- Official section
- National III: Valuation
- Broker weight
- 8% of the national broker portion
- Expected scored items
- Valuation accounts for about 8 of 100 items
Illinois exam glossary
Broker price opinion
A BPO is often ordered because someone needs a focused, timely estimate of probable selling price. Speed does not excuse a thin file. The broker still needs to know what interest is priced, what condition is assumed, which market evidence is credible, who may use the report, and where the appraisal boundary begins.
Last updated: August 1, 2026
What does this exam area cover?
Short answer: A broker price opinion is an Illinois broker or managing broker's written estimate or analysis of the probable selling price of a particular real estate interest. Its detail can vary by assignment and may address property condition, market, neighborhood, and comparable sales. It must serve a permitted purpose, include section 10-45 disclosures, follow sponsorship and compensation rules, and never be represented as an appraisal.
This guide follows the PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet effective June 24, 2026, current Real Estate License Act definitions and section 10-45, the appraiser-license boundary, current Regulation B valuation-copy rules, and federal appraisal requirements checked through August 1, 2026. Terms such as exterior, interior, desktop, drive-by, as-is, and repaired BPO can appear in client work orders, but the Illinois statute does not make them standardized report forms. The written scope controls what the broker actually did.
What is on the official outline?
- Topic
- Confirm a permitted purpose
- What to know
- Buyer, seller, lessor, lessee, potential party, listing, offering, sale, option, lease, acquisition, due diligence, lienholder, portfolio, servicing, collection, loss mitigation, and mortgage-origination exclusion
- Best exam move
- Do not accept a BPO until the intended use fits section 10-45 and any other governing rule.
- Topic
- Identify the ordering party
- What to know
- Consumer, client, customer, lender, servicer, investor, asset manager, attorney, relocation company, government unit, appraisal management company, third-party platform, authorization, reliance, and contact
- Best exam move
- A work order does not automatically create agency, appraisal status, or permission for every downstream user.
- Topic
- Identify broker capacity
- What to know
- Broker, managing broker, sponsoring broker, designated managing broker, active sponsorship, independent contractor, company policy, supervision, dual appraiser credential, role disclosure, and license verification
- Best exam move
- The individual prepares the BPO in brokerage capacity and within the sponsoring broker's structure.
- Topic
- Review compensation path
- What to know
- BPO fee, work-order amount, sponsoring broker, sponsored licensee, direct payment restriction, business entity for compensation, third-party source, disclosure, employment agreement, invoice, acceptance, and cancellation fee
- Best exam move
- A sponsored licensee generally receives licensed-activity compensation from the sponsoring broker, not directly from the ordering platform.
- Topic
- Define the real estate interest
- What to know
- Fee simple, leased fee, leasehold, condominium, cooperative, land, partial interest, one-to-four units, multifamily, commercial, occupancy, lease, easement, included fixtures, personal property, and title assumptions
- Best exam move
- Probable selling price depends on the rights and assets actually offered for sale.
- Topic
- Set the effective date and price premise
- What to know
- Current probable selling price, retrospective date, as-is, repaired, completed, vacant, occupied, normal exposure, quick sale, liquidation, marketing period, cash equivalent, and client-defined premise
- Best exam move
- State the date, condition premise, and expected exposure instead of returning an unexplained number.
- Topic
- Choose data-collection scope
- What to know
- Interior access, exterior observation, desktop data, drive-by, third-party photos, virtual tour, prior listing, assessor record, owner interview, tenant restriction, occupancy, safety, weather, trespass, and access limitation
- Best exam move
- Observe only with authorization and report what was and was not inspected or verified.
- Topic
- Build the subject file
- What to know
- Address, parcel, ownership, legal use, site, living area, rooms, units, age, design, quality, condition, updates, deferred maintenance, utilities, zoning, taxes, association, lease, permits, flood, and adverse influence
- Best exam move
- Resolve material conflicts or disclose how uncertainty affects the opinion.
