§ 45:14F-29 — Definitions relative to appraisal management companies.

3. As used in this act: "Administrative Quality Control Examination" means an examination of an appraisal report for compliance and completeness including grammatical, typographical, or other similar errors, which may be performed by a person who is not a State certified or licensed real estate appraiser, but which shall not include unbiased analysis, opinion or conclusion relating to the nature, quality, value or utility of specified interests in, or aspects of, real estate, or any similar function of appraisal practice, including but not limited, to those functions in the performance of an appraisal review. "Affiliate" means any company that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control of another company. "AMC National Registry" means the registry of state-registered appraisal management companies and federally regulated appraisal management companies maintained by the Appraisal Subcommittee. "Appraisal Foundation" means the Appraisal Foundation established on November 30, 1987, as a not-for-profit corporation under the laws of Illinois. "Appraisal" or "real estate appraisal" means the same as that term is defined pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.68 (C.45:14F-2), and shall be specifically construed to include appraisal reviews performed by, for, and on behalf of an appraisal management company. "Appraisal management company" or "AMC" means a person that: (1) provides appraisal management services to creditors or to secondary mortgage market participants, including affiliates; (2) 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 (3) within a 12-month calendar year, oversees an appraiser panel of more than 15 state-certified or state-licensed appraisers in New Jersey or 25 or more state-certified or state-licensed appraisers in two or more states. An AMC does not include a department or division of an entity that provides appraisal management services only to that entity. "Appraisal management services" means one or more of the following: (1) recruiting, selecting, and retaining appraisers; (2) contracting with state-certified or state-licensed appraisers to perform appraisal assignments; (3) managing the process of having an appraisal performed, including providing administrative services, 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; and (4) reviewing and verifying the work of appraisers. "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" 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 if the appraiser is treated as an independent contractor by the AMC for purposes of federal income taxation. "Appraisal review" means the act or process of developing and communicating an opinion about the quality of another appraiser's work that was performed as part of an appraisal assignment related to the appraiser's data collection, analysis, opinions, conclusions, estimate of value, or compliance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. This term does not include: (1) a general examination for grammatical, typographical, or other similar errors; or (2) a general examination for completeness, including regulatory or client requirements as specified in the agreement process that does not communicate an opinion of value. "Appraiser" means a State certified real estate appraiser, State certified general or residential real estate appraiser, or State licensed real estate appraiser, as those terms are defined pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.68 (C.45:14F-2). "Board" means the State Real Estate Appraiser Board established pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1991, c.68 (C.45:14F-3). "Consumer credit" means credit offered or extended to a consumer primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. "Controlling person" means: (1) an officer, director, or owner of greater than a 10 percent interest, of a corporation, partnership or other business entity, seeking to act as an appraisal management company in this State; (2) an individual employed, appointed, or authorized by an appraisal management company who has the authority to enter into a contractual relationship with other persons for the performance of services requiring registration as an appraisal management company and has the authority to enter into agreements with appraisers for the performance of appraisals; or (3) 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. "Covered transaction" means any consumer credit transaction secured by the consumer's principal dwelling. "Creditor" means: (1) a person who regularly extends consumer credit that is subject to a finance charge or is payable by written agreement in more than four installments, not including a down payment, and to whom the obligation is initially payable, either on the face of the note or contract, or by agreement when there is no note or contract; or (2) a person who regularly extends consumer credit if the person extended credit, other than credit subject to the requirements of 12 CFR 1026.32, more than five times for transactions secured by a dwelling in the preceding calendar year; if a person did not meet these numerical standards in the preceding calendar year, the numerical standards shall be applied to the current calendar year. A person regularly extends consumer credit if, in any 12-month period, the person originates more than one credit extension that is subject to the requirements of 12 CFR 1026.32 or one or more such credit extensions through a mortgage broker. "Dwelling" means a residential structure that contains one to four units, whether or not that structure is attached to real property, including an individual condominium unit, cooperative unit, mobile home, or trailer, if it is used as a residence. A consumer can have only one principal dwelling at a time; a vacation or other second home is not considered a principal dwelling. However, if a consumer buys or builds a new dwelling that will become the consumer's principal dwelling within one year or upon the completion of construction, the new dwelling is considered the principal dwelling for purposes of this definition. "Employee relocation management company" means a business entity whose exclusive business services are not for mortgage purposes but include the relocation of employees as an agent or contractor for the employer or the employer's agent for the purposes of determining an anticipated sales price of the residence of an employee being relocated by the employer in the course of its business. "Federal financial institution regulatory agencies" includes the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the National Credit Union Administration. "Federally regulated AMC" means an AMC that is owned and controlled by an insured depository institution, as defined in 12 U.S.C. s.1813 and regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. "Federally related transaction" means the same as that term is defined pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.68 (C.45:14F-2). "Federally related transaction regulations" means regulations established by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency or the National Credit Union Administration, pursuant to sections 1112, 1113, and 1114 of FIRREA Title XI, 12 U.S.C. ss.3341-3343. "Person" means a natural person or an organization, including a corporation, partnership, proprietorship, association, cooperative, estate, trust, or government unit. "Real estate-related financial transaction" means any transaction involving the sale, lease, purchase, investment in, or exchange of real property, including interests in property or the financing thereof: (1) the refinancing of real property or interests in real property. (2) the use of real property or interests in property as security for a loan or investment, including mortgage-backed securities. "Secondary mortgage market participant" means a guarantor or insurer of mortgage-backed securities, or an underwriter or issuer of mortgage-backed securities. Secondary mortgage market participant only includes an individual investor in a mortgage-backed security if that investor also serves in the capacity of a guarantor, insurer, underwriter, or issuer for the mortgage-backed security. "Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice" or "USPAP" means the current standards of the appraisal profession, developed for appraisers and users of appraisal services by the Appraisal Standards Board of the Appraisal Foundation, in accordance with the standards established by the board as provided under subsection g. of section 8 of P.L.1991, c.68 (C.45:14F-8). L.2017, c.72, s.3.