(65 ILCS 95/3) (from Ch. 24, par. 1603)

Sec. 3. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act:

(a) "Bona fide offer" means an offer made in good faith and for a valuable consideration to purchase a qualified residence at a price that in the opinion of the governing commission is reasonable given current market conditions.

(b) "Certificate of participation" means the duly notarized document of membership in a program, signed by the qualified applicant and by an authorized representative of the governing commission, which specifies the location and description of the guaranteed residence, its guaranteed value, the registration date, and which has attached a program appraisal for the guaranteed residence.

(c) "Community organization" means a not-for-profit organization which has been registered with this State for at least 5 years as a not-for-profit organization, which qualifies for tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as now or hereafter amended, which continuously maintains an office or business location within the territory of a program together with a current listed telephone number, and whose members reside within the territory of a program.

(d) "Eligible applicant" means a natural person who is the owner of a qualified residence within the territory of a program who continuously occupies or has a family member who occupies such qualified residence as the principal place of residence.

(e) "Family member" means a spouse, child, stepchild, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, or any such relations of the spouse of the member.

(f) "Governing commission" means the 9 member (or 18 member in the case of a merged program) governing body which is authorized by voter approval of the creation of a home equity program (or merger of programs) as provided in this Act and which is appointed by the mayor of the municipality in which the program has been approved with the approval of the city council, 7 (or 14 in the case of a merged program) of whom shall be appointed from a list or lists of nominees submitted by a community organization or community organizations as defined in this Act.

(g) "Gross selling value" means the total consideration to be paid for the purchase of a guaranteed residence, and shall include any amount that the buyer or prospective buyer agrees to assume on behalf of a member, including broker commissions, points, legal fees, personal financing, or other items of value involved in the sale.

(h) "Guarantee fund" means the funds collected under the provisions of this Act for the purpose of guaranteeing the property values of members within the territory of a program.

(i) "Guaranteed residence" means a qualified residence for which a certificate of participation has been issued, which is occupied continuously as the place of legal residence by the member or a family member, which is described in the certificate of participation, and which is entitled to coverage under this Act.

(j) "Guaranteed value" means the appraised valuation based upon a standard of current fair market value as of the registration date on the qualified residence as determined by a program appraiser pursuant to accepted professional appraisal standards and which is authorized by the commission for the registration date. The guaranteed value shall be used solely by the commission for the purpose of administering the program and shall remain confidential.

(k) "Member" means the owner of a guaranteed residence.

(l) "Owner" means a natural person who is the legal titleholder or who is the beneficiary of a trust which is the legal titleholder.

(m) "Physical perils" means physical occurrences such as, but not limited to, fire, windstorm, hail, nuclear explosion or seepage, war, insurrection, wear and tear, cracking, settling, vermin, rodents, insects, vandalism, pollution or contamination, and all such related occurrences or acts of God.

(n) "Program" means the guaranteed home equity program governed by a specific home equity commission.

(o) "Program appraisal" means a real estate appraisal conducted by a program appraiser for the purpose of establishing the guaranteed value of a qualified residence under a program and providing a general description of the qualified residence. The program appraisal shall be used solely by the governing commission for the purpose of administering the program and shall remain confidential.

(p) "Program appraiser" means a real estate appraiser who meets the professional standards established by the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers (AIREA), the National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers (NAIFA), the National Society of Real Estate Appraisers (NSREA) or the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) and whose name is submitted to the governing commission by the appraiser to conduct program appraisals under the provisions of a program.

(q) "Program guidelines" means those policies, rules, regulations, and bylaws established from time to time by the governing commission to explain, clarify, or modify the program in order to fulfill its goals and objectives.

(r) "Qualified residence" means a building: (1) located in the territory of a program having at least one, but not more than 6, dwelling units; (2) classified by county ordinance as residential and assessed for property tax purposes; and (3) with at least one dwelling unit continuously occupied as the principal legal residence of a member or family member.

(s) "Registration date" means the date of receipt by the governing commission of the registration fee and a completed application of a qualified applicant for participation in a program.

(t) "Registration fee" means the fee which is established by the governing commission to defray the cost of a program appraisal on a qualified residence.

(Source: P.A. 95-1047, eff. 4-6-09.)