Terms Used In New York Laws > Executive > Article 6-H - Real Estate Appraisal Management Companies

• AMC: means an individual or business entity 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 real property as security for consumer credit transactions secured by a consumer's principal dwelling; and
  
  (c) within a given year, oversees an appraisal panel of more than fifteen appraisers working in New York state or twenty-five or more appraisers working in two or more states. See N.Y. Executive Law 160-AAAA
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appraisal management services: means to, directly or indirectly, provide any of the following services on behalf of a lender, financial institution, client, or any other person in connection with valuing a consumer's principal dwelling as security for a consumer credit transaction or incorporating such transactions into securitizations:
  
  (a) administer an appraiser panel;
  
  (b) recruit, retain or select appraisers;
  
  (c) qualify or verify licensing or certification and negotiate fees and service level expectations with persons who are part of an appraiser panel;
  
  (d) contract with appraisers to perform appraisal assignments;
  
  (e) receive an order for an appraisal from one person, and deliver the order for the appraisal to an appraiser that is part of an appraiser panel for completion;
  
  (f) manage the process of having an appraisal performed, including providing administrative duties, such as receiving appraisal orders and reports, submitting completed appraisal reports to creditors and underwriters for services provided, and reimbursing appraisers for services performed;
  
  (g) track and determine the status of orders for appraisals;
  
  (h) conduct quality control of a completed appraisal prior to the delivery of the appraisal to the person that ordered the appraisal;
  
  (i) provide a completed appraisal performed by an appraiser to one or more clients; or
  
  (j) compensate appraisers for services rendered. See N.Y. Executive Law 160-AAAA
• 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. See N.Y. Executive Law 160-AAAA
• Appraiser: means a person licensed or certified pursuant to article six-E of this chapter. See N.Y. Executive Law 160-AAAA
• Appraiser panel: means a network, list or roster of licensed or certified appraisers approved by the appraisal management company to perform appraisals as independent contractors of the appraisal management company. See N.Y. Executive Law 160-AAAA
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Board: means the state board of real estate appraisal which shall advise the department, as necessary, on implementation of, and enforcement of this article. See N.Y. Executive Law 160-AAAA
• Competent appraiser: means an appraiser that satisfies each provision of the competency rule of the uniform standards of professional appraisal practice for a specific appraisal assignment or valuation service that the appraiser has received, or may receive, from an appraisal management company. See N.Y. Executive Law 160-AAAA
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Controlling person: means :
  
  (a) an owner, officer or director of an appraisal management company, or an individual who holds an ownership interest of ten percent or more of such company;
  
  (b) an individual employed, appointed or authorized by an appraisal management company that has the authority to enter into a contractual relationship with other persons for the performance of appraisal management services and has the authority to enter into agreements with appraisers for the performance of appraisals; 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. See N.Y. Executive Law 160-AAAA
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Department: means the New York state department of state. See N.Y. Executive Law 160-AAAA
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Hybrid firm or entity: means an entity that hires both real estate appraisers as employees to perform appraisals of real property, and engage independent contractors to perform such appraisals. See N.Y. Executive Law 160-AAAA
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, or any other entity recognized under New York state law. See N.Y. Executive Law 160-AAAA
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real estate: means an identified parcel or tract of land, including improvements, if any. See N.Y. Executive Law 160-AAAA
• real estate appraisal: means an analysis, opinion or conclusion relating to the nature, quality, value or utility of specified interests in, or aspects of, identified real estate. See N.Y. Executive Law 160-AAAA
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Real property: means the interest, benefits, and rights inherent in the ownership of real estate. See N.Y. Executive Law 160-AAAA
• Secondary mortgage market participant: means a guarantor or insurer of mortgage-backed securities, or an underwriter or issuer of mortgage-backed securities. See N.Y. Executive Law 160-AAAA
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Truth in Lending Act: The Truth in Lending Act is a federal law that requires lenders to provide standardized information so that borrowers can compare loan terms. In general, lenders must provide information on ^{Source: OCC}
• USPAP: means the appraisal standards promulgated by the appraisal standards board of the appraisal foundation. See N.Y. Executive Law 160-AAAA