The Tax Court recently decided that taxpayers may not deduct interest payments from their federal taxes related to a mortgage or deed of trust on their principal residence that was never recorded in the county records. Defrancis v. C.I.R., T.C. Summ. Op.…
Read MoreA condominium is a way of organizing ownership in real property. Condominiums are used when portions of a larger piece of real property may be portioned into smaller “units,” and then the owners of such units share in the use…
Read MoreEstoppel certificates are documents that establish facts that the signing party then cannