BPO Provider FAQ

We've tried to cover the common questions here, but if we've missed something just call us at 1-800-ALAMODE or send us a message.

Q: How do I accept or decline BPO orders through Mercury Network?
A: Visit http://vendor.MercuryVMP.com/ and sign in with your e-mail address and password.

Q: Is there a fee to use Mercury Network?
A: The company placing the BPO order will be required to pay a transaction fee for each order.

Q: Is there any cost to participate as a BPO vendor?
A: No. There is no cost to the BPO provider.

Q: How do I fill out my reports?  Do I need to use a specific web form or software?
There's no requirement as far as how you fill out your BPO reports on Mercury Network, and there's no software or web forms that you have to use.  Your Mercury Network client may include assignment-specific instructions, so be sure to look at those when you receive new orders.

Q: How does it work?
A: Mercury Network is the most popular online Vendor Management Platform (VMP). Currently, a lengthy roster of the nation's largest lenders, credit unions, community banks, and appraisal management companies use it to order and manage appraisals.  But soon, clients will use it to manage BPOs (as well as other products related to a real estate transaction). Mercury Network is not an asset management company, a servicing company, or an appraisal management company.  However, our platform can be used by all of those types of companies. These companies will be the parties engaging you and will be responsible for payment. You will be setting your areas of coverage and your standard fees for both interior and drive-by BPOs. You will also be allowed to negotiate your fee on an order-by-order basis.

Q: Who will be paying for the BPO?
A: The company placing the order for the BPO is responsible for payment.

Q: Who will be ordering the BPO?
A: BPO orders will be coming from any Mercury Network client needing BPO order fulfillment. Mercury Network consists of a lengthy roster of the nation's largest lenders and AMCs, as well as title companies, servicing companies, wholesale and correspondent lenders. We sign up dozens of new clients every month.

Q: What information about me will be visible to the person placing BPO orders?
A: Mercury Network will document your full profile including your contact preferences, years of experience, licenses, areas of coverage, products you cover, and your standard rates to fulfill those products. This profile area is ready now, and you can find instructions here for completing your profile.

Q: What are the requirements to get orders? Do I need to hold a broker’s license, be in business for a certain number of years, be a certain number of miles from the property, or have E&O insurance?
A: It’s completely up to the client ordering. We give the client the ability to configure their requirements and preferences when selecting a vendor for an assignment.

Q: Can I cover more than my local market? Can I cover more than one state?
A: We allow coverage in up to 3 states to account for areas like the DC Metro.

Q: There are multiple agents in my office. Can we list ourselves individually but still manage the orders together?
A: Yes. In early May we will give you the ability to log in and add subaccounts to your profile. Each account will be listed individually on Mercury Network and will be available to receive orders. The feature will also include management options so, for instance, you can have a central person in the office manage all the orders.

Q: It’s illegal to perform BPOs in my state. Why are you contacting agents in my state?
A: We are aware some states may limit or prohibit BPOs by real estate Agents or Brokers. We don’t enforce the regulations as we’re not a management company, but rather a web-based platform to let companies order BPOs. We do plan to offer other types of products that agents may be able to fulfill in these states. On a per-product basis, we’re leaving it up to the client to decide which types of vendors they want to use.

Q: Does your organization offer commercial BPO?
A: Not at the moment, but it’s very easy to add a new product if there is demand for it.

Q: Does this help me get foreclosure listings?
A: We have no plans to tie our BPO offering to a specific foreclosure listing.

Q: How will I complete the BPO order?
A: You will need to use whatever option you have to fulfill a BPO now and upload it as a document. We are working on a form filling product for Agents to help you fill out and deliver BPOs. Stay tuned for this. It will be available before the end of the year.

Q: How does a real estate agent join the network of BPO providers?
A: You can sign up at http://www.mercuryvmp.com/index.php/BPOVendor.

We've tried to cover the common questions here, but if we've missed something just call us at 1-800-ALAMODE or send us a message.