Any HUD listing broker out there receive an email regarding BPO mandatory training for HUD listing brokers?

Has anyone done the training yet?

Any comments before I sign up for yet another requirement (the rules just keep changing) and probably yet another deal where the asset manager has their hand in the money pot?

This is a real suprise to me. HUD does an appraisal and has never requested a BPO from me. Someone out there has another way of draining a few bucks from us.

Seriously JackREO - you get a HUD listing assignment and you've never had to do a BPO? I've had the asset manager "discuss" the HUD appraisal with me on one property and discovered the appraiser used a Sold comp that was 1 year old! What kind of competent appraiser uses a Sold comp for 1 year ago in a continuing downward market where adequate comps were available? We had to list the property at the appraisal price and it was the HIGHEST priced property in the neighborhood - higher than regular, owner-owned homes!

Apparently, Oforio and MMREM are "requiring" some "mandatory" BPO training, and, wherein, I am sure their hand is in the pot because it's always in everything else.

If it were to reduce the number of listing brokers, that would be fine; but, the first "mandatory" HUD training they had (and we paid for) had "flaws" in the exam and I had told them so!

I won't doubt this new "mandatory" training will have its own set of flaws, and, what if those "flaws" result in your failure when you really didn't fail?

VA Broker. I'm serious, Ofori has never requested a BPO or called to discuss the appraisal.

You have to do BPO for Ofori before you get to list any home.
First is initial inspection, then you get listing pre-inspection.
BPO is done with first request of initial inspection.
It is not even BPO.
Very simple form you can fill in minutes and it also does not require active comps to be filled in.

This is for Matt Martin and I'm sure its for the few agents that have never listed an REO. I took the default training a few years ago, sent them an email telling them that I had done the course and they said ok.

I think it's a way to thin the herd.

Agreed. Taking the training may not make sense for those who haven't been able to pick up any listings yet. We took it a couple of years ago and found it informational. It's one half of the requirement to obtain the RDCPro designation.

I have not taken this course. I certainly have no fear of it knowing that at least one HUD-certified appraiser out there believes in using sold comps from one year ago. I pray that's not a result of the course.

I have worked with another government arm for several years on BPOs and certainly have not had to go through "training". Previous to that, I did BPOs in my newbie days as an agent.

It's not the training that's the issue, it's the fact that this SHOULD have been decided upon and required BEFORE they started passing out assignments. I guess a bandaid on a cut that's been bleeding for nine months or more is better than nothing.

After looking at the list price to sold price stats in the MLS, and having experienced HUD (or the power that may be) accepting extremely low-ball offers on very good properties, getting training in doing BPOs seems pointless when we as brokers have a better knowledge of our market prices than someone who is in another state.

In agreement, yes, I think it will weed out a "few", but, it's not going to increase sold prices of properties if the end result is HUD (or the power that may be) ACCEPTS a low-ball offer on these properties. And, I don't doubt the AM's hand is in the pocket of the BPO training.