inception-app-prod/NjM1M2E4MTgtNzFmYi00ZWM1LWI0YzMtYWM4OWZjZjM2YWE2/logo/2017/10/logo.png
Your Real Estate Specialist for Buying and Selling in Central Oregon!!
  • Home
  • Listing Search
    • Bend
    • Redmond
    • Sisters
    • $500,000-$750,000
    • $750,000+
  • Buyer Resources
    • Glossary of Real Estate Terms That Will Make Your Life Easier
    • 4 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Home
  • Sellers
    • 4 Questions to Ask Before Selling a Home
  • Home Worth
  • About
inception-app-prod/NjM1M2E4MTgtNzFmYi00ZWM1LWI0YzMtYWM4OWZjZjM2YWE2/logo/2017/10/bill-panton-500x480-c-center.jpg
541-420-6545
Sign In
Sign Up
inception-app-prod/NjM1M2E4MTgtNzFmYi00ZWM1LWI0YzMtYWM4OWZjZjM2YWE2/logo/2017/10/logo.png
Your Real Estate Specialist for Buying and Selling in Central Oregon!!
inception-app-prod/NjM1M2E4MTgtNzFmYi00ZWM1LWI0YzMtYWM4OWZjZjM2YWE2/logo/2017/10/logo.png
Your Real Estate Specialist for Buying and Selling in Central Oregon!!

What's a BPO and why would I need one?

inception-app-prod/NjM1M2E4MTgtNzFmYi00ZWM1LWI0YzMtYWM4OWZjZjM2YWE2/logo/2017/10/bill-panton-500x480-c-center.jpg
Bill Panton,12/21/2021

There are a lot of acronyms in real estate — and they don’t always make sense to people outside of the industry. If you’ve heard of a BPO but you aren’t sure what it is or why you might need one, we’re here to help explain it to you: It stands for “broker price opinion,” and it’s one way of valuing a property without ordering a full appraisal.

 

(What’s an appraisal? It’s when a qualified, licensed appraiser examines a house and offers an official opinion on how much that home is worth on the current market. Appraisals are required for most home sales so the mortgage lender has confirmation that the home is actually worth the amount of money being loaned to buy it, and for many other real estate deals and transactions, but there are times when a BPO will suffice.)

 

A BPO has several advantages over an appraisal. They are usually faster and more affordable to order, so if you’re in a time crunch or don’t need a full appraisal, a BPO can be a good alternative.

 

 There are also disadvantages, though; BPOs can’t be used in certain transactions for loan amounts more than $250,000. (This amount may be raised to $400,000 if a rule change under consideration is passed.) And they aren’t considered to be as accurate as appraisals, either, which is why appraisals are required for some real estate deals. A broker does not need to actually walk inside a property in order to create a BPO for it, but appraisals always include extensive on-site visits with photographs of the home.

 

As the name indicates, a BPO is a broker’s opinion of a property’s price. However, it’s not just a number that a broker throws at the wall in the hopes that it sticks. Brokers apply their current market knowledge and use many of the same techniques that an appraiser would use to land on a home value. 

 

One of those techniques is choosing comparable homes (also called “comps”) that were recently sold, which can help show the current market demand for homes similar to the property in question and give the broker or appraiser a sense for how much that home might be worth. Most BPOs and appraisals include at least three comps, although more can always be used. There are both internal and drive-by BPOs; brokers conducting an internal BPO will walk through the property, but will only look at the outside of the home in a drive-by BPO.

 

So why would you want a BPO instead of an appraisal? Many financial institutions use BPOs to determine a home’s worth for mortgage loans on their books, for example; others use BPOs for home equity loans and lines of credit, or refinance opportunities. Even though a BPO can’t be used in sales transactions (or most of them), there are still plenty of reasons why it might be advantageous to order one instead of an appraisal.

 

Not every broker will conduct a BPO, although every broker is qualified to create one. If you think you might need one and you’re not sure where to get one, ask your real estate broker whether they can help or would be willing to recommend a broker they trust to execute your BPO for you. 


Print Details
Previous post
Next post
The Hidden Costs of Owning a Vacation Home
Should You Manage Your Own Vacation Rental?

Have a question?

SEND
Submitting
Succes! Your message was sent!
Oops! Error occurred.

Search listings

Enter city, zip, neighborhood, address…
Loading in progress…
No results found
Type in anything you’re looking for
Search
inception-app-prod/NjM1M2E4MTgtNzFmYi00ZWM1LWI0YzMtYWM4OWZjZjM2YWE2/logo/2017/10/logo.png

Office

Duke Warner Realty
1033 NW Newport AveBend
Oregon 97703
541-330-2154
bpanton@dukewarner.com

About us

  • Home
  • Listing Search
  • Buyer Resources
  • Sellers
  • Home Worth
  • About

Consumer Protection & Privacy

  • Accessibility
  • DMCA Compliance
For ADA assistance, please email compliance@placester.com. If you experience difficulty in accessing any part of this website, email us, and we will work with you to provide the information.

© 2022 All rights reserved

Created with Placester

Sign in

Sign In
Forgot your password?
Create an account
You have been successfully logged in
The page will reload automatically.
Go to the homepage
Sorry something went wrong
Login or password are incorrect. Please try again.
Try again

Sign Up

Sign Up
Already a User? Sign In
You have been successfully registered
Please check your email.
Go to the homepage
Sorry something went wrong
Please try again.
Try again

Reset password

Reset password
Return to Log In
Reset password email has been sent.
Go to the homepage
Sorry something went wrong
Please try again.
Try again

Change password

Change password
Sign Up
Your password has been successfully reset.
Go to the homepage
Sorry something went wrong
Please try again.
Try again

Central Oregon Home Search

As a long time resident of Central Oregon, let me show the best of what we have to offer and what our lifestyle is all about. I am well versed in all types of properties available in the region and look forward to working with you to find the property you have been dreaming of.
Send
Succes! Your message was sent!
I appreciate that you have taken the time to visit my site for researching properties in Central Oregon and look forward to working with you to fulfill your dreams.
Back to homepage
Oops! Error occurred.
Please try again.
Back to form
Already a User? Sign In

Account verification in progress

Account Verified!
You may now log in into your account
Go to the homepage
Verify your email address
In order to log in to your account, you need to confirm your email address. Please check your inbox!
Go to the homepage

Share this listing

Copy Link