Mississippi Passes Pro-BPO Law

 

6/7/2011

 

 

The Mississippi Legislature has approved a measure that defines the acceptable uses of broker price opinions (BPOs) to estimate the price of residential real estate property and provides greater clarity to real estate professionals on the preparation and delivery of BPOs in the state.

 

The Broker Price Opinion Act (HB 990) has been signed into law by Gov. Haley Barbour and becomes effective July 1, 2011. As the basis for the state’s BPO regulations, the Mississippi Real Estate Commission officially recognized and adopted the BPO Standards and Guidelines (BPOSG) from the BPO Standards Board and the National Association of BPO Professionals (NABPOP). These guidelines provide parameters for the preparation of broker price opinions throughout the BPO industry and include suggested best practices for selecting and utilizing properties, pricing considerations, and ethical and competency considerations.

 

“We applaud the state of Mississippi for passing pro-BPO legislation,” said Michael Ramer, president of NABPOP and chairman of the BPO Standards Board. “The passage of this act facilitates a better flow of real estate information which will benefit the general public tremendously….We look forward to working with the state of Mississippi and MS Real Estate Commission to ensure a smooth transition of this new law.”

 

The BPO and real estate valuation industry has widely adopted the standards and guidelines of BPOSG, and Ramer says now Mississippi’s accreditation “has set a civic and legislative milestone.” Ramer added, “Mississippi is setting a precedence which will most likely be followed by other states in adopting and implementing BPOSG.”

 

The new law stipulates in Section 73-35-4 (3) of the Mississippi Code, “A broker’s price opinion prepared under the authority granted in this act shall be in writing and shall conform to the standards and guidelines published by a nationally recognized association of providers of broker price opinions.” It also says the Mississippi Real Estate Commission shall promulgate regulations that are consistent with the standards and guidelines of a nationally recognized BPO association.

 

In addition, Section 73-35-4 (1) of the Code states, “A person licensed under this chapter may prepare a broker’s price opinion and charge and collect a fee for 188 such opinion.” BPO related bills have been met with heavy opposition in previous years of Mississippi legislative sessions. This bill was also heavily contested in the 2011 legislative session. Assemblyman Mark Formby (R-Pearl River) sponsored the bill and is himself a broker and Realtor. “…after several years of effort we have finally reached negotiated language which is acceptable to the appraisers and Realtors in the state,” Formby said. “It only makes sense to me that Realtors should be allowed to be compensated for work which they can already legally perform.”

 

Formby says when he first introduced the bill, he was “shocked” there was opposition. “There were those who said, ‘we don’t mind if you do the work, we just don’t think you should be compensated. ’Thankfully, we have broken through that barrier,” he said. Ramer says understandably, there are some appraisers and those within their lobbying group that have opposed the use of BPOs because appraisers have perceived BPOs as infringing on their business. “[B]ut the use of BPOs only help to serve the general public because they serve as another means of information,” Ramer said. “BPOs and appraisals use a different methodology….There are situations where an appraisal is the appropriate valuation product and other situations where a BPO is appropriate. There are also situations which may call for a combination of an appraisal and a BPO.” According to Ramer, “More information for a decision is always better.”

 

 

Click here for PDF of Full Article

 

 

 

 

 

Journalists and/or Members of the Press


If you are a member of the press and/or a journalist and would like to speak to NABPOP regarding anything related to Broker Price Opinions - BPOs, please contact us at:

 

1-800-767-0743 xt. 201

 

>>Press@NABPOP.org

 

 

BPO Industry News, Press Releases, and Articles:

 

2/20/2017 AssetVal Name Change PDF
5/10/2016 Solidifi Aquires Mark-to-Market PDF
2/10/2016 Example of BPO in due dilligence - Fannie Mae NPL sale PDF
9/2/2015 EML receives top rating from Morningstar PDF
3/30/2015 Radian Group/Clayton Holdings aquires Red Bell Real Estate PDF
11/8/2014 REALTORS Expo Panalists discuss Valuations/BPOs PDF
9/4/2014 Assurant Specialty Property aquires eMortgage Logic PDF
1/19/2014 Comparing Valuation Measures PDF
7/30/2013 Carrington Property Network Adds States PDF
12/27/2012 Evaluation Solutions files for bankruptcy PDF
10/23/2012 InsideValuation Reports Performance PDF
6/28/2012 Joint Testimony of REVAA & FAIR PDF
5/7/2012 InsideValuation launches new Platform PDF
8/23/2011 Hawaii passes BPO law PDF
6/7/2011 Mississippi passes BPO law & accredits BPOSG PDF

Click here for Full Article

5/27/2011   PDF http://ph.news.yahoo.com/mississippi-passes-contested-broker-price-opinion-legislation-accredits-075128987.html
3/10/2011 NABPOP and StreetLinks announce corporate sponsorship PDF http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/03/prweb5146594.htm
2/2/2010 First American offers Appraiser Review of BPOs - (NABPOP quoted article)
PDF
http://www.housingwire.com/2010/02/02/first-american-offers-appraiser-reviews-of-bpos
3/2010 AZ REALTORS - BPO Basics article (NABPOP quoted article)
6/14/2009 Nevada Enacts BPO Law
PDF
  Nevada Enacts BPO Law PDF