How to Fill Out and Submit the Fannie Mae BPO Form

To fill out the Fannie Mae BPO form correctly, inspect the property in person, gather at least three closed comparable sales and three active listings with verifiable source numbers, take the required photographs, and then work through the form’s seven sections in order, finishing with a market value conclusion that follows logically from your adjusted comparables. The form is a structured valuation document, not a narrative, and reviewers reject reports that skip documentation or make unsupported leaps from the data.

Confirm Which Type of BPO Was Ordered

Before anything else, check whether the assignment is an exterior (drive-by) or interior BPO. The two use the same form but demand different levels of access and documentation.

An exterior BPO means you visit the property but do not go inside. You photograph the front, sides, and street scene, and you rely on public records, MLS data, and tax records for interior details like room counts and square footage. An interior BPO requires you to enter the property, measure rooms, evaluate the condition of major systems, note upgrades and deferred maintenance, and photograph every room.

Do not substitute one for the other. Submitting an exterior BPO when an interior was ordered will get the report rejected.

What to Have Before You Open the Form

A BPO completed from your desk with nothing but MLS data will not survive review. You need three things in hand first.

A Property Inspection

For an exterior BPO, drive to the property and evaluate everything visible from the street: roof condition, siding, landscaping, whether the property appears occupied or vacant, and any obvious damage. For an interior BPO, walk through the entire home. Note the condition of flooring, walls, fixtures, kitchens, bathrooms, and major systems like HVAC and plumbing. Record anything that would affect a buyer’s willingness to pay.

Comparable Sales and Listings

The form requires at least three closed comparable sales and three active or pending comparable listings. Pull these from the MLS, tax records, or other verifiable data sources, and note the source identification numbers (MLS number, tax parcel number) for each.¹ Select comparables with similar bedroom counts, bathroom counts, square footage, lot size, age, and construction quality. The closer in proximity and the more recent the sale date, the less adjustment work you will have to do. Fannie Mae’s appraisal guidance calls for sales that closed within the last twelve months, with preference for the most recent and physically similar transactions.²

Photographs

Missing images are the fastest way to get a report kicked back. Every BPO needs, at minimum:

A head-on photo of the property’s front elevation.
A street scene taken from the center of the road showing the neighborhood on both sides.
A close-up of the nearest street sign.
A close-up showing the property’s address on the house, mailbox, or curb.

For interior BPOs, photograph every room. The floor and at least two walls should be visible in each shot. Photograph repair items specifically.¹ Shoot in landscape orientation, during daylight, with no date stamps or watermarks. Blurry or dark images will trigger a re-inspection at your own expense.

Working Through the Seven Sections

Section I: General Market Conditions

This section captures the economic backdrop of the neighborhood. Classify the current market condition on a scale from depressed to excellent, describe employment trends as declining, stable, or increasing, and note whether property prices have risen, fallen, or held steady over recent months. Report the estimated split between owner-occupants and tenants in the neighborhood, whether comparable inventory is in normal supply, oversupply, or shortage, and how many competing listings (including REO or corporate-owned properties) are currently active nearby. Count boarded-up or abandoned homes if there are any; that signals distress that affects pricing.

Section II: Subject Marketability

Describe the subject property and how it fits the local market. Report the range of property values in the neighborhood, whether the subject is an over-improvement, under-improvement, or appropriate for its surroundings, and the normal marketing time in days. Note the unit type (single-family detached, condo, townhouse, and so on) and whether financing is readily available for properties like it. If the property was listed for sale within the past twelve months, record the list price and explain why it did not sell. For properties in a homeowners association, include the fee, payment frequency, payment status, any delinquent amounts, and what the fee covers.

Section III: Competitive Closed Sales

Enter details for at least three comparable properties that have recently sold. For each comp, record the address, proximity to the subject, whether it was an REO or corporate sale, the sale price, price per square foot of gross living area, sale date, and days on market. Then work through a line-by-line adjustment grid comparing each comp to the subject. Adjustment categories include location, site, view, design and appeal, construction quality, age, condition, room count (total rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms), gross living area, basement and finished space below grade, functional utility, heating and cooling, energy-efficient features, garage or carport, and exterior amenities like porches, pools, and fences. Each adjustment should be a dollar amount reflecting what the local market pays for that difference. Round line-item adjustments to the nearest hundred dollars.¹

The goal is a net adjustment and an adjusted sale price for each comparable that reflects what it would have sold for if it were identical to the subject. Large net adjustments signal that a comp is not truly comparable. If you find yourself making adjustments exceeding fifteen or twenty percent of a comp’s sale price, replace it with a better match.

