What is Involved in a Drive By BPO or Broker Price Opinion?

The Drive By BPO is a Bit More Than the Name Implies

The lenders and companies that hire real estate brokers to do BPOs, or Broker Price Opinions, have very specific requirements. Don't assume from the name that a "Drive By" BPO will involve only a couple of photos from the car and a short form with information about what you saw.

The forms used by lenders and loss mitigation companies vary greatly in how they are laid out and the information they require for a Drive By BPO. However, examination of even the shortest of forms with the least required information reveals a minimum of the following form fields and requirements:

Broker information.

Location

Neighborhood

Conformity to neighborhood and zoning.

Property type, style, approximate age.

Visual condition of all individual exterior features.

Whether it looks occupied.

Parking.

Lot size.

Estimated square feet.

Estimated room count.

Comments

Three recent sold comparables with info.

Three currently listed comparable properties.

Two photos.

As you can see, there is a large amount of information to be gathered and transmitted. And this was the simplest of the forms I found, with the least amount of required information and only two photos. Note that some companies require you to get out of the car and photo all sides of the home as well.

As many drive by BPOs pay only $50, a real estate professional would really need to have their systems in place for efficient performance. Otherwise, profitability would be non-existent or tiny. However, in urban areas, real estate brokers who specialize in this market can stay quite busy and book a nice income stream.