Lt. Gov. Gerard Luz James II stressed that his office is "pro-business" in an address to the St. Thomas Real Estate Board's quarterly meeting Thursday morning at Whale of a Tale restaurant. He cited the five public forums on taxes and deeds his office is sponsoring as evidence of its commitment.
James said he was most proud of his agency's ability to computerize with completion of the document scanning system. While the office will continue to store original documents for a while, it is now possible to scan documents giving the presenter a receipt including copies of the scanned documents within two weeks.
He further stated "there are two work stations available for public search. The staff will provide demonstration and training on this system."
James also said condominium deed transfers will be streamlined, shortening the process by some three weeks.
When asked for a timeline on producing a city map to assist realtors in finding property, James called on Tax Assessor Roy Martin to address the issue, but not before noting that such a map "is also much-needed by police, fire, and emergency medical services."
Martin showed the realtors several maps showing the actual property lines, plat numbers and outlines of the buildings on the property. He said he expects to have the system completed by the end of 2002.
A City Map is an official naming of all streets and highways in the area with a numerical grid system assigning consecutive numbers to improved property.
Martin also said that agricultural property is tax-exempt only when certified by the Department of Agriculture that at least an acre of property was devoted exclusively to an active agricultural business.
Finally, James announced his office was closely monitoring the national debate concerning real estate activities of financial institutions.
Rick Hillyer, president of the Virgin Islands Territorial Association of Realtors (VITAR), said the primary concern of the St. Croix Board of Realtors at this time is the cancellation of homeowners' insurance policies. According to Hillyer, "policies are currently being cancelled at the rate of 100 per month, and it is expected to accelerate to 200 per month. Lloyd's is out of the market and Zurich is closing down and will not write any more policies."
Mr. Hillyer called upon the Board to monitor the situation and address the problem in a timely fashion. James also stated his office was "looking into" the problem.
The meeting closed with the announcement that a speaker will hold forth on "Writing Real Estate Ads That Sell" at the Ritz-Carlton Resort on Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The talk is open to realtors from all three islands.
