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What Are Brokers Price Opinions?
Broker price opinions or BPO's for short is an industry term for an estimate of a range of market value. They are much similar to a comparative market analysis (CMA's) with the exception that CMA's usually include expired and withdrawn listings showing those homes that failed the market test. Investors use BPO's to help them in various decision making events. Such events as selling a portfolio to another Investor. BPO's are sometimes used just to verify that the home remains occupied and maintained. The most prevalent use today is in foreclosure segment of the business. Investors need to know if the property is occupied and how much it might bring when placed on the market or at least a good estimate of the assets value. Something to keep in mind is that BPO's are not appraisals and can not be used to fulfill the need for an appraisal. BPO's like the CMA is only a market range tool not a specific value tool. Permalink
QUESTION:I have an agency question. I have an agent whose husband is a builder,and she has his houses listed. As a facilitator,she has sold a couple one of his houses. Was "facilitator"the correct status for her in this transaction? ANSWER:We would NOT recommend that the agent default to a facilitator status in transactions in which she is selling her husband's property. It may or may not be technically wrong,but it certainly doesn't pass the "smell"test. If something goes wrong in the transaction,the buyers will surely claim that the licensee was truly representing her husband. Moreover,depending upon how ownership of the builder's homes is structured,the licensee may even have an ownership interest in the properties and could not function as a facilitator. At the very least,the licensee's relationship to the builder must be fully disclosed to the buyers'satisfaction,giving them an opportunity to secure their own representation in the transaction.
[SOURCE:TAR Legal &Ethics Hot Line Attorneys] De-Mystifying Credit Scores With credit scores playing an ever-larger role in qualifying for
financing a home purchase,knowing how scores are calculated can help you help your clients understand the process! A very readable article by Realty Times Managing Editor Carla Hill ("Explaining Credit Scores")
provides a helpful summary of how Experian,TransUnion,and Equifax
arrive at their scores. In it she tackles a few of the more common
questions,such as whether or not someone should close a credit card account with a zero balance or an unused card. To read the entire article,CLICK HERE. [SOURCE:Realty Times] Banks Pushing Higher Down Payments The Obama administration is calling for a phased-in hike in the minimum down payment on conventional mortgages to 10 percent.
Experts say higher down payments combined with rising interest rates
could further depress home prices,with Mortgage Bankers Association
President and CEO John Courson adding that lower affordability could
prompt some consumers to rent instead. This past week,the Wall Street Journal also reported: "The median down payment in nine major U.S. cities rose to 22% last year
on properties purchased through conventional mortgages,according to an
analysis for The Wall Street Journal by real-estate portal Zillow.com.
That percentage doubled in three years and represents the highest median down payment since the data were first tracked in 1997."
[SOURCES:Wall Street Journal;Information,Inc.] We all love our laptops,smart phones,iPads,and all the other little electronic gadgets that make our lives so much easier. But are they safe? What are you telling the world about your life? Stalking. We all know what it is and why it happens. But,how it happens is changing. In the past someone would be stalked through phone calls and physically being followed. But in today’s cyber world there is a new kind of stalking emerging,cyber stalking. Today you can be stalked through social media,text messages and emails along with the traditional methods. And as we become more open with social media,the easier it is for stalkers to find their victims. So how do you protect yourself? Here are some tips to follow. - Do you know all your “friends” on Facebook,My Space and other social media? Do you know all your followers on Twitter? Be selective with whom you accept onto your social media pages.
- When posting on social media,do not post where you are and where you are going.
- Do not use social media that requires you to “check in” at locations.
- On your camera,disable location devices or GPS that tags your photos with a location.
- NEVER post on social media when you are going out of town for business or vacation.
- Keep personal information to a minimum on social media. Do not post your home address,telephone numbers or email address.
