How to do your first BPO (broker price opinion), step by step

KW Default Solutions

Last updated October 30, 2026

A BPO isn't an appraisal. NAR's valuation guidance describes BPOs prepared by REALTORS® as non-appraisal opinions, and it stresses knowing who will use the report and for what. Whether you can take a specific BPO depends on your state's law, your brokerage's policy and the order's terms, so check all three before you accept. NAR Responsible Valuation Policy

The work comes in seven steps: decide whether to accept, research the property, look at and photograph it, choose comps, review the report, submit and handle corrections, then track payment and close the file.

We'll follow one fictional order through all seven.

The fictional order: A requester you've verified asks you for an exterior-only BPO on a house in an area you know. You can't go inside. Older listing photos show an updated kitchen, but you have no current photos of the inside. The property, the client and everything that happens are made up.

1. Decide whether to accept the order

First, make sure the requester is real. Check them through a channel you already trust, not just the contact details in a message you don't recognize. Then read the whole order, including any terms it points to.

Before you accept, you should be able to answer these questions:

• What property and what service? Confirm the address, parcel number (the county's ID for the lot), property type and whether it's an exterior, interior, desktop or other type of BPO. Read the actual tasks, not just the label.
• Who is it for, and how will they use it? Know the client, anyone else who will rely on the report and what decision it's meant to support. If the use or requirements aren't clear, sort it out with your broker, and with a legal or valuation professional if needed.
• Am I allowed and ready to do it? Check your state's rules, your brokerage's policy, whether you know this property type and market, and whether you have the data and support you need.
• Can I cover the work? Think about travel, research, getting access, writing the report and possible corrections. Confirm the due date, time and time zone.
• What do I have to deliver? Read the form, the photo requirements, any price scenarios they want and any rules about evidence.
• What are the terms? Confirm the fee, any expense or cancellation terms, what you owe on corrections, how invoicing works and when you get paid. If the order says when the payment period starts, note what starts it.

If something important is unclear, ask before you accept. If the work is outside what you're allowed to do, what you know or what you have time for, decline it or talk to your broker about other options. Don't take an order that doesn't fit just because it might lead to a listing later.

In our fictional file: The order asks for a photo of the back of the house, but the access instructions don't say how to get it. So you ask. The client says this order only covers what you can see from permitted public spots, and it gives you a way to report views you can't get. You save that answer. You've checked permission, your experience, your time, the deadline and the terms, so you accept.

If the client had required access you couldn't get legally and safely, you wouldn't accept and hope to figure it out at the property.

Keep the order, the terms, the client's answer and your acceptance together. Add the order to your work log and block time for the whole job, not just the drive.

2. Research the property and write down your sources

The subject is the property you're pricing. Start by making sure the address and the county parcel record point to the same property.

Look at property records, listing and sale history, and local market information. For key facts, write down the source, the date you checked it and the date of the record itself. An old listing is still old, even if you looked it up today.

Useful facts include property type, size, room count, age, lot size, past sales and listed features. Keep what a source says separate from what you see yourself.

In our fictional file: The county record and an older listing show different lot sizes. You check that both are for the same parcel, compare the sources and their dates, and write down how you handled it. Here, a follow-up check supports the county number. That doesn't mean county records always win. If an important conflict stays unresolved, say so in the report and ask how to proceed instead of guessing. The old kitchen photos show what the kitchen looked like then, not what it looks like now.

Keep a short list of open questions. Next to each one, note whether you can answer it during your visit, need another source or need a qualified professional.

3. Look at and photograph only what you're allowed to access

Before you go, review the access instructions, the photo list and any safety steps. An exterior order doesn't give you permission to enter the house, the yard or any other closed area. A lockbox, an open gate or a tight deadline doesn't give you permission either.

If access is unclear or unsafe, stop that part of the work and contact the person named in the order. Don't turn an exterior BPO into an interior visit on your own.

In our fictional file: You can't see the back of the house from the public spots you're allowed to use. You report that through the process the client gave you. You don't go into the yard to finish the photo list.

Write down the date of your visit, where you stood, what condition you could see and what you couldn't see. If no one answers the door, that doesn't prove the home is vacant. And old listing photos don't tell you what the inside looks like today.

Keep what you saw separate from what you think it means. Peeling paint doesn't prove there's hidden damage, and it doesn't tell you the cause or the repair cost. Those may need other evidence or an expert. Even an interior BPO isn't a home inspection.

Collect only what the order needs. Avoid photos of people or private papers, and follow any data handling rules that apply.

4. Choose comps and explain how they differ

Comps, short for comparable properties, are other homes you use to support your price. A good comp is like the subject in the ways buyers in that market care about: location, property type, size, age, condition, features and timing.

The closest home isn't automatically the best comp. And a home farther away isn't a good comp just because its price matches your first guess.

Read what this order requires. If the comps you can find don't meet those rules, explain how you searched and ask for an exception. Don't use a weak comp just to fill a blank.

In our fictional file, you look at three possible comps:

• Sale A is nearby and renovated. Its sale record shows the renovation. It may help show what's happening in the market. But you don't know what the subject looks like inside, so you can't treat the two homes as equally updated.
• Sale B is closer in type and size. It's worth a closer look, but you don't have full information on its condition. You look into that gap and explain how it limits the comparison instead of calling the condition a match.
• Listing C is still for sale. It shows a current asking price and a competing home, not a final sale price. You label it as an active listing and use it that way.

Three is just for teaching. It's not a required number of comps. Keep searching as long as the order and the evidence call for it.

Each kind of comp tells you something different. Closed sales show what homes actually sold for. Active listings show asking prices and the competition. Pending listings show a home is under contract, but the asking price may not be the final sale price. Keep those three straight.

