Recent News

The state of Washington recently enacted the covenant homeownership account and program act.  The purpose of the act is to address the state’s “history of housing discrimination due to racially restrictive real estate covenants” of various types. Under the act, one or more special purpose credit programs will be created to provide down payment and… Read More

June 15th, 2023 Beresford Booth Lawyer Babak Shamsi discusses the joys and perils of community living. Read More

New legislation in Washington state drastically changes zoning for most single-family neighborhoods. This piece covers one of the most impactful statutes, House Bill 1337. In much of Washington, housing is expensive, and inventory is very tight. In response, the Washington legislature recently enacted HB 1110 and HB 1337. HB 1110 – discussed in detail by… Read More

At the outset of each lawsuit, the lawyers need to formulate a big-picture strategy. They need to then navigate the lawsuit using that strategy as a compass. But the devil is in the details – and the buck stops with the lawyers. A new case out of the Washington Court of Appeals, Spencer v. Franklin… Read More

June 8th, 2023 Beresford attorney Eli K. Yim discusses what you need to know about Deeds of Trust. Read More

Lawyers and parties involved in disputes should give careful consideration to whether a given strategy in seeking a resolution may give rise to criminal liability in Washington.  Specifically, beware of criminal liability for blackmail, or as referred to in RCW 9A.56.130, extortion in the second degree. But first, here is some interesting etymology:  Many hundreds… Read More

While you may immediately think of movie theaters with several separate screens, this article is (perhaps disappointingly) referring to the construction of duplexes and fourplexes across Washington State. The Washington State Department of Commerce recently estimated that Washington State would need an additional one million homes constructed over the next twenty years. To try and tackle… Read More

An easement authorizes one to use and/or enter onto real property owned by someone else. In other words, an easement grants the benefited party a non-possessory right over another person’s (the burdened party’s) property. Many people have easements that affect their title, and these easements can limit the free use of their own property by… Read More

Transfers of real estate in Washington are subject to state and local real estate excise tax on the consideration given for the transfer of that real estate, unless an exemption from the tax applies. Prior to 2020, the state portion of the tax was 1.28% of the value of the consideration given for the transfer.… Read More