Crime happens,there are no guarantees. But you can decrease your chances of becoming a victim by guarding what information you share. [Author:Andrew Wooten,a popular speaker on safety issues] Home prices fell year over year in all 28 major metro areas [including the Nashville SMSA] covered by the Wall Street Journal’s survey of housing-market conditions for the 2010 fourth quarter,due to weak demand and tight credit. Zillow.com says Miami,Orlando,Atlanta,Chicago,and other cities hit hard by the slump saw the most dramatic depreciation;and cities such as Seattle and Portland,Ore.,also saw price drops. There is concern that market conditions could worsen,as millions of homeowners are delinquent on their mortgages or in foreclosure and the job market has yet to pick up. [SOURCES:Wall Street Journal;Information,Inc.] QUESTION: In the December 7,2010 edition of the TAR Digest had an article on the Safe Act. Have there been any rulings since this edition was published? Also,it states that you cannot negotiate the terms of a mortgage on behalf of a seller. Does this apply to negotiating for the buyer as well? ANSWER: The Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions has issued a bulletin covering an exception to the law. Now,an individual who is selling their own property (regardless of whether it is their residence) can do five or fewer mortgage loans within a twelve month period. Please note that this DOES NOT include business entities. Therefore,it must be Billy Bob Seller who owns it,not Billy Bob Seller,Inc.,or Billy Bob Seller,LLC. Please CLICK HERE for a copy of the bulletin. [SOURCE:TAR Legal &Ethics Hot Line Attorneys] –
Mack Meeks
CENTURY 21 Mid-State Realty L.L.C.
50 West College Street
Monteagle,TN 37356
(931) 967-4321 or (931) 924-2101
Cell:(931) 361-1011
A critical issue for many as they consider a move to our wonderful state is the quality of the local school where they will live! On Friday,the Tennessee Department of Education released a massive assessment of the state’s schools. Those results showed 75.5 percent of schools in good standing,12.6 percent as “target” schools for not having made adequate yearly progress for one year,and 11.3 percent marked as “high priority.” Of the last group,29 percent were on their way toward coming off the list of struggling schools. You can search through the report online to determine how a particular school system,or even a particular school,fared in standardized testing!The report also includes demographic data (race,sex,etc.) for each school. To find out how the school(s) in your area fared, CLICK HERE. [SOURCES:TN Dept. of Education;Nashville Business Journal]
Reaction is coming in from the mortgage finance sector concerning the U. S. Treasury's Feb. 11 white paper,which focused on the restructuring of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their eventual phase out. Amherst Securities Group responded that the plans laid out in the white paper will not have a major impact. A statement read:"We do not believe this proposal will significantly affect the refinance ability of the bulk of the conventional MBS market,"adding that the net effect would be to make some of the jumbo product less refinanceable. In responding to the proposal,2011 National Association of REALTORS President Ron Phipps said:"Reducing the government's involvement in the mortgage finance market is necessary for a healthy market,but should not be done at the expense of the economy or home buyers ….Any proposal for increasing fees and borrowing costs beyond actuarially sound levels will only make it harder for working,middle-class individuals to achieve home ownership,and only the wealthy will be able to achieve the American dream." To read the entire NAR response, CLICK HERE. [SOURCES:Housing Wire;Information,Inc.;NAR] century21.com Provides Enhanced Consumer Search Experience for over 3 Million Property Listings PARSIPPANY,N.J. (January 10,2011)–Century 21 Real Estate LLC,the franchisor of the world’s largest residential real estate sales organization,today announced that it is the first national real estate franchisor to implement a new search functionality in compliance with the new National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) policy governing the indexing and display of Internet Data Exchange (IDX) information by real estate franchise organizations. Consumers may now benefit from an expanded search capability that enables one-click access to more than three million Multiple Listing Service (MLS) listings directly through the national century21.com website. The MLS listings that appear on CENTURY 21® franchise offices IDX websites are now indexed to present the search results on century21.com. The outcome is an enhanced search capability that provides consumers with a comprehensive property search experience that displays information on every home listed for sale in the local MLS in accordance with the newly updated IDX listings display policy. This policy was approved by the NAR Board of Directors in November 2010. “Consumers want their online home search to be simple and intuitive,and they want relevant results delivered as quickly as possible,” said Bev Thorne,chief marketing officer,Century 21 Real Estate LLC. “By enhancing the home search experience on century21.com,potential homebuyers may now more easily viewall home sale listings in their communities. We thank the National Association of REALTORS® and its MLS Policy Committee for its forward-thinking approach that now allows franchise organizations to index and display all of its members’ IDX listings in one location.” “We applaud CENTURY 21 for being so quick to implement NAR’s new IDX indexing and display functionality on its website,” said Alex Perriello,president and CEO of the Realogy Franchise Group,LLC the parent company of Century 21 Real Estate LLC. “This rapid application speaks volumes to CENTURY 21’s commitment to serving real estate consumers as well as the business needs of its brokers and agents.” | |