For each comp you pick, answer two questions: Why does this home belong here, and what important differences are left? Save the records that back up your answer.

An adjustment is how you account for a difference between a comp and the subject. The amount needs support from the local market, not a number you remember or the cost of repairs. What a repair might cost and how much buyers care about it are two separate questions. If you can't support an adjustment or explain a big difference, get qualified help instead of making up a number.

In this file, you don't know what the inside of the subject looks like. So the old photos and Sale A's renovation can't support a condition adjustment. If that gap keeps you from giving a supported opinion within the order, ask the client for clarification or for more evidence you're allowed to gather.

5. Review the whole report before you submit

Fill out the form from your evidence, then read the report from start to finish. One correct field doesn't fix a comment somewhere else that says the opposite.

Check these before you submit:

• Property facts: Do the address, parcel, size, room count and lot size match your sources? Did you explain any differences?
• Photos and scope: Are photos labeled and dated the way the order asks? Are they of the right property? Did you note the views you couldn't get and the areas you didn't see?
• Condition and repairs: Do your comments separate what you saw, what a source said and what you assumed? Is occupancy confirmed or marked unconfirmed? Do repair notes and estimates stay within your evidence and your role?
• Comps and market comments: Are each comp's status, dates and key facts correct? Did you explain why you chose them, how they differ and any limits on your search? Base those comments on the property and the market, not on assumptions about the people who live there.
• Adjustments and price: Is your reasoning supported? Does your price follow from the evidence, or do your comments point somewhere else?
• Client and form requirements: Are all required fields, attachments, photos and price scenarios done within the agreed scope? Did you handle any exceptions through the client's process?

Check the math and anything you copied over yourself. A finished form doesn't mean the information is right.

If the order asks for them, an as-is price is for the home in its current condition. An as-repaired price assumes certain repairs are done. It doesn't mean the work has actually been done. If the order asks for a quick-sale price, ask how much marketing time to assume, and back up any price difference with market evidence. Don't apply a standard discount.

In our fictional file, your final review takes out the "updated kitchen" claim you couldn't support, labels the old photos as historical and explains the condition limits on your comps. This example has no market data, so it doesn't end with a price. On a real order, give your price only when your evidence and the allowed assumptions support it. If they don't, ask for clarification or get qualified help.

Save the version you submitted and your supporting records for as long as the law, your brokerage and the client require.

6. Submit the report and handle correction requests

Submit through the delivery channel you verified. Save the confirmation, the date and time and the exact version you sent. A successful upload means you submitted it. It doesn't mean the client approved it.

When a correction request comes in, read it before you change anything. Figure out what kind of request it is:

• A factual error: Check the source, fix the error and recheck any analysis it affects.
• Missing evidence or a form problem: Provide what's required and allowed. If you can't get it within the order's scope, explain why and ask how to proceed.
• Unclear reasoning: Explain your comp choice, condition comment or adjustment with your evidence. If the evidence shows a weak spot, reconsider it.
• New information: Check whether it's relevant, where it came from and how current it is. Then decide whether it changes your analysis.
• A request for a certain price with no support: Don't change your price just to hit that number. Explain your evidence. If it's still unresolved, take it to your broker or the client's escalation process.

In our fictional file: A reviewer notices the old lot size in one comp comment, even though you fixed it in the subject section. You check your saved source, fix the comment and recheck that comparison and your price. In your reply, you say what you corrected and whether your reasoning changed.

If the reviewer also suggests another comp, look into it. A suggestion is a reason to check that home. It doesn't automatically mean the home belongs in your report or that your price has to change.

Keep the request, your reply, the revised report and the new confirmation together. Don't write over your only copy of the earlier version.

7. Track payment on its own and close the file

Submitted, approved, invoiced and paid are four different steps. Track each one in your system based on your agreement with the client, not a payment schedule you assume is standard.

• Submitted: You sent a specific version of the report and saved the confirmation.
• Approved, if confirmed: The client told you it approved or accepted the report. Write down exactly what it said and when. No reply doesn't count as approval.
• Invoiced: You finished or checked the invoicing step your agreement requires. Some clients don't need an invoice from you, so note how this client handles it.
• Paid: You confirmed the money arrived and matched it to the order and the agreed fee. An expected payment date or a pending notice isn't money received.
• Closed: All report questions and payment follow-up are done, and the file is stored for as long as required. Closing the file doesn't mean deleting your records.

Not every client uses all of these steps. Your agreement sets how invoicing and payment work.

In our fictional file: You record the original and corrected submissions. Then you separately record the client's confirmed approval, the invoice this fictional agreement requires, the payment you confirmed and the closed file.

If payment is late under your actual terms, check the status. Then reach out to the verified payment contact with the order number, key dates and invoice details. Keep a record of that follow-up in the file.

Your first BPO checklist

Save this checklist and keep it next to you on your first order:

• Confirm the requester, scope, intended use, permission, your experience, deadline and terms.
• Check the property facts, save sources and dates, and resolve or disclose any big conflicts.
• Look at only the areas you're allowed to access. Write down what you saw and what you couldn't see.
• Pick relevant comps and explain their differences and limits.
• Check that facts, photos, comments, price and form requirements all agree.
• Submit through the verified channel. Save the report version and any corrections.
• Track approval, invoicing and payment under your actual terms. Then close and save the file.

If any step is unclear, ask your broker, the verified client contact or a qualified professional before you go on. What you're aiming for is a report whose evidence, reasoning and limits are easy for a reviewer to follow.

If you're working on your first BPO and get stuck, reach out through the KWDS contact form. We're happy to help.

This is general education, not legal advice. BPO rules vary by state, so check with your broker and your state's rules.