I have had 2 bpos this week. Business has been way down since March. Each month I keep hoping that this month will be better. Am I kidding myself, is it over? Will it get better or should I cut my losses and find another niche? These are the thoughts I have have been mulling over in my head. I hate waiting for checks. I used to have lots of checks gathering in a drawer that I didnt have time to take to the bank.
Any thoughts out there.

Why don't you look for that niche while doing any bpos that come your way? Don't abandon the bpos. It sounds like you have time to try out new things.

That's good advice. As for me, I always have a back up plan. I think we all know we can't depend on BPO's anymore than we can from sales to make a living (in todays market}. Supposedly, I'm in the number one area for foreclosures. Recently, orders have been slow. CC has been pretty much filling the gap........August has always been a slow month for me. September is not looking much better.......time to look at Plan B, again......lol.


Just when I said it was slow, I just got 7 orders.......must've been cause I was looking at Plan B.....vacation time....lol

I agree with Colo too. You can also try signing up with new companies. I'm getting plenty of BPOs, but REOs are drying up with me.

I have a plan B, but I'll always keep real estate in my pocket

I heard an interesting theory about having a plan B. The theory is that if you don't have a plan B you will work very hard to make your only plan work. Almost like a survival issue.

Nothing personal, but the graveyard is full of people that worked themselves into the ground......maybe, no Plan B ?. I subscribe to the theory of "work smarter, not harder"....so far, it's paid off.......just my two cents.....

Have you called you big hitters and asked them what the deal is?

Sounds trite, but check you uploads to make sure they are current, you know w9, e/o, license, etc.

Good luck RLS. It will pick up.

Bingo! While I understand (to a certain degree) those that subscribe having a "Plan B", to me that means you are not giving 100% to what you are presently doing. My MB ID says it all. My "Plan B" is improving "Plan A"!!! If you are good at what you do and are determined to make it work, success will follow. Will there be bumps along the way? Of course! However I was told a long time ago that the key to success is hard work mixed with a little bit of luck. I have held on to those words for over 20 years now, and apply that to my business plan.

There is success and risk in everything you do. Sadly not all but many who start making good money will buy more THINGS instead of investing to create consistent cash flow.

People that have lots of money understand everything cycles.Some cycles might be longer this time and shorter in other but they are there.

My ultimate plan isn't to have my life depend on clients.Instead I am an investor myself creating cash flow.As I get busier I only take clients who can fit into my business plan.

I know some who do well on bpo's but not the majority.For many it pays the bills and gives them a little extra coin to keep running on that hamster wheel.

The hamster wheel runs faster and the piece of cheese gets smaller.

Only do maybe 1 to 2 a month now.Still in everything there is always stress.Even investors that are my clients who have millions or dollars worry about keeping up their lifestyle and the government taxing them to death,family legacies in estates,etc.

So stress never goes away in our lifetimes it just changes to something else.We can only learn to manage it better.

I agree with the posters above. Sign up with new companies, and do not listen to the folks that say no one is taking new agents. If you have experience, they will. I work for totally different companies then I did 2-3 years ago. I list reo and do bpos for companies that give out listings. My plan B is just to continue to sign up, make sure all my docs are up to date, and keep plugging along. Do something every day to create new business. If I would have sat still 3 years ago depending on the companies and banks that were giving me business then, I would have very little business now. You need to remember that the companies and banks we work for loose contracts, therefore their business goes down to. The trick is to be an agent with the company or bank that picked up the contract the other one lost. While it makes me cringe to think of it - Ocwen was one of my main companies 3 years ago, and now with the in house agents they are using, I have only three listings with them. Based on the commission cuts, I am glad. My point is, I have so many others that I list for and do bpos for, I do not even notice. While getting into something different then bpos and reos may be a plan B for some and it does work, my plan B is to try to create more business within that area. I am still afloat and while I feel that I am floating on a life raft instead of a sleek sailboat, I am still able to make a living. Good luck.

Haha i like that however i think i lived like that when my bpo business took a 50% hit for 6 months... i had no plan b... and although i recovered...

if i had a plan b i may have not felt the hit as much....

i recommend reading "who took my cheese" ...i think thats what it was called... very short read..however inspriing if you ask me.

oh and to the op

since your in a different state, dont give up, this business is made for hustlers, if you cant handle business building, account management, networking, hard work, and working 24/7 then get out of real estate. If you can, put in the work and youll see results, this industry is set up to reward those that work hard and provide good work.

If your in southern california,give up, this markets too hard and your better off going into insurance

If your in southern california,give up, this markets too hard and your better off going into insurance ..........

Nothing better than narrowin' down the competition.....lol.

How much you want to bet RLS is hammered with orders right now? Probably a bunch if interiors with access issues, but nevertheless, isn't always when it looks the darkest that the floodgates open (then or when you are leaving for vacation).

RLS how's about an update? I think that was a question.

