South Carolina § 40-60-20 - Definitions.

§ 40-60-20. Definitions.

As used in this chapter unless the context requires otherwise:

(1) "Analysis" means a study of real estate or real property other than one estimating value.

(2) "Appraisal", as a noun, means the act or process of developing an opinion of value; as an adjective, "appraisal" means of or pertaining to appraising and related functions including, but not limited to, appraisal practice and appraisal services.

(3) "Appraisal assignment" or "valuation assignment" means an engagement for which an appraiser is employed or retained to act, or would be perceived by third parties or the public as acting, as a disinterested third party in rendering an unbiased analysis, opinion, or conclusion that estimates the value of real estate.

(4) "Appraisal Foundation" means the Appraisal Foundation established on November 30, 1987, as a not-for-profit corporation under the laws of Illinois, containing the Appraisal Standards Board (ASB), Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB), a board of trustees, and other advisory bodies.

(5) "Appraisal report" means any communication, written or oral, of an appraisal or appraisal review. The testimony of an individual dealing with the analyses, conclusions, or opinions concerning identified real estate or real property is considered to be an oral appraisal report.

(6) "Appraisal subcommittee" means the designees of the heads of the federal financial institutions regulatory agencies established by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. Section 3301, et seq.), as amended, as well as the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or the secretary's designee, under the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 (12 U.S.C. Section 1708(g)).

(7) "Appraiser" means a person who holds a license or certification issued by the board to perform valuation services competently and in a manner that is independent, impartial, and objective, and in accordance with all applicable laws.

(8) "Apprentice appraiser" means an individual who holds a credential issued by the board to assist a state-certified appraiser in the performance of an appraisal if the apprentice is actively supervised by the certified appraiser.

(9) "Board" means the South Carolina Real Estate Appraisers Board established pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

(10) "Complex residential property appraisal" means one in which the property to be appraised, the form of ownership, or market conditions are atypical.

(11) "Federally related transaction" means any real estate-related financial transaction which a federal financial institution regulatory agency engages in, contracts for, or regulates and which requires the services of an appraiser.

(12) "Mass appraisal" means the process of valuing a universe of properties as of a given date using standard methodology, employing common data, and allowing for statistical testing.

(13) "Mass appraiser" means any appraiser who is employed in the office of a tax assessor to appraise real property for ad valorem tax purposes and who is licensed or certified as a mass appraiser.

(14) "Noncomplex residential property appraisal" means one in which the property to be appraised, the form of ownership, and market conditions are those which are typically found in the subject market.

(15) "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, or association, foreign and domestic.

(16) "Price" means the amount asked, offered, or paid for a property.

(17) "Real estate" means an identified parcel or tract of land including improvements, if any.

(18) "Real estate appraisal activity" means the act or process of performing an appraisal and preparing an appraisal report.

(19) "Real property" means the interests, benefits, and rights inherent in the ownership of real estate.

(20) "Residential appraisal" is an appraisal of a vacant or improved parcel of land that is devoted to or available for use as a one-to-four family abode including, but not limited to, a single-family home, apartment, or rooming house.

(21) "Standards of professional appraisal practice" or "USPAP" means the National Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice as adopted by the Appraisal Standards Board of the Appraisal Foundation and adopted by the board.

(22) "State-certified general appraiser" means an appraiser authorized to engage in the appraisal of all types of real property.

(23) "State-certified general mass appraiser" means an appraiser authorized to engage in all types of real estate mass appraisal activity for ad valorem purposes.

(24) "State-certified residential appraiser" means an appraiser authorized to engage in the appraisal of one to four residential units without regard to transaction value or complexity and nonresidential appraisals with a transaction value less than five hundred thousand dollars.

(25) "State-certified residential mass appraiser" means an appraiser authorized to engage in the mass appraisal of one to four residential units without regard to value or complexity and nonresidential appraisals with a transaction value less than five hundred thousand dollars.

(26) "State-licensed appraiser" means an appraiser authorized to engage in the appraisal of noncomplex one to four residential units having a transaction value less than one million dollars and complex one to four residential units and nonresidential appraisals having a transaction value less than five hundred thousand dollars.

(27) "State-licensed mass appraiser" means an appraiser authorized to engage in the mass appraisal of noncomplex one to four residential units having a transaction value less than one million dollars and complex one to four residential units and nonresidential appraisals having a transaction value less than five hundred thousand dollars.

(28) "Timberland" means forestland that is producing or is capable of producing timber as a crop.

(29) "Valuation services" means the value of real estate or real property based on assignment instructions of the client in accordance with federal law or regulations.

(30) "Value" means the monetary relationship between properties and those who buy, sell, or use those properties, expressed as an opinion of the worth of the property at a given time.

HISTORY: 2006 Act No. 257, SECTION 1; 2014 Act No. 180 (H.4644), SECTION 1, eff May 16, 2014; 2016 Act No. 243 (H.5023), SECTION 2, eff June 5, 2016; 2024 Act No. 196 (H.3278), SECTION 2, eff May 21, 2024.

Editor's Note

Prior Laws:1991 Act No. 12, SECTION 1; 1993 Act No. 143, SECTION 1; 1994 Act No. 385, SECTION 19; 2000 Act No. 335, SECTION 1.

Effect of Amendment

2014 Act No. 180, SECTION 1, in the introductory paragraph, deleted "In addition to the definitions provided in Section 40-1-20,"; in subsection (2), deleted "for or in expectation of compensation, fee, or other consideration" following "value"; in subsection (4), added the acronyms; in subsection (5), substituted "an individual dealing with the analyses" for "an appraiser dealing with the appraiser's analyses"; in subsection (8), substituted "Apprentice appraiser" for "Appraiser apprentice"; deleted former subsection (13), definition of "Independent appraisal assignment"; redesignated the remaining subsections accordingly; in subsection (19), substituted "an oral or written report" for "an appraisal report"; and made other nonsubstantive changes.

2016 Act No. 243, SECTION 2, in (5), definition of "appraisal report", substituted "may be considered" for "is considered"; in (8), definition of "apprentice appraiser", added a hyphen between "state" and "certified"; deleted former (11) and (22), definitions of "evaluation" and "specialized services"; in (18), definition of "real estate appraisal activity", substituted "performing an appraisal and preparing an appraisal report" for "valuing real estate or real property and preparing an oral or written report"; and redesignated the paragraphs accordingly.

2024 Act No. 196, SECTION 2, rewrote the section.