Rain City Guide

In the comment thread to a recent post, Ardell wrote:
You can’t just tell people they should or should not have an attorney the same way that you can’t tell them they should or should not have a real estate agent LOL! Either can be a waste of money if you have the wrong [...]

This is not legal advice. For legal advice, consult an attorney, not a blog.
In this challenging market, many buyers are discovering that their loan program is no longer available. This is a particular problem with new construction, whether condo or house. The buyer signed a purchase and sale agreement (PSA) several months [...]

In this Sunday’s Seattle Times there was an article on “foreclosure rescue scams.” I found the timing interesting given the recent enactment of the Distressed Conveyances law effective in June of this year. This law was specifically enacted to curtail these practices and even provides a rather large “stick” to use in convincing people [...]

This is not legal advice. For legal advice, contact an attorney.
Over the last year, I’ve posted several times on using an attorney – rather than a real estate agent — to purchase a home. As discussed in those posts, one of the biggest challenges in doing so is getting access to the properties that [...]

This post is not legal advice. For legal advice, consult an attorney, not a blog.
You just bought a house! Congratulations! You just discovered that foundation is cracked, although the seller said the foundation was fine… My condolences…
The next logical question: can you get some recovery from the seller [...]

As always, this is not legal advice. If you want legal advice, consult an attorney, not a blog.
Is the Form 17 part of the purchase and sale agreement (PSA)? Should it be listed in the “Addendum” paragraph of the PSA? In a word: NO! (At least if you’re the seller — if [...]

This is not legal advice. For legal advice, consult an attorney directly, not a blog.
It’s common knowledge (based on those comments, at least) that some buyer’s agents will not show properties with an SOC of less than 3%. Is that a problem? In a word, Yes.
First, the ethics: The term “ethics” in this context refers [...]

This post is not legal advice. For legal advice, consult an attorney in person, not a blog.
[Sorry, no links or cites here, but I think the following historical perspective is undisputed:] Originally, real estate agents (and brokers, referred to collectively in this post as “agents”) represented only the seller. The “listing” agent [...]

This post is not legal advice. For legal advice, consult an attorney in person and do not rely on a blog.
Earlier this week, I authored a post giving some historical context and practical tips for buying a house without using an agent. The Big Question, of course, is this: Will that save me [...]

This post is not legal advice. For legal advice, consult an attorney directly (i.e. not via a blog).
This is Part I of a multi-part post.
Part I: Visiting the Property
Several months ago, I authored a post about buying a house without utilizing the services of an agent. It generated quite the conversation (concluding with [...]