Introduction
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?
Board Purpose
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.
IMPORTANT CHANGES OF APPRAISER CRITERIA
IN SC
There are major components
of the education, examination, and continuing education
criteria for which appraisers
in
South Carolina
should be aware.
Continuing Education
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.
Examination
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.
Qualifying Education
The most significant changes
in the new Criteria relate to qualifying education. The changes fall into
the following categories:
1. There are college- level
course requirements for the Certified Residential and Certified General classifications;
2. The required number of classroom
hours in appraisal education has increased significantly in all three licensure
classifications; and
3. There are minimum classroom
hours of coverage requirements for specific topic areas, which are known as modules.
Please Note: The question that
has been raised on several occasions as to the affect 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:
1. Individuals entering the
profession;
2. Individuals seeking a different
credential within
South Carolina
;
3. Possibly those seeking a
credential in another jurisdiction through reciprocity.
College Course Requirements
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.
Classroom Hours
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.
Required Core Curriculum
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
The South Carolina Real Estate
Appraisers Board has adopted the “Segmented Scenario” in implementing the
Criteria changes. Segmented Scenario
The requirements are broken down into three segments (or components):
Education, Experience, and Examination. An applicant would have to meet the
Criteria in effect at the time he or she completes a particular component
or segment. Any component completed prior to January 1, 2008, would satisfy the
current Criteria, while any component not completed by January 1, 2008, would
have to conform to the new Criteria.
For example, an applicant for a Certified General designation completes all of the
currently required 180 hours of qualifying education and passes the State Certified
General examination in 2007, but does not possess the required 30 months and 3,000
hours of experience. Since the applicant completed the education and examination
prior to January 1, 2008, he or she would be deemed to have satisfied those two
components. Therefore, the only component which the applicant would have to satisfy
under the new Criteria would be experience (which, in this case, is no different
than the current Criteria).
Keeping Abreast Of Changes
For appraisers to keep abreast
of the changes in the industry on both the state and federal level it is critical
that appraisal practitioners to check periodically the LLR Real Estate Appraisers
Board website:
www.llr.state.sc.us/POL/RealEstateAppraisers