Update. I have had 5 orders for the week. Down from a normal week of 20 and a high of 30. Just got an offer accepted today, yeah yeah.
As far as siging up with more companies I dont think there are any that I havent signed up with. With I call my regulars they tell me I am in good standing and they are just slow.

Where are you at in Michigan?

Southfield

You might PM J and see if she can do an area check for you. She is helpful like that. Maybe she knows something about your area.

REO's have dried up for me as well and BPO's are slow but steady. I have considered short sales but it involves a tons of paper work and it involves plenty of emotions on all sides.

I have considered property management-rentals and the like . . . any thoughts?

the time to scout greener pastures is upon us

It's funny how people who do not know others, could possibly get that they are not giving 100% in what they are doing, because they may think it is time to look elsewhere.

No matter how you look at either the REO or BPO side of this niche, both will experience a tapering off at some point. So having a plan B seems prudent, even if that is improving plane A, which is like a plan B.

Let's take a look a what has happened and what we have to look forward to:

1. More agents doing this then last year, and at larger percentages to all agents.
2. REO - listings may cost more then the revenue they generate.
a. Less commission
b. Unrealistic prices set by AM.
c. Forced services that are not reimbursed.
3. BPO - Companies require more and pay less.
a. Fees have dropped by 30% +-
b. Quality Control has become more of an issue, requiring more time.
c. Many are requiring they be included on 'your' E&O, and others require it now where they did not before.
d. They seem to feel they can pay when they want.

Foreclosures have been under scrutiny, look at GMAC. When one goes down do you think others might pull back a little and take a closer look? Employment is lagging in many parts of the country and unemployment compensation cannot be extended forever. At some point foreclosures will slow down, whether it because of mortgage modifications being forced or we simply get to that people are paying on time.

Now the biggest thing we often overlook - what happens in your market may not reflect what is happening mine. So if my market has only 10% of delinquencies as your market and mine slows down to a point I need a plan B, it has nothing to do with not giving a 100% to my business niche.

I love where I live and don't expect to move unless I found someplace better. I was interested in Austin because it seems to have a lot going for it, but as my friends have pointed out recently, the heat and humidity take getting use to. We just survived the hottest summer ever recorded here and I'm not looking to go from the frying pan to the fire.

So whether or not it is time to move on depends on where you are located, your competition and your abilities.

I guess we could become mortgage brokers - Me - I think I'll go work for Grampa if I go South.

Pine, Austin is great. Not that much hotter than the Carolinas. My business is off by %80. going back to basics, SOI, FB, Twitter, Mailings, Farming.

If you have a brokers license but are not the principle broker, can you use your brokers license to do property management while continueing to sell under your principle brokers liscense as long as you get your own insurance?

sos here too.....good standing doesn't mean a bag of beans if there are no orders coming thru!

If your BIC will permit it - check before you leap. I had this discussion with a KW firm - they wanted control of and a piece of everything I needed my real estate license for.

Going back to basics for me as well!

Looks like the market of nonprofit rehab companies are expanding because of neighborhood stabilization funding. Homes are donated to the nonprofits or the nonprofits purchase in bulk. The companies partner with agents to sell and sometimes list the rehab properties. The properties sell fast because of the high efficiency appliances and "green" technology.

Perhaps there is some opportunity on this side of the fence . . . here's a link to search for activity in your area:

http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/communitydevelopment/programs/neighborhoodspg/

I am not sure what list you are using or how you are determining what companies you are signing up for but there are hundreds of banks, asset management companies, and BPO job providers out there.

One suggestion is to go after smaller local banks in your area. A lot of time they do not have huge networks or do not go through actual asset management companies. Even small banks made bad loans. Small banks are also a great place for you to pick up REO listings with the amount of experience you have in the BPO aspect of the industry. Offer to do a free BPO on a property that a small bank is having a hard time selling and you may just pick it up as a listing. The smaller banks are also not as effected by the current foreclosure freeze.

Also remember that with the current freeze you may see a serious decline in BPO's but all of the properties in the freeze will have to get new BPOs once the freeze is over. THis is going to bring a huge surge of BPO orders especially since many of the properties in the freeze were already under contract and had several done one them. The freeze is expected to last until March which means at least 2 BPOs will be ordered on all of those properties . . . not to mention any new ones that come on the market.

Dont give up!

sounds hopeful........unfortunately many of us were banking on money from bpos in this "declining" market and would like to see things heat up a lot sooner than March!

What I see is the REO buiness is concentrated in just a few players with the prospects of breaking into the business almost impossible. I have been doing BPOs almost 4 yrs and have only gotten a few listings. The listings alway go to a handful of agents. It doesn't matter where you're located (within my state) or how well (or how many) BPOs you do. I have had homes listed doors away from my office. I do the BPOs, and still the listing goes to an agent 40 miles away. The listings I have had: I get stiffed on expenses and I end up being the party that makes the least money in the whole transaction. I am looking at changing fields altogether. It has been a struggle for too long.