Rain City Guide

Just when you thought you had seen the most stupid law from our legislature regarding real estate omitting common sense, here comes another! House Bill 2770 aims to make what was a federal offense a state class-B felony. While it is aimed at mortgage brokers, it has wide sweeping implications to real estate agents, buyers, [...]

There’s a Washington State Mortgage Broker Commission meeting tomorrow, May 7th at the Renton Community Center to discuss the impact of State Senate Bill 6471. This legislation ammends the Consumer Loan Act and Mortgage Broker Practices Act requiring all lenders to become licensed under the Consumer Loan Act (except those licensed under RCW 63.14)

This [...]

I have not posted in quite some time as I have been consumed with a move to a new firm.  As of three weeks ago, I am now Of Counsel to the law firm of Bullivant Houser Bailey.   
In that period, a very significant case was decided that will greatly impact buyer/seller/broker relationships.  On March 1, 2007, the Washington [...]

Here is a scenario bouncing around in my mind. Complicating this problem, imagine this scenario occuring two days prior to closing. What would an attorney think?
The facts:
A buyer who happens to be a real estate managing Broker-owner is purchasing new construction from a builder. The buyer (Broker) asks for [...]

In a comment to a post on Financing Contingencies, Reba baited Craig and I to write a post on the uncommon relationships between real estate agent and attorney.   She said,
“Maybe it’s worth another blog post to discuss why some agents seem to feel that they are diametrically opposed to attorneys when it comes to real [...]

This New Year brought significant changes to the mortgage industry. Loan Originators who provide residential loans in Washington State are now required to be licensed. This legislature applies primarily to Mortgage Brokers and not LOs who are employed by banks or credit unions. As I am employed by a Mortgage Broker (technically, we [...]

Bad things can happen. I recently worked on a matter where seller signed an offer. The offer included an escalation clause and indicated that the the legal description was “to be attached.” However, the offer also included the tax parcel number. The listing agent attached a new addendum stating the sale [...]

Way back in January, I authored a post on the legal description of property. People say that blogging generates business, and they’re right. I recently picked up a new case because an agent read that post and referred his client to me. This new case illustrates the complexity of the legal description issue (which [...]

Considering this issue comes up every time Russ and I speak in front of an audience (including yesterday), I thought it would be interesting to share that the courts have been consistently ruling that blog owners are not legally responsible for the comments on their site, even if they moderate…
It happens all too often that [...]

If anyone is interested, I am offering a free class tonight at the Phinney Neighborhood Center (Blue Building Room 6, 6532 Phinny Ave. N. in Seattle) from 7:30-8:30. I’ll be addressing legal issues relating to the purchase and sale of a home, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of buying or selling without [...]