- Topic
- Analyze occupancy and access
- What to know
- Owner occupied, tenant occupied, vacant, abandoned, secured, unknown occupant, lease rights, notice, key, lockbox, contact rule, no confrontation, exterior-only limitation, and confidential information
- Best exam move
- A valuation order never authorizes trespass, unsafe entry, tenant harassment, or misrepresentation.
- Topic
- Describe condition accurately
- What to know
- Observed damage, deferred maintenance, renovation, fire, water, mold red flag, roof, windows, systems, vandalism, winterization, debris, code notice, health or safety concern, repair scope, specialist referral, and uncertainty
- Best exam move
- Report observable facts and market implications without posing as an inspector, engineer, environmental professional, or contractor.
- Topic
- Define market and neighborhood
- What to know
- Competitive area, land use, access, services, employment, supply, demand, inventory, absorption, marketing time, price trend, concessions, distressed competition, new construction, external influence, and buyer segment
- Best exam move
- Use objective market and property factors, not protected-class composition or coded demographic language.
- Topic
- Analyze listings and marketability
- What to know
- Active, pending, contingent, expired, cancelled, withdrawn, days on market, price reduction, showing condition, access, photos, seller concession, builder incentive, occupancy, stigma, competition, and likely marketing time
- Best exam move
- Listings show competition and market response, while closed sales show completed transactions.
- Topic
- Select comparable sales
- What to know
- Property rights, transaction date, location, use, site, design, age, area, rooms, quality, condition, utility, occupancy, sale type, financing, concession, motivation, exposure, relationship, and verification
- Best exam move
- Choose sales that compete with the subject under the same condition and sale premise.
- Topic
- Address distressed transactions
- What to know
- REO, foreclosure, short sale, auction, estate, relocation, corporate owner, as-is, cash-only, vandalism, redemption, occupancy, title, marketing exposure, concession, repair, and typical buyer response
- Best exam move
- Do not adjust merely because a sale has a label; analyze the market effect of its actual conditions.
- Topic
- Analyze differences
- What to know
- Time, location, site, view, design, quality, condition, area, room count, garage, basement, accessory unit, amenities, occupancy, legal use, rights, financing, sale condition, and repair premise
- Best exam move
- Use supportable adjustment or qualitative ranking, and avoid invented precision.
- Topic
- Reconcile probable selling price
- What to know
- Comparable reliability, adjusted range, active competition, pending signal, exposure, condition, repair, occupancy, buyer pool, financing availability, uncertainty, point estimate, range, and rounding
- Best exam move
- Make the final opinion traceable to the most credible evidence and stated premise.
- Topic
- Estimate marketing time
- What to know
- Exposure period, marketing time after date, current inventory, absorption, list-to-contract time, closing time, price position, condition, access, financing, seasonality, and disposition urgency
- Best exam move
- Separate the estimated time before the effective date assumed in price from anticipated time after the effective date.
- Topic
- Explain repair scenarios
- What to know
- As-is price, repaired price, completion assumption, itemized estimate, source, contractor bid, cost uncertainty, market reaction, carrying cost, time, risk, entrepreneurial incentive, and no double counting
- Best exam move
- Repaired value minus repair cost does not automatically equal as-is value because time, risk, and buyer behavior also matter.
- Topic
- Complete Illinois disclosures
- What to know
- Written purpose, subject-interest description, methodology, assumptions, limiting conditions, broker interest, preparer name, broker license number, signature, substantially prescribed disclaimer, date, and optional client form
- Best exam move
- Use the statute as a closing checklist before sending the report.
- Topic
- Deliver, update, and retain
- What to know
- Authorized recipient, secure portal, confidentiality, version, invoice, correction, new evidence, revised BPO, valuation copy, retention, sponsoring-broker file, audit trail, subpoena, and no public advertising without consent
- Best exam move
- Control distribution and preserve enough support to explain the opinion and later revision.
Which distinctions produce the most mistakes?
- Terms
- BPO vs. appraisal
- Difference
- A BPO is a broker's probable selling-price estimate for a permitted purpose. An appraisal is a separately licensed value assignment developed under appraisal law and standards.
