Recent News

What is an Easement for Ingress and Egress?

Washington State Real Estate Law Lawyer Babak Shamsi | 1/27/2025
An easement gives a legal right to use another person’s real property for a specific purpose. Fundamentally, an easement for ingress and egress serves the purpose of permitting another property owner the right to enter and leave a property that does not belong to that property owner. In other words, with an easement for ingress… Read More

Progress of Comprehensive Plans for Housing

Washington State Real Estate Law Lawyer Babak Shamsi | 1/27/2025
In 2023, Washington State underwent significant changes in housing legislation in 2023. Some of the major changes pertaining to multiplexes and accessory dwelling units, in particular, have been discussed previously in blog posts here, here, and here. The relevant laws went into effect on July 23, 2023, and the law requires Cities to adopt compliant zoning laws within… Read More

My Neighbor is Flooding My Property! What Can I Do?

Washington State Real Estate Lawyer William O. Kessler | 1/21/2025
Your uphill neighbor has a large backyard. Until last month, it was all grass. But he just finished a huge new concrete patio. So where does all the rainwater flow now? Turns out he’s installed drains in the patio, and the water empties onto your boundary line. Then it flows straight downhill, pooling near your… Read More

What Is A Right Of First Refusal In Real Estate?

Washington State Real Estate Lawyer Andrew M. McKenzie | 12/3/2024
Most of the time, an owner of real estate can sell it to whomever they wish, under the terms which they and their chosen buyer mutually deem acceptable.  However, in some cases, that right to sell is restricted.  A “right of first refusal” (“ROFR”) is the right of a third party to purchase property from… Read More

The End of Registered Land Titles in Washington

The Lawyers at Beresford Booth | 11/19/2024
In 1907, the state of Washington adopted the Torrens land registration system as an optional alternative to the recording system. The recording system required documents relating to real estate to be recorded with the county auditor of the county in which the real estate was located. (In King County, the county recorder, not the county… Read More

Waterproofing Woes: Washington Law Impacting Water Leaks in New Homes

Washington State Real Estate Lawyer Ryan G. Foltz | 10/30/2024
In Washington’s damp climate, properly constructed waterproofing systems are essential in new homes to prevent leaks, rot, and structural damage. Over time, water intrusion leads to extensive damage to interior finishes and can compromise the structural integrity of the home.  Hidden or latent defects in construction are not immediately apparent. These unknown defects can cause… Read More

The Impact of the National Association of Realtors Settlement Agreement

Washington State Real Estate Lawyer Babak Shamsi | 10/22/2024
When selling a home, the selling party will typically pay a 5-6% commission to the listing agent, who then pays a negotiated portion of that commission (often, but not always, half) to the buyer’s agent. Technically, the commissions are negotiable, but the National Association of Realtors (NAR), a powerful trade association boasting over 1.5 million… Read More

The Uniform Route of a Prescriptive Easement

Washington State Business and Real Estate Law Lawyer Babak Shamsi | 8/7/2024
Easements present one of the most common encumbrances affecting title to real property. An easement allows a property owner to use someone else’s land for a specific purpose, such as ingress and egress, parking, utilities, and even temporary construction. My colleague, Andrew M. McKenzie, wrote an excellent blog post here regarding methods for determining whether… Read More

Keeping a Personal Property Security Interest Perfected

The Lawyers at Beresford Booth | 7/1/2024
Security interests in certain types of personal property in the state of Washington are perfected only by filing a Uniform Commercial Code financing statement with the Washington Department of Licensing. “Perfection” of a security interest is important because it is a concept used to determine the priority of competing security interests in the same collateral.… Read More