IMPORTANT CHANGES OF APPRAISER CRITERIA IN SC
This guide will explain how to get your South Carolina Appraisal License. Let's start from the beginning. Labor License and regulations (LLR) regulates South Carolina Appraisal licenses.
LLR regulates the appraisal industry in South Carolina. They handle complaints and issue the curriculum for all appraisal related education in the state of South Carolina. The Real Estate School for Success has the best instructors, material, facilities, and additional business services to assist you throughout your appraisal career. We take pride in making appraisal classes fun, entertaining, and of course educational. But don't take my word for it, read our student testimonials and find out what they think about us. The South Carolina Real Estate School for Success prides itself on its high students satisfaction rating. But enough about us, how do you get a South Carolina appraisal license?
The Board establishes qualifications for appraiser certification, licensure and registration; administers examinations; investigates complaints; provides discipline; and regulates all other matters pertaining to the conduct and activities of real estate appraisers through the effective administration of the Real Estate Appraisers Act and Regulations.
There are major components of the education, examination, and continuing education criteria for which appraisers in South Carolina should be aware.
The continuing education requirement of the equivalent of fourteen class hours each year remains unchanged. In addition, the requirement that individuals must complete the 7-hour National USPAP Course every two years as part of the overall fourteen class hour requirement. There is pending legislation to go to a biennial (two year) renewal cycle to enable appraisers to accumulate 28 hours of continuing education credit over a two year period.
All individuals seeking to become a State Licensed, State Certified Residential, or State Certified General appraiser must successfully pass an examination administered by the jurisdiction awarding the credential. The examination requirements have not changed; although, it should be noted that the AQB is in the process of developing new Uniform State Appraiser Examinations, which will be implemented concurrently with the effective date of the new Criteria which is January 1, 2008.
The most significant changes in the new Criteria relate to qualifying education. The changes fall into the following categories:
Please Note: The question that has been raised on several occasions as to the effect the new Criteria will have on current licensed and certified appraisers in South Carolina. As long as licensed and certified appraisers maintain their current credential, the Criteria changes should not have any effect on these appraisers. Those impacted will be:
For the first time, there are now college-level course requirements for the certified classifications. Certified Residential: Associates degree or higher; in any field of study; or, in lieu of the required degree, twenty-one (21) semester credit hours covering the following subject matter courses: English Composition; Principles of Economics (Micro or Macro); Finance; Algebra, Geometry or, higher mathematics; Statistics; Introduction to Computers; Word Processing/Spreadsheets; and Business or Real Estate Law. Certified General: Bachelors degree or higher in any field of study; or, in lieu of the required degree, thirty (30) semester credit hours covering the following subject matter courses: English Composition; Principles of Economics (Micro or Macro); Finance; Algebra, Geometry or higher mathematics; Statistics; Introduction to Computers; Word Processing/Spreadsheets; Business or Real Estate Law; and two (2) elective courses in accounting, geography, agricultural economics, business management, or real estate.
In addition to the college-level course requirements, the appraisal education classroom hour requirement has increased for the State Licensed, State Certified Residential and State Certified General classifications. The Trainee (Appraiser Apprentice) classification remains unchanged at 75 classroom hours. The number of appraisal education classroom hours to become a State Licensed appraiser has increased from 90 to 150 hours; Certified Residential has increased from 120 hours to 200 hours; and, Certified General classification has increased from 180 hours to 300 hours.
At the present time, individuals seeking to become an appraiser may select courses covering material in topic areas approved by the SC Real Estate Appraisers Board in the licensing or certification categories designated as L-1, L-2, L-3, CR, C-1, C-2, or C-3 Level Courses. Because not all states subscribed to this "grid level" system of organizing suitable content topic areas there has been considerable inconsistencies in the education received by appraisers holding similar credentials in other jurisdictions. The emphasis in other states has been on the total number of classroom hours, rather than on the amount of coverage in specific topics.
The AQB has now created a Required Core Curriculum for each appraiser classification. Examples of Required Core Curriculum modules include Basic Appraisal Principles, Basic Appraisal Procedures, Residential Market Analysis and Highest and Best Use, and the National USPAP Course. Accompanying the listing of modules is the specific number of classroom hours for each module. It is important to note that these modules are subject matter areas and not necessarily the names of courses. The AQB has issued information in the form of a publication to assist in understanding the expected content coverage under each module. The publication is entitled, A Guide For Understanding The 2008 Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria, and can be obtained at The Appraisal Foundation website: www.appraisalfoundation.org
For appraisers to keep abreast of the changes in the industry on both the state and federal level it is critical that appraisal practitioners check periodically the LLR Real Estate Appraisers Board website: www.llr.state.sc.us/POL/RealEstateAppraisers