- Question cue
- Broker pricing product versus appraiser value assignment.
- Terms
- BPO vs. CMA
- Difference
- A BPO focuses on probable selling price of a particular interest. A CMA can address broader pricing, marketing, or financial aspects of specified interests.
- Question cue
- Sale-price focus versus broader market analysis.
- Terms
- BPO vs. AVM
- Difference
- A BPO applies broker judgment to an assignment and evidence. An AVM produces an automated estimate from a model and database.
- Question cue
- Broker analysis versus automated calculation.
- Terms
- Exterior BPO vs. interior BPO
- Difference
- An exterior BPO lacks current interior observation by the broker. An interior BPO includes authorized interior data collection within the stated scope.
- Question cue
- Limited observation versus broader observed condition.
- Terms
- As-is BPO vs. repaired BPO
- Difference
- As-is pricing reflects the property's stated current condition. Repaired pricing assumes defined work is complete as of the stated premise and date.
- Question cue
- Current condition versus hypothetical completion condition.
- Terms
- Probable selling price vs. list price
- Difference
- Probable selling price estimates a likely transaction result under assumptions. List price is the seller's marketing ask and can be above or below that estimate.
- Question cue
- Expected result versus asking strategy.
- Terms
- Exposure time vs. marketing time
- Difference
- Exposure time is the assumed period before the effective date associated with the value premise. Marketing time forecasts the period after the effective date to sell.
- Question cue
- Before value date versus after value date.
- Terms
- Distressed label vs. distressed price effect
- Difference
- A foreclosure, REO, short sale, or estate label describes a transaction context. Only verified differences in motivation, exposure, condition, terms, or market response justify analytical treatment.
- Question cue
- Transaction name versus measured market effect.
- Terms
- BPO fee vs. sale commission
- Difference
- A BPO fee compensates the pricing assignment. A commission or other brokerage compensation depends on the separate brokerage agreement and transaction terms.
- Question cue
- Assignment compensation versus transaction compensation.
- Terms
- Ordering party vs. client
- Difference
- The entity sending a work order may be a customer, vendor manager, or third party. Agency client status depends on the brokerage relationship, not the order alone.
- Question cue
- Administrative source versus represented consumer.
- Terms
- Valuation copy vs. appraisal status
- Difference
- Regulation B can classify a BPO as a written valuation for copy rights. That federal label does not convert the BPO into an Illinois appraisal.
- Question cue
- Consumer-copy category versus professional-product category.
- Terms
- Broker role vs. appraiser role
- Difference
- A dual licensee preparing a BPO must identify in broker capacity with the broker license number. A separate appraisal uses the appraisal credential and standards.
- Question cue
- One person, two regulated capacities.
The B-R-O-K-E-R opinion file
- Basis and boundaries: confirm the permitted purpose, ordering party, recipient, agency status, sponsoring broker, compensation path, property interest, effective date, price premise, and non-appraisal boundary.
- Research the subject: verify ownership, use, site, improvements, size, condition, occupancy, lease, taxes, zoning, permits, association, access, adverse influences, and any conflict among sources.
- Observe within authority: follow the interior, exterior, or desktop scope; obtain permission; avoid unsafe entry; record who observed what and when; and disclose inaccessible or assumed features.
- Know the market: analyze objective neighborhood factors, inventory, absorption, marketing time, distressed and ordinary competition, active and failed listings, pending activity, financing, concessions, and trends.
- Evaluate comparables: verify sale terms, rank genuine substitutes, support quantitative or qualitative difference treatment, test as-is and repaired scenarios, and reconcile a probable selling price and marketing time.
- Report and route: include every section 10-45 item, sign with the broker license, disclose interest and limitations, deliver securely, route payment through lawful sponsorship, preserve the file, and revise only for supported facts.
