performed ! Some do.

Good luck, Nonetherless !

Thank you Vermont! I read part of that link you posted..wow wow wow... The power of the person on the other end of the phone..I hope they got a "correction" for doing that to you. This is business .

Tell them you have the flu and you need it reassigned

LOL BPObigolly...it's giving me the flu! They just sent me an email and put it on hold until client responds..whew!

$300,000 is low income? I need to move. $300,000 would be a high end sale for me. I just sold one of my listing for $375 on Friday. The bank had to send a check for $7,000 to cover the costs.

My 2 cents. A mill would rather have an agent even if they accepted the order manually call and state that they didn't believe due to (blank reason) they would be able to complete the order than an agent send in a bad report. Normally when we get these where the subject is very badly located, we go through several agents who will refuse to do the order and then when we present that to the client, they cancel out the order and opt for an appraisal instead. Since I don't know which mill this is for, if you have a hesitation on completing the order I would at least call the mill and discuss it with them. They may be able to point you in a direction for what the client is looking for based off a prior report if they have one.

J~

just now, moderately rural orders, send over 7. Now have me down to 2 and not cost effective. Lower tier volume and as far as i am concerned they pulled a bait and switch.

Thank you J- Yes, client put this one on hold. I was ready to rip one eyebrow out. We'll see what they come up with.

bpobill- This nifty little area is located very near a world renowned golf course that costs hundreds of thousands a year to be a member of. The lots around it are million plus, going a distance I can comp it out for around 700kish... I hate to use the term low income , that's kind of crazy but there were income constraints on qualifying to purchase these and there's no mls info or detailed info in property profile that qualifies more info than that..low income..pfft..lol..I'm with you.

Yes, I asked for one to be reassigned last week. (First time I've ever done it and it made me a tad nervous.) Property was out in the middle of nowhere with no comps. And I guess they didn't hold it against me because they're still calling every day.
Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.

Well I plead the fifth to having the flu response.....:)

Let's see car trouble ? Family is sick ? Dog ate my bpo order !

There might have been times in the past when I got creative.

Before all of you get your britches on fire and your feathers all ruffled these bpo mills aren't exactly angels playing above board.
They just hate it when they get gamed by the pro's.

I have a situation where a FARVV Rep wants ne to explain the comps used by another agent and then compare those comps to mine and explain my value....I said NO. I don't know the repercussions but I dont care. I did everything the order requested, provided photos and write comments on my comps. Why do I need to examine someone else's comps>?

I turned one down last week (assigned) because of the agent I had to contact. It was assigned as an interior by another company back in December on a Friday, I immediately called the agent and emailed him. He never called back.
On Monday, I called the mill and they called him. His excuse was he listened to my message and erased it by mistake.
Then 3 days of reasons I couldn't get access (dog, family visit, etc.) I finally told the mill I was leaving for vacation on Saturday and couldn't deal with this guy any longer. Glad I did, we had a major snow storm starting Friday night and the place would have been non-accessible.

Like I told the guy during these multiple phone calls, this is for a short sale and clearly these people are not motivated.

I've had that done to me on numerous occasions, and it seems to happen more so with some mills than others. I grudgingly provide them what they want. It usually means that have two (or more) BPOs on the same property with a wide variance of values. Thus they want to try and pinpoint a firmer opinion of value.

What I have found out from my experiences, that the other BPO used comps that should not have been used for a variety of reasons. When I comment not only on that but also why my comps better support a compairison to the subject, the report gets passed. I feel it kind of puts a feather in my cap, that helps support my rating. Of course that could also be wishful thinking.

yea I had one that was on hold for 1 week. The home was already scheduled for auction. A million excuses by the HO as to why I couldn't get in.Even the lender called her on several occasions. Finally got in and there was dog crap everywhere. She didn't give a damn. Very uncooperative, home was listed as a SS for 400 days at a unrealistic 100K over market, no offers.

There is typically a Fee associated with doing a Reconciliation Report, or a Market Consultation.

Ask what it is.

Here's my take on it. Another agent isn't going to have any different comps than you do, so why can anyone else do it better than you? Maybe it's because I am not a defeatist, or that I'm confident that I know my market better than anyone else out there who might do the order, but I don't give an order back just because it is 'hard'.

If you explain the subject and the market well enough, use the best comps that you can find (you should pretty well know where they are going to come from before you ever get to a computer), then there shouldn't be a problem and the order might take 10-15 minutes longer than an 'easy' order.

Now, I'm not saying I haven't asked for reassignment for any number of other dumb reasons, but they are generally scheduling or health related - never because I let the order win.

As annoying as it may be, it is not uncommon. I have felt like responding the way you did, but I go ahead and look at the previous comps and offer my opinion. I value the relationship and need the bread.

I know it's a pain sometimes to respond to the request about a different agents comps but that being said, it is a necessary evil for the mill. Think of the advantage, if I have a prior I'm looking at and a current and my current agent comes back and says 'These comps are not even close' Well that prior agent tends to end up in the 'out' basket for panel. Which means that you've just helped elimate some of your competition in the area by helping show theres an agent that doesn't provide a good product.

