When refinancing for lower rates or other reasons is a booming market, lenders are doing a great many of these loans. In many cases, the home has a recent mortgage where a full appraisal was performed. To lower costs, the lender may decide to hire a real estate broker to do a BPO, or broker price opinion.
In cases where a lender is considering foreclosure, or even if they are working with the borrower to come up with help with their situation, the lender will order a BPO. This allows them to get a reliable estimate of the current value of the property, compare it to the mortgage balance, and recommend solutions.