- Scope label
- Exterior
- What the broker knows
- Exterior observation plus verified data
- What must be disclosed
- No current interior observation and any assumed condition
- Scope label
- Interior
- What the broker knows
- Authorized interior and exterior observations
- What must be disclosed
- Inaccessible areas, hidden systems, and non-inspection limits
- Scope label
- Desktop
- What the broker knows
- Documents, databases, imagery, and supplied facts
- What must be disclosed
- No personal property observation and source conflicts
- Scope label
- Repaired scenario
- What the broker knows
- Defined assumed completion plus market evidence
- What must be disclosed
- Repairs, source, time, cost, risk, and hypothetical premise
How do the rules work in scenarios?
An exterior BPO cannot see a stripped interior
Scenario: The broker completes an authorized exterior BPO. Prior listing photos show a finished kitchen from three years ago, but the current owner reports that cabinets and appliances were removed.
- The old photos do not establish current interior condition.
- The owner report is material but should be identified by source and verified where possible.
- The broker must state the exterior-only scope and account for condition uncertainty in comparable selection and conclusion.
Answer: Do not imply interior inspection or rely on old photos as current fact.
The BPO platform cannot pay the sponsored broker directly
Scenario: A third-party platform orders a $125 BPO from an Illinois sponsored broker and offers to deposit the fee into the individual broker's personal account.
- Preparing a BPO is licensed activity under the Real Estate License Act.
- A sponsored licensee generally accepts compensation for licensed activity only from the sponsoring broker.
- The order and payment should be routed through the sponsoring broker's approved process.
Answer: Do not bypass the sponsoring broker's compensation channel.
REO status does not create an automatic discount
Scenario: A bank-owned house was cleaned, repaired, exposed to the open market, and sold with typical financing after 45 days. The broker plans an automatic 15 percent upward adjustment because it was REO.
- The label alone does not measure market impact.
- Exposure, condition, financing, seller motivation, concessions, and buyer response must be compared with the subject.
- An adjustment needs support from market evidence rather than a fixed distressed-sale rule.
Answer: Analyze the actual transaction conditions and apply no automatic REO percentage.
Repaired value minus cost misses risk
Scenario: The repaired price is estimated at $320,000 and repair bids total $40,000. The broker concludes the as-is price must be exactly $280,000.
- A buyer also considers financing limits, carrying cost, construction time, contingency, management effort, and profit or risk compensation.
- Some repairs may not return their full cost, while other defects can create a larger market penalty.
- As-is sales and buyer behavior are needed to support the final result.
Answer: Use the $40,000 estimate as one input, not a complete as-is formula.
A servicing BPO is not an origination appraisal
Scenario: A loan servicer requests a BPO to assess current collateral and disposition options after delinquency. The original loan has already closed.
- The purpose differs from using a BPO as the primary basis for originating a new mortgage.
- Section 10-45 can permit lienholder or third-party purposes other than that excluded origination use.
- The servicer still must follow governing servicing, investor, evaluation, access, and consumer rules.
Answer: The use may be permissible, but the work remains a BPO and does not automatically satisfy every regulatory valuation duty.
Regulation B can require a BPO copy
Scenario: A creditor develops a BPO in connection with a covered application for credit secured by a first lien on a dwelling.
- Regulation B's interpretation lists a BPO estimating property value as a valuation example.
- The creditor generally must provide the covered valuation copy under section 1002.14 timing rules.
- The copy requirement does not change Illinois's classification of the report as a non-appraisal broker product.
Answer: Treat it as a covered written valuation for copy purposes while preserving the BPO label.
A dual licensee signs as broker
Scenario: An Illinois certified general appraiser also holds a managing broker license and accepts a BPO through the brokerage company.
- The requested product is a BPO under the Real Estate License Act.
- Current administrative rule requires broker capacity and the broker license number on the initial page.
- The required disclaimer says the preparer was not acting as a state-certified appraiser.
Answer: Use the managing broker capacity and license number, not the appraisal credential, for this BPO.
What are the common exam traps?
- Trap
- Calling BPO an appraisal
- Correction
- Illinois expressly separates the products and requires a substantially prescribed non-appraisal disclaimer.
