Commentary on Washington State law and how it Relates to real Estate

Robert P. Dickson

Robert P. Dickson

Robert P. Dickson is an partner at Dickson Law Group, PS and a member of its real estate and environmental law practice groups. Though most of his work is carried out through commercial litigation, he focuses on real estate, corporate, and environmental law. Much of his practice consists of representing clients in advancing their real property rights against public as well as private entities. Mr. Dickson also teaches a real estate litigation course at the Seattle University School of Law. His experience includes: Easements Adverse possession and trespass Boundary line adjustments Unlawful detainer Land use/zoning Foreclosures Landlord/tenant Real estate transactions (e.g. Deeds of Trust, Promissory Notes, Real Estate Contracts, etc.) Model Toxic Controls Act (including CERCLA), and other environmental regulations Corporation and limited liability company formation and representation Administrative appeals Professional Associations Tacoma/Pierce County Bar Association Washington State Bar Association Young Lawyers Association J. Ruben Clark Society Master Builders Association Associated General Contractors Education Juris Doctorate, The George Washington University Law School, 2007 Bachelor of Arts, Brigham Young University, 2003 Bar Admissions Washington State Bar Association Western Federal District Court of the State of Washington Publications Zoning and Land Use Petition Act, Land Use and Environmental Law Chapter XXIII, Washington Lawyers Practice Manual Real Property Practice Chapter XIV, Section 9, Foreclosure and Realization, Washington Lawyers Practice Manual

When summer fun becomes a nuisance

As summer in the Pacific Northwest heats up, finally, outdoor fires from grills, barbeques, etc.  becomes a way to enjoy the sun.  While property owns can cook outdoors, everyone needs to keep in mind the Puget Sound Clean Air Regulations and nuisance laws to keep their summer fun from becoming a legal headache.  While burning your hotdogs is unlikely to cause a problem, clean air regulations prohibit any person from causing or allowing outdoor burning that causes an emission of smoke or any other air contaminant that is detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of any person, that causes damage to property or business, or that causes a nuisance.

A nuisance is anything injurious to health or indecent or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to essentially interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of the life and property.  Emitting large quantities of noxious smoke in considered a nuisance in Washington and can subject the person violating the regulations to legal action from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and lawsuits from their neighbors.

After the weather cools down again, remember, it is illegal to burn anything other than manufactured logs or dry wood in an indoor fireplace.  You can, however, burn small amounts of paper to get the fire going.  It is always illegal to burn garbage in an indoor or outdoor fire.  In addition, a chimney producing too much smoke can be subject to an enforcement action if it exceeds 20 percent opacity for six consecutive minutes.  To see what this looks like please see http://www.pscleanair.org/actions/woodstoves/opacity.aspx.

Have a safe an enjoyable summer and remember to be a good neighbor and environmental steward by keeping an eye on your fires.

Tacoma requires sewer line inspections before home sale, or major remodel…but why (or more to the point, why now)?

This article outlines an interesting requirement that the Tacoma city council passed that will take place in October of this year. In short, before any home can be sold or undergo significant remodeling, their must be an inspection of the sewer lines.

The reason is outlined in this article from last week, and basically states that older private sewer systems are allowing rainwater to get into their lines (probably due to degradation). As a result, the public sewer treatment systems get overloaded and can cause raw or almost-raw sewage to seep into the streets and sometimes directly into commencement bay.

The natural consequence of this requirement is that that home sales will suffer. Obviously, this is because in the current market buyers have most of the leverage. If a seller finds there is a problem in the sewer line, he may have to repair it (likely a very costly endeavor), or may have to reduce the price on the home significantly. Worst of all, the seller may simply lose the sale altogether.

The real question is why now? Does the City of data that shows this is an urgent need? While we are all sensitive to environmental concerns, I would hope that the government is trying to also be sensitive to their constituency. Given the current housing climate, significant requirements placed on home sales ought to be reserved until more robust times.

Loan modifications for a second mortgage: what are my options?

Often times, people who have second mortgages believe they are essentially shut out from the loan modification option.  This may not be true.  The government has a program which may assist those who wish to modify their current loan, but who also have a second mortgage.  This article discusses the options in general detail.

BSpencerhomeFor even more information, look at the government’s website here.

Walking away from a home, may cost you more than you think

According to this article, published on AOL’s real estate section, if a homeowner simply “walks away” from a mortgage, Fannie Mae is raising the stakes.  Here is a short quote from the article:

Here’s the breakdown for eligibility depending on how you got out of your last mortgage:
Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure> — reduced from four years to two years if you can put down 20 percent on your house, four years if you can only put down 10 percent.

Preforeclosure Sale — remains at two years if you can put down 20 percent, four years if you can only put down 10%.

Short Sale — will be the same as pre-foreclosure sale. Currently there are no set rules for short sale.

Strategic Default (Walk Away) — seven years.

 

Seattle real estate prices jump, but market still soft

The month of May showed a mixed bag of real estate sales statistics for the Seattle area, with an increase in pricing, but softening of inventory.  Apparently, the small bounce in pricing is related directly to the impact of the tax credited offered by the federal government.  Now that it has expired (or is expiring as the last sales close), it will be interesting to see the impact.

Here is the full story.

How do I know whether my deed to property is superior to other, conflicting deeds?

One of the most depressing things to experience as a property owner, is the realization that your rights to property are junior to a third party’s.

In a few recent cases involving condominium parking, parties were locked into a dispute regarding who had rights to particular parking spaces. To a casual observer, this may not see like a big deal, but to a condo-owner, parking spaces are vital to any future rental opportunities. (Who wants to live in an apartment where you have no parking space?)

When developers complete condo construction projects, they usually draft and record covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) that govern the units overall. Contained within these document are usually tables that outline specific parking assignments. However, often times the developers also reserve the right to change those parking assignments to meet the specific needs or wants of prospective property owners. This allows for not only a degree of flexibility in establishing the parking, but it offers a way for the developer to sweeten the sale of a particular condo by offering specific (usually more convenient) parking spaces. Once those units are sold, however, and a valid statutory warranty deed is transferred to the buyer of the property, those parking spaces become part of the ownership of that particular condo. Therefore, any subsequent purchasers of the property cannot claim rights to those parking spaces, regardless of what is contained in the CC&Rs.

In general, the way that you determine whether your title has superiority to another is twofold. First, if your title was recorded before the other title was recorded, then you have priority. Second, the transfer of the property MUST be valid! In other words, even if you record your deed to the property, the property you receive must have been transferred to you from someone who has the actual ownership rights to do so.