Section 40-60-320 - DefinitionsFor the purposes of this article:
(1) "Appraisal management company" or "AMC" means a person that: (a) provides appraisal management services to creditors or to secondary mortgage market participants, including affiliates;(b) provides such services in connection with valuing a consumer's principal dwelling as security for a consumer credit transaction or incorporating such transactions into securitizations; and(c) within a given twelve-month period, oversees an appraiser panel or more than fifteen state-certified or state-licensed appraisers in a state or twenty-five or more state-certified or state-licensed appraisers in two or more states.Notwithstanding the foregoing, an AMC does not include a department or division of an entity that provides appraisal management services only to that entity.
(2) "Appraisal management services" means one or more of the following: (a) recruiting, selecting, and retaining appraisers;(b) contracting with state-certified or state-licensed appraisers to perform appraisal assignments;(c) managing the process of having an appraisal performed, including providing administrative duties, such as receiving appraisal orders and appraisal reports, submitting completed appraisal reports to creditors and secondary market participants, collecting fees from creditors and secondary market participants for services provided, and paying appraisers for services performed; or(d) reviewing and verifying the work of appraisers.(3) "Appraiser panel" means a network, list, or roster of licensed or certified appraisers approved by an AMC to perform appraisals as independent contractors for the AMC. Appraisers on an AMC's "appraiser panel" under this section include both appraisers accepted by the AMC for consideration for future appraisal assignments in covered transactions or for secondary mortgage market participants in connection with covered transactions and appraisers engaged by the AMC to perform one or more appraisals in covered transactions or for secondary mortgage market participants in connection with covered transactions. An appraiser is an independent contractor for purposes of this item if the appraiser is treated as an independent contractor by the AMC for purposes of federal income taxation.(4) "Appraisal review" means the act, by a certified or licensed appraiser employed by an appraisal management company, of developing and communicating an opinion about the quality of work of another appraiser that was performed as part of an appraisal assignment. Appraisal review does not include: (a) an examination by an unlicensed employee of an appraisal management company for an appraisal solely for grammatical errors, typographical errors, or other similar errors; or(b) a quality control examination for completeness that does not make a valuation change.(5) "Client" means a person or entity that contracts with, or otherwise enters into an agreement with, an appraisal management company for the purpose of real estate appraisal services.(6) "Controlling person" means:(a) an owner, officer, or director of a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other business entity that seeks to offer an appraisal management service in this State;(b) an individual employed, appointed, or authorized by an appraisal management company authorized to enter a management agreement with certified or licensed appraisers, who are independent contractors, for the performance of real estate appraisal services; or(c) an individual who possesses, directly or indirectly, the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of an appraisal management company.(7) "Covered transaction" means any consumer credit transaction secured by a consumer's principal dwelling, which does not have to be a federally related transaction.(8) "Independent contractor" means a person in a trade, business, or profession in which he offers his services to the general public, in which the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done.(9) "Real estate appraisal services" means the practice of developing an opinion of the value of real property in conformance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) published by the Appraisal Foundation.(10) "Payor" means a person or entity responsible for making payment for the appraisal.Amended by 2024 S.C. Acts, Act No. 196 (HB 3278),s 16, eff. 5/21/2024.Added by 2017 S.C. Acts, Act No. 32 (SB 279), s 1, eff. 5/11/2017. 2017 Act No. 32, Section 5, provides as follows:
"SECTION 5. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. In the event that a registration process is unavailable upon the effective date of this act, an appraisal management company already conducting business in this State may continue to conduct business until one hundred twenty days after a registration process becomes available."