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

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

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

In Washington State, several doctrines have emerged to protect the rights of real property owners who have long used areas of land that do not actually sit within the record boundaries of their own property. Classic examples include buildings that developers have built in a fashion that encroaches upon neighboring land, or owners placing a… Read More

By statute, the conveyance of an interest in real property must be accomplished by deed. Sometimes the operative deed includes an “after-acquired property” provision, in which the grantor conveys all of its interest in the real estate, “together with all after acquired title of the Grantor therein.” The effect of this language has its limits.… Read More

February 16, 2023 Washington State Business and Real Estate Law Lawyer Per E. Oscarsson talks about granting security interests in real estate property. Read More

While Washingtonians colloquially reference “mortgages” when describing their home loans, the legal instrument that encumbers their property in Washington is more precisely a “deed of trust.” A deed of trust is not (in the commonly-held sense) a “deed,” in which a seller conveys title in real estate to a buyer. Of course, buyers of real… Read More

January 26th, 2023 Real Estate Lawyer Andrew M. McKenzie talks about how to find out if your property has an easement. Read More

If you are buying or selling real estate, whether residential or commercial, the transaction will most likely include a requirement for the seller to provide the buyer with title insurance. The first step in that process is to get what is usually referred to as a preliminary title commitment or a title report. It is… Read More