Dave Ulrich, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Whatcom County Inc., has earned a Broker Price Opinion Resource certification from the National Association of Realtors.

Broker price opinions, or BPOs, are tools used by mortgage companies to asses the value of properties when the expense and delay of an appraisal is not necessary. Real estate agents are given BPO orders from lenders and mortgage companies.

Certified real estate agents are eligible to receive broker price opinion orders as a preferred provider.

“As the real estate market evolves we are seeing more demand for broker price opinions, and it’s imperative that Realtors are knowledgeable and educated about how BPOs work, as well as the risks involved,” Moe Veissi, the association’s president, said in a March 8 press release.

For more information on the certification process, visit www.bpor.org.

RE/MAX Whatcom County is online at www.nwhomes.net.