Section IV: Marketing Strategy

Report whether the property is occupied, vacant, or unknown. Describe its overall condition: as-is, needing minimal lender-required repairs, or fully repaired. Identify the most likely buyer as either an owner-occupant or an investor. The section is short, but reviewers pay close attention to it because the answers directly influence how aggressively Fannie Mae prices the property.

Section V: Repairs

Itemize every repair needed to bring the property to average marketable condition. List each item separately with its estimated cost. Common entries include interior paint, flooring replacement, roof repair, plumbing or electrical work, landscaping, and appliance replacement. Total all repair costs at the bottom. This figure drives the gap between your as-is and repaired values, so be specific. “General repairs: $10,000” will draw a revision request. Break it down.

Section VI: Competitive Listings

This section mirrors Section III but uses three active or pending listings instead of sold properties. Record each listing’s address, proximity, list price, price per square foot, and data source. Apply the same line-by-line adjustments. Active listings help establish the upper boundary of value because they represent what sellers are currently asking, not what buyers have actually paid. Consider adjusting for the typical sales-to-list-price ratio in the market.¹

Section VII: The Market Value

This is where everything converges. Provide four numbers: the as-is market value (what the property would sell for today in its current condition), the suggested as-is list price, the as-repaired market value (what it would bring after the repairs itemized in Section V), and the suggested repaired list price. Also record the property’s last known sale price and date. Round final values to the nearest thousand dollars. Use the comments field to explain your reasoning, flag anything unusual about the property or market, and reconcile any differences between what the closed sales suggest and what the active listings indicate.

Certification and the Required Disclaimer

Before submitting, sign the certification confirming that you have no personal interest in the property and that the report represents your independent professional judgment. Industry standards also require a disclaimer stating that the BPO is not an appraisal. If the form does not include preprinted disclaimer language, add it in the comments section.¹

Federal valuation independence rules apply to BPO work. Under Regulation Z, no one with a financial interest in the transaction can pressure you to hit a target value, and you cannot accept compensation that is contingent on the property appraising at a particular number.³ The regulation defines “valuation” broadly enough to cover any written estimate of a dwelling’s value, which includes BPOs.⁴

Submitting the Completed Report

Upload the completed form and all photographs through the vendor platform that assigned you the order. Most platforms run automated checks for missing fields, incomplete photo sets, and mathematical errors in your adjustment grids before the file moves to a human reviewer. If the system flags something, fix it immediately. You typically cannot proceed until all automated checks pass.

A human reviewer then evaluates the logic of your valuation. Common reasons for revision requests include comparables that are too far from the subject or too dissimilar, unexplained large adjustments, repair estimates that seem too low or too high for the described condition, and value conclusions that do not follow logically from the comparable data. Turnaround expectations are tight. Most ordering companies expect corrections within twenty-four to forty-eight hours.

Mistakes That Trigger Revisions

Most BPO rejections come from a handful of recurring errors. Catching them before you submit saves a round trip with the reviewer.

Using comps that are not comparable. A four-bedroom colonial is not a valid comp for a two-bedroom ranch, regardless of proximity. Reviewers look for similar style, size, and condition first, then distance.
Missing or poor-quality photos. A blurry front-of-house shot or a missing street scene photo will stop the review before it starts. Shoot in daylight, in landscape orientation, and verify every required image before leaving the property.
Math errors in adjustments. If your individual line adjustments do not add up to your stated net adjustment, the automated check will reject the submission. Double-check the arithmetic.
Unsupported value conclusions. Your as-is value should follow from the adjusted sale prices of your comparables. If all three adjusted comps land around $320,000 and you conclude $280,000 without explanation, expect a revision request.
Vague repair estimates. Listing “miscellaneous repairs — $15,000” without itemizing tells the reviewer nothing. Break repairs into specific line items with individual costs.
Missing the disclaimer. Every BPO must state that it is not an appraisal. If the form does not include this language, add it in the comments.

What a BPO Is Not

A BPO is not an appraisal, and confusing the two can create legal problems. Appraisals are performed by state-licensed or certified appraisers and must comply with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. BPOs are performed by licensed real estate brokers or agents and are not bound by USPAP.⁵ Some states restrict or prohibit BPOs for certain purposes, so check your state’s real estate commission rules before accepting an assignment. The restrictions usually target the use of BPOs as substitutes for appraisals in originating new loans, not their use in default servicing or REO management, but the specifics vary.

1
National Association of BPO Professionals. Broker Price Opinion Standards and Guidelines
2
Fannie Mae. Comparable Sales
3
eCFR. 12 CFR 1026.42 – Valuation Independence
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1639e – Appraisal Independence Requirements
5
The Appraisal Foundation. Understanding Valuation Products A Quick Guide for Borrowers