- Trap
- Accepting any stated purpose
- Correction
- Confirm the use fits section 10-45 and does not make the BPO the primary mortgage-origination market-value basis.
- Trap
- Letting a platform bypass sponsorship
- Correction
- The sponsored broker performs licensed activity for the sponsoring broker and generally receives compensation through that broker.
- Trap
- Treating drive-by as permission to enter
- Correction
- A work order does not authorize trespass, unsafe entry, occupancy confrontation, or access beyond the stated permission.
- Trap
- Using old listing photos as current condition
- Correction
- State the date and source, verify current facts, and disclose when the interior was not observed.
- Trap
- Hiding subject uncertainty
- Correction
- Explain conflicts in area, units, use, condition, lease, permits, occupancy, or repairs and their effect on the opinion.
- Trap
- Automatically discounting distressed sales
- Correction
- Measure actual differences in exposure, motivation, condition, financing, rights, and market response.
- Trap
- Treating repair cost as the full price impact
- Correction
- Market participants also account for time, risk, financing, inconvenience, holding cost, and expected return.
- Trap
- Confusing probable price with guaranteed price
- Correction
- The BPO is an estimate under assumptions and cannot guarantee exposure, offers, financing, inspection, title, or closing.
- Trap
- Using protected-class descriptions
- Correction
- Describe objective property, location, access, services, supply, demand, and market behavior without discriminatory language or proxies.
- Trap
- Omitting broker interest
- Correction
- Disclose any existing or contemplated interest the broker has in the subject real estate interest.
- Trap
- Omitting the methodology
- Correction
- Briefly explain the data, market scope, comparable selection, condition premise, analysis, and reconciliation used.
- Trap
- Treating a point estimate as exact
- Correction
- Use supported rounding, a range where useful, and clear confidence or limitation statements.
- Trap
- Ignoring valuation-copy rules
- Correction
- A BPO developed for a covered first-lien dwelling application can be a Regulation B valuation that the creditor must provide.
- Trap
- Sending the BPO to anyone who asks
- Correction
- Follow the engagement, confidentiality duties, sponsoring-broker policy, consumer privacy, and authorized-recipient limits.
Can you answer these original practice questions?
These questions are original study items aligned to the published outline. They are not copied, recalled, or predicted PSI questions.
1. What does an Illinois BPO estimate or analyze?
- Probable selling price of a particular real estate interest
- Structural soundness
- Guaranteed mortgage approval
- Title insurability
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Probable selling price of a particular real estate interest
That is the focus of the statutory BPO definition.
2. Which person may prepare a BPO under section 10-45?
- An Illinois broker or managing broker
- Any unlicensed contractor
- Only a home inspector
- Any residential tenant
Show answer and explanation
Answer: An Illinois broker or managing broker
The report must identify the licensee who developed it and include the broker license number and signature.
3. What is true of an exterior BPO?
- Interior condition must be treated as unobserved unless reliably supported
- It guarantees the building systems
- It requires unauthorized entry
- It is automatically an appraisal
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Interior condition must be treated as unobserved unless reliably supported
The report should state the actual observation scope, sources, assumptions, and limitations.
4. Who generally pays a sponsored Illinois broker for licensed BPO activity?
- The sponsoring broker
- Any platform directly to the personal account
- The county assessor
- The appraiser registry
Show answer and explanation
Answer: The sponsoring broker
Section 10-5 generally restricts a sponsored licensee to accepting licensed-activity compensation from the sponsoring broker.
5. Can a BPO be the primary market-value basis for financial-institution mortgage origination in Illinois?
- No
- Yes, always
- Only if exterior
- Only if no fee is charged
Show answer and explanation
Answer: No
Section 10-45 expressly excludes that purpose.
6. What should determine treatment of an REO comparable?
- Verified market effect of its condition and transaction terms
- A fixed 15 percent adjustment
- The REO label alone
- The lender's desired result
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Verified market effect of its condition and transaction terms
Status alone does not quantify motivation, exposure, repairs, financing, concessions, or buyer reaction.
