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The broker’s price opinion (BPO) is the value the bank or mortgage lender believes a property is worth based upon an appraisal by the bank’s own appraiser. When undergoing short sale training, you’ll know this BPO can vary from your own price estimate and many times the appraiser doesn’t really give the home a good look over. However, the good news is that with some know-how and people skills you can help determine that the BPO amount is returned as low as possible. Just follow these ten short sale training steps to help you influence the bank’s BPO.

Do your Homework

1. You will want to pull 3-5 comparables from a reliable source, if you do not use comps software then use your county auditor’s website. It is important to use houses in the area that went through foreclosures because the homes were sold in similar situations and because they are generally are nice and low.

2. You need to hire a top notch inspector, for your own appraised value in these short sales, who takes the time to look in every nook and cranny to find as many problems with the home as possible. They need to provide a detailed professional report that ideally includes pictures.

3. You need to get a contractor after the inspector gives you the detailed report, to put together a list of how much it would cost for each of the needed repairs and improvements. While you want to make sure these figures are realistic, the list should not be created with the intent of the contractor coming in with a low bid.

Make Arrangements

4. Many BPO’s are done without the appraiser even entering into the home. When in short sale training never let this happen! To ensure that this is not the case you should speak with the lender to ensure that they do a full appraisal.

5. Make sure that you and the appraiser have access to the home. Ask the homeowner if there is anything they can think of that you could share with the appraiser to further devalue the home, from high crime to bad neighbors.

6. Make sure you get there early and schedule to stay there late if need be (take work with you) to meet the appraiser for his inspection. BPO appraisers do not always keep a solid schedule so be sitting in your car or standing in the driveway as they show up.

Make Some Short Sale Training Magic

7. Set the tone as a casual conversation where you are just sharing a story. Tell the BPO appraiser that you are working with the lender to help the homeowner stay out of foreclosure. Help the appraiser realize that a real person is in a bad situation and that they can do something about it.

8. Don’t shove all of your documents on to the appraiser right away. Make sure that you are first acquainted and just casually hand the packet to them when it feels right during the process. When you give it to them mention that it was intended to help make their job a little easier and then briefly go over the contents of the packet.

9. Show some of the biggest problems with the property while touring the house with them. Focus on the things that could turn into huge potential expenses such as cracks in walls, problems with the roof and mold in the basement.

10. Ask the BPO agent for their contact information as you walk out. While you will likely never see them again it is a good idea to give the impression that you will follow up. Along with the heartfelt description you already gave about the homeowner this will hopefully weigh on the appraiser enough to get the desired result.

Short sales negotiation with the bank affects the percentage of discount that is received on the property you purchase. Plus, it is a process that takes months to complete and a lot of experience and specialized knowledge to perfect. However, influencing the BPO takes only a few hours of your time and serves to aid you in your short sale training and business. So don’t pass up this opportunity to increase your profits in short sales.

Hopefully you will not find yourself needing this information on real estate short sales however if you do this article will be helpful.

What exactly is a short sale?

It is an option given to homeowners allowing them to sell their property for less than they owe on their mortgage loan. A short sale is often used as an alternative to a foreclosure, which mitigates additional fees and costs typical with foreclosures to both the creditor and borrower.

In a declining real estate market a homeowner can be upside down in his or her property, meaning that the debt on the property exceeds the current market value.

The actual process can take many months to complete and there is no guarantee that lender will ultimately agree to the short sale.

In order to qualify for a short sale, the homeowner must demonstrate financial hardship.

If you find yourself considering a short sale, create a hardship letter to be sent to the lender and that letter should be no more than one page. Do not blame the lender in your letter as the reason for the hardship even though you might feel there is cause. State your reasons being factual and truthful. Common valid hardship reasons are the following though not exclusive:

Loss of Job
Illness
Divorce
Relocation

Ask the lender for their help based on your specific hardship.

When negotiating with your lender, you can require that the bank waive its right to a deficiency judgment otherwise you could be held liable for any outstanding balance after the house is actually sold.

Credit Implications- Bad news is the fact that your credit history will reflect your sale of your home and remain on your credit history for seven years. This likely will affect your ability to apply for credit for several years including purchasing another home.

After you have completed the short sale, request a free credit report from Annual Credit Report’s website. You are entitled to a free report from each of the three major reporting agencies. It is recommended that you request your reports from each of the three agencies one at a time in other words one report every four months.

Tax Considerations – A short sale in which a portion of the debt is forgiven is considered a relief of debt and may be treated as income for tax purposes. This will result in the lender issuing a tax form 1099 C known as cancellation of debt.

Check with a tax adviser to review current tax rules dealing with the cancellation of debt rules as Congress passed new regulations concerning a homeowner’s residence in the case of foreclosures and short sales.

There was an exception rule that allow a taxpayer to escape the additional taxes, however that expired in 2010. The exception might be or has been reinstated so do discuss this tax issue with a tax professional.

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