Recent News

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

It is common for real estate to be encumbered by more than one mortgage or deed of trust.  Contexts vary greatly, from construction loans to borrowers just wanting to pull out equity using a home equity line of credit or traditional second mortgage.  In most situations, there is little question about which lender or lienholder… Read More

In the first part of the blog post, I explained what goes into a title policy.  This part of the blog post discusses how a title policy does and does not protect you. Coverage Generally Title insurance policies protect their insured against actual losses resulting from “covered risks,” which generally include:  (1) Someone else owns… Read More

Corporations, limited liability companies, and certain types of partnerships, formed in the state of Washington, are required to file annual reports and pay an annual license renewal fee to the Washington Secretary of State (the “Secretary”).  Each year, the Secretary sends notice to the entity that its annual report and fees are due by a… Read More

Elsewhere on our website, we have discussed the importance of reviewing title insurance policies and preliminary commitments.  While those topics are important for people involved in real estate transactions, this post is devoted to a more basic explanation of title insurance.  As explained in greater detail in this series of blog posts, title insurance generally… Read More

In Washington, one way a real estate owner can grant another real estate owner the right to use the first real owner’s real estate for a particular purpose is for the first owner to grant the second owner an easement.  Under Washington law, an easement is an interest in real estate.  It is a non-possessory… Read More

Adverse possession is a legal doctrine under which Person X can establish real estate ownership over a portion of land held in record title by Person Y through X’s consistent use (i.e. possession) of Y’s property. Here is an overview: beresfordlaw.com/adverse-possession-in-washington-state/. Adverse possession is codified under RCW 7.28 et seq. Generally, one cannot adversely possess against… Read More

Real estate disputes frequently involve disagreements over rights of ownership, possession, and use of property.  However, the rigors of the litigation process and the ability of courts to process cases typically means it will take a year or more before the case gets resolved through a trial on the merits.  What do the parties do… Read More