7. Which statement about repaired price is correct?
- As-is price may reflect repair cost, time, risk, financing, and buyer return
- As-is price always equals repaired price minus contractor cost
- Repair cost never matters
- Repaired price is guaranteed
Show answer and explanation
Answer: As-is price may reflect repair cost, time, risk, financing, and buyer return
Market behavior can create a discount larger or smaller than construction cost alone.
8. How can Regulation B treat a BPO for a covered first-lien dwelling application?
- As a written valuation subject to copy rules
- As an appraisal in every state-law sense
- As a title policy
- As a credit score
Show answer and explanation
Answer: As a written valuation subject to copy rules
Federal copy classification does not change Illinois's non-appraisal professional boundary.
9. What capacity should a dual Illinois appraiser and broker use when preparing a BPO?
- Broker capacity with the broker license number
- Appraiser capacity only
- No license capacity
- Home inspector capacity
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Broker capacity with the broker license number
Rule 1450.790 prevents the two professional roles from being blurred.
10. Which is required in an Illinois BPO?
- A brief methodology description
- A guaranteed sale date
- A structural certification
- A mortgage approval
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A brief methodology description
The report must also include purpose, subject interest, assumptions, broker interest, preparer identity, signature, and disclaimer.
How should you study this area?
- Session
- Session 1
- Focus
- Map BPO authority
- Proof you are ready
- Write the Illinois definition, permitted purpose groups, origination exclusion, disclosure checklist, sponsorship rule, compensation path, and dual-license rule without notes.
- Session
- Session 2
- Focus
- Control scope and access
- Proof you are ready
- For 18 interior, exterior, desktop, occupied, vacant, damaged, and repaired orders, state authorization, observations, unknowns, safety limits, sources, and required disclosures.
- Session
- Session 3
- Focus
- Analyze ordinary and distressed evidence
- Proof you are ready
- Compare 20 REO, foreclosure, estate, relocation, short-sale, repaired, and arm's-length transactions without applying label-based adjustments.
- Session
- Session 4
- Focus
- Reconcile as-is and repaired prices
- Proof you are ready
- Solve 16 paired scenarios using repair bids, as-is sales, repaired sales, time, carrying cost, financing, risk, buyer pool, and market-supported return.
- Session
- Session 5
- Focus
- Audit report and payment
- Proof you are ready
- Review 15 mock files for purpose, interest, method, assumptions, broker interest, license and signature, disclaimer, secure delivery, sponsorship, fee routing, and revision record.
- Session
- Session 6
- Focus
- Run B-R-O-K-E-R
- Proof you are ready
- Score at least 90 percent and explain every miss through basis, research, observation, market knowledge, evaluation, or reporting and routing.
Do not count recognition as mastery. Close the notes and explain the rule, apply it to a new fact pattern, and identify why each distractor fails.
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Questions students ask about What Is a BPO? Illinois Real Estate Exam Guide
What is a broker price opinion in Illinois?
Illinois defines a broker price opinion, or BPO, as an estimate or analysis of the probable selling price of a particular real estate interest. It may contain varying detail about property condition, market, neighborhood, and comparable sales. A BPO is a licensed brokerage product and is not an appraisal.
Who may prepare a BPO in Illinois?
Section 10-45 permits an Illinois real estate broker or managing broker to prepare or provide a BPO for an authorized purpose. A sponsored broker performs the licensed activity for the sponsoring broker and generally accepts compensation through that sponsoring broker. The document must identify and be signed by the broker or managing broker who developed it.
When can an Illinois broker provide a BPO?
Authorized purposes include work for existing or potential buyers, sellers, lessors, and lessees; third-party decisions or due diligence involving a potential listing, offering, sale, option, lease, or acquisition price; and certain lienholder or third-party uses. It cannot be the primary basis for determining market value for a financial institution's mortgage-loan origination secured by the property.
What must an Illinois BPO include?
