Recent News

Washington State has recently undergone significant changes in housing legislation. My previous blog posts here, here, and here, outlined some of the most substantial reforms pertaining to housing density adopted in 2023, which specifically related to multiplexes and accessory dwelling units. While 2024 has seen additional housing reform stall by comparison, as outlined in my blog post here, the legislature did pass… Read More

Us residents of Washington State often consider ourselves lucky to live in an area with an abundance of beautiful trees. Naturally, however, the ubiquity of beautiful trees throughout our state has led to the growth of a significant body of law relating to the ownership and maintenance of trees as between neighboring property owners. Indeed, my colleagues… Read More

In 2023, the Washington State legislature passed multiple statutes in an effort to tackle the housing issues facing the public, chief among them, HB 1110 discussed here and here, and HB 1337 discussed here and here (the latter discussing HB 1110 as well). The passing of these laws will have a significant impact on housing in Washington… Read More

In 2023, Washington State passed laws regarding Accessory Dwelling Units (HB 1337) and multiplexes (HB 1110) to create a systematic and comprehensive change in the availability of housing. These house bills establish general requirements that municipalities must follow, and which present developers and contractors with unique opportunities to take advantage of a vast change in housing regulations… Read More

Often times, people assume that only a contract, either written or oral, can necessitate compensation for services provided. Indeed, it bears stating explicitly that parties should enter into a written contract when engaging in the exchange of payment for the provision of services. Failing to outline in detail the terms of a contract can lead to… Read More

In the realm of real estate law, we often consider the policy of title insurance one of the most important documents that an individual will obtain when purchasing real property. I have previously discussed the importance of title policies here and here. At the risk of belaboring the point, I again write a new post… Read More

We often do not want to plan for death. There are certainly plenty of more uplifting things to do. While estate planning serves a critical role in self-protection as well as protection of one’s family, it often falls to the side as a lower priority endeavor because of its inherent morbid nature. It should not.… Read More

In Washington State, owners commonly find themselves in situations where they have long possessed land, only to find out – typically through a survey – that some of the land they think they own sits outside of their record legal boundaries. This creates a conundrum in which a property owner has exercised longstanding ownership rights… Read More

In Washington State, the county assessor values real property to reflect the property’s true and fair market value, in accordance with its highest and best use. The assessor bases the value on what a buyer in an arms-length transaction would pay for the property. The county assessor may use several different methods to appraise real… Read More