Just something to think about when it comes to how it is in your best interest to help the mill with this peticular question.

J~

I just spoke with FARV on the phone about some orders and asked about this subject.

1. If I am auto assigned an order and for whatever reason, I need to decline, does requesting a reassign of the order hurt my rating?

answer: No, and calling us is the best way to handle that.

I asked about the reassign option online and he again said it's best to call and that doesn't hurt your profile..

interesting.

I just did one of these yesterday. My order value probably came in about 50K higher than the prior. They sent me two of the other agent's comps...in a different county...30-plus miles from the subject...the subject on 2.5 acres in the woods (nice!), the comps on .1 acres on city lots (not so nice). I used nearer comps (although the subject is rural, so I still had to go quite a distance), on larger lot sizes...much more comparable in my opinion. My order passed QC.

It would be nice to think I blew another agent out of the competition...I have a feeling I know who it was, although that info wasn't provided. I did another order a couple months ago where an agent compared a property on 26 acres to a comp on .1 acre...seems to bear some similarity to the one I just did. Hmmm

Those knowing what they are doing will always shine.

I tell em, oooo, sorry, I know the homeowners <tee hee.>

Thermal... on 2.5 acres... Maunfactured Home... Smoke damage...


yup, the owners are my...COUSINS! Soooo sorry.

I'm with TB here. I take the good with the bad. I can explain anything that makes sense. If it doesn't make sense then perhaps BPO's aren't for you. BUt then, I like a challenge.
However, that being said, I have turned orders back in for several reasons,(i.e. listed in office, can't gain access, etc none of them being comps...and I've never had an AM get upset.

I turned down an interior last week on a neighbors house. I just didn't want:

1. the people to blame me if they didn't like the value or

2. the lender to even think I was doing a "favor" for a friend.

I just asked for a vacant interior to be re-assigned today. There is over 3 feet of snow all the way from the road up to the house. I don't care if they are unhappy about it. Who knows what could be under that snow in my path unseen. I don't mind going through snow, but the fear of a bike or kids toys or who knows what that could trip me up and injure me. I did one like this a few days ago, got to the front step and almost tripped and fell because the step was broken underneath.

I'm going to have to do it on Monday for the first time in 15 years. Very, very rough neighborhood, boarded home on a block where nine out of ten homes are boarded, home faces a big empty lot. I got hassled by some locals when I arrived today, and that has never happened before. The listing agent has refused to go to the home because vandals somehow have gotten in repeatedly. It also has the ice problem making climbing steep stairs difficult. I've gone into a lot of bad ones, but today when I realized I was alone on a street with people who at the very least want to scare me a bit, I put the camera away and got back in my car. We'll see how the bpo company takes the news. They've always told me to be careful. I've decided I'd rather work at MacDonald's than risk my life for a bpo.

After 8 years on the dark side of this business I've heard just about every story imaginable from agents doing BPO's. I'll never forget the agent that was out doing an inspection, the subject had a basement and no power. He was using his cellphone as a flashlight. 2 steps down the stairs he realized the third stair was missing...but not before he fell through and broke his leg. Lucky he had his cell phone on him.

Please stay safe. Make a BPO survival kit. Flashlight, extra batteries, Boots that go up to your knees, snake anti-venom, mace and take another person with you in the rough neighborhoods.

Finally, the company may not like having to reassign an order but we would rather reassign it and have you be up and working than spending 6 weeks in a cast where you can't do any inspections at all.

J~

Snowshoes are standard Real Estate equipment here. I can float leisurely over 10' and 12' drifts. They're particularly helpful if I have to enter via a 2nd story window.

I keep a pair of Snowshoes in my trunk 6 months out of the year.

And they're low maintenance. I just wipe them down with Bear Fat once a year.

Been making it a habit of checking out the order stats before accepting it. Works out much better that way.

I've started sending them back to companies where the relationship is falling apart (usually due to fees). In the past three months I've sent back interiors to FARVV, Ocwen, and Protk because it isn't worth the hassle anymore. Let someone else make 3 trips to the property, then get QC'd to death for a couple of bucks. Screw 'em.

Ocwen, and Protk are lowest paying right now beside Old Republic!
Their orders still are taken very quickly!

I did it a few times: the BPO company makes me sign off and certify on a form that all the info is my research and I haven't been influenced etc. One particular listing agent in my area lists short sale flips and they have previously denied me access to their listings because my values are not in favor of their offer (straw buyer/investor makes has an option contract and when they find a "real" buyer the option is a very low purchase price that my BPO has to support. Then then turn around and re-sell it to the real buyer for 10% profit. I ain't doing that!) So when I do accept a BPO with that listing agent as POC, I ask for it to be reassigned along with a giant email trail detailing all previous email conversations showing that I'm denied access for this reason bla bla bla. They told me the wouldn't hold it against me.