A statutory BPO must be written on paper or electronically and state its intended purpose, briefly describe the subject real estate interest and methodology, list assumptions or limiting conditions, disclose the broker's existing or contemplated interest, provide the preparer's name, license number, and signature, and include the substantially prescribed non-appraisal disclaimer.
What is the difference between an exterior and interior BPO?
An exterior BPO relies on exterior observation and other permitted data, so interior condition is unknown unless supported by reliable current sources. An interior BPO includes authorized interior access and observation. Illinois section 10-45 does not create those labels or a universal inspection checklist, so the engagement and report should state exactly what was observed, by whom, and when.
Is a BPO an appraisal?
No. Illinois law expressly says a BPO is not an appraisal under the Real Estate Appraiser Licensing Act. The mandatory disclaimer reinforces that the licensed broker or managing broker was not acting as a state-certified real estate appraiser. More pages, photographs, or adjustments do not change that boundary.
Is a BPO the same as a CMA?
They share Illinois purposes and disclosure requirements, but their definitions differ. A BPO centers on the probable selling price of a particular real estate interest. A CMA can address pricing, marketing, or financial aspects of one or more specified interests using comparative data, broker expertise, and other appropriate factors.
Can a broker be paid separately for a BPO?
Yes, subject to licensing, sponsorship, agreement, and payment rules. Illinois's definition distinguishes a statutory BPO from ordinary-course brokerage activity when no separate compensation is paid beyond compensation based on a sale or rental. A sponsored licensee generally may accept compensation for licensed activity only from the sponsoring broker.
Can a lender use a BPO?
A lienholder may use a BPO for authorized purposes, but Illinois excludes using it as the primary basis for mortgage-origination market value by a financial institution. Servicing, portfolio, collection, loss-mitigation, or due-diligence use still depends on the exact engagement and governing federal and state rules. A BPO does not automatically satisfy an appraisal or evaluation requirement.
Does a borrower receive a lender's BPO?
Current Regulation B treats a BPO prepared to estimate value as an example of a valuation. For a covered application secured by a first lien on a dwelling, the creditor generally must provide copies of appraisals and other written valuations promptly upon completion or three business days before consummation or account opening, whichever is earlier, subject to the rule's timing-waiver provisions.
Are these official PSI questions or a property price opinion?
No. The practice questions are original, and the law and regulatory sources were checked through August 1, 2026. A live BPO requires a valid purpose, active license and sponsorship, client instructions, lawful access, current property and market data, required disclosures, compensation compliance, fair housing safeguards, and the sponsoring broker's procedures.
Primary sources
- PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet effective June 24, 2026
- 225 ILCS 454/1-10, current Illinois BPO, CMA, brokerage activity, client, compensation, and sponsorship definitions
- 225 ILCS 454/10-45, current Illinois BPO and CMA purposes, written content, disclosures, and origination limit
- 225 ILCS 454/10-5, current Illinois licensed-activity compensation and sponsoring-broker payment rules
- 225 ILCS 454/10-20, current Illinois sponsoring-broker, employment-agreement, supervision, duty, and compensation structure
- 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.790, effective July 7, 2025, capacity and license-number rule for dual licensees
- 225 ILCS 458/5-5, current Illinois appraisal-license boundary and compliant BPO or CMA exemption
- 225 ILCS 454/10-30, current Illinois accurate, direct, comprehensible, and nonmisleading advertising rule
- Regulation B, 12 CFR 1002.14, current written-valuation definition, BPO example, and copy timing
- 12 CFR 34.43, current OCC appraisal exceptions, evaluation duties, and certified-appraiser thresholds
- Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, current brokerage licenses, laws, rules, and exam resources
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, current Fair Housing Act protected-class overview
The current official outline controls the tested scope. Statutes, regulations, and official agency materials control when a general study rule and a jurisdiction-specific rule differ.
Editorial status
Checked against primary sources
The Pass Illinois editorial team last checked this guide on August 1, 2026. Every practice question is an original study item, and the source links above let you verify the rules that support the lesson.