(a) Except as provided in this section, on and after July 1, 1991 or by such other date as may be set by federal law and published by the Board, it shall be unlawful for anyone to engage in real estate appraisal activity in this Territory without first obtaining a license or certification as provided in this chapter. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit any person who is licensed to practice in this Territory under any other law from engaging in the practice for which such person is licensed.
(b) Whenever, in the judgment of the Board, any person has engaged in any acts or practices which constitute or will constitute a violation of this chapter, the Attorney General may maintain an action in the name of the Territory and the Board in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands in the district in which such violation occurred to abate and enjoin temporarily or permanently such acts and practices and to enforce compliance with this chapter. The plaintiff shall not be required to give any bond.
(c) This chapter shall not apply to:
(1) individuals:
(A) who do not render significant professional assistance in arriving at a real estate appraisal analysis, opinion, or conclusion; or
(B) who assist an appraiser in the preparation of an appraisal report but do not sign that report or make any representations regarding it to any third party;
(2) a real estate salesman or broker licensed in accordance with Title 27, Virgin Islands Code, who in the ordinary course of real estate brokerage business, gives a broker's price opinion, competitive market analysis, or any other written or oral opinion to a potential seller, purchaser, landlord, tenant, or third party as to the recommended listing, lease, rental, or purchase price of real estate or real property; provided, however, that this opinion as to the listing, lease, rental, or purchase price shall not be referred to as an appraisal;
(3) any individual, partnership, or corporation which, as owner, as the spouse of an owner, as general partner of a limited partnership, as officer of a corporation, as lessor, or as prospective purchaser or lessee or its regular employees, expresses an opinion on the value of real estate or real property leased or to be acquired by such owner;
(4) any person who testifies to the value of real estate or real property in the courts of the Territory; or
(5) individuals employed in the Offices of the Tax Assessor.
(d) Any person who, directly or indirectly, with the intention or upon the promise of receiving any valuable consideration, offers, attempts, or agrees to perform or performs any single act of real estate appraisal activity defined in this chapter, whether as a part of an appraisal or as an appraisal, shall be deemed an appraiser within the meaning of this chapter. The commission of a single such act by a person who is required to have a license or certification under this chapter but who is not licensed or certified shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
(e) It shall be unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, to engage in or conduct the business of, or advertise or hold himself or herself out as engaging in or conducting the business of, or act in the capacity of, an appraiser within this Territory without first obtaining the license or certification as provided in this chapter.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, the Board may issue a cease and desist order, after due process, prohibiting any person from violating the provisions of this chapter by engaging in the practice of an appraiser for federally regulated transactions without a license or certification. Such cease and desist order shall be final ten days after it is issued unless the person to whom such order is issued requests a hearing before the Board.
(g) The violation of any cease and desist order of the Board issued under this section shall subject the person violating the order to further proceedings before the Board, and the Board shall be authorized to impose a fine not to exceed $1,000.00 for each transaction constituting a violation of such order. Each day that a person practices in violation of this chapter shall constitute a separate violation.
(h) Initial judicial review of the decision of the Board entered pursuant to this section shall be in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands.
(i) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit the Board from seeking a cease and desist order in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(j) Any person acting as an appraiser within the meaning of this chapter without a license or certification and any person who violates any other provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500, or a jail term not to exceed six months, or both.