Recent News

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

From time to time, parties that enter contractual relationships involving real property find themselves in circumstances where the document of conveyance or encumbrance, such as a vesting deed or a deed of trust, contains an improper legal description. In the case of the purchase and sale of real estate, this can leave parties with a… Read More

Real estate excise tax (“REET”) is generally owing on the sale of every parcel of real estate in Washington. REET is one tax that has actually decreased for most Washingtonians in recent years. Recently, the Washington State Department of Revenue (DOR) released the graduated real estate excise tax (REET) threshold increases for 2023, effective January… Read More

Most people when they hear the term “real estate contract” probably think of a purchase and sale agreement, but there are actually important distinctions, no matter how similar the two terms may sound. In the real estate contract, a purchase and sale agreement is a contract under which, in exchange for a purchase price paid… Read More

Parties often grant legal rights by way of written deeds. A deed affecting real property typically encumbers or conveys that property. In Washington State, parties may convey real property by way of a variety of deeds.   The most common conveyance deeds in Washington State include Statutory Warranty Deeds, Bargain and Sale Deeds, and Quit… Read More

Washington State affords great flexibility to parties that want to enter into a contractual arrangement. Indeed, in Washington State, parties to a contract do not have to create a written contract to have an enforceable agreement. Of course, oral contracts often create confusion and leave parties open to expensive litigation that they could have avoided… Read More

Buyers have many considerations when purchasing a home, including how to structure an offer, how to address financing, whether to have an inspection contingency, and more. Perhaps the first consideration that springs to mind, however, in the process towards purchasing a home is how much earnest money a buyer wants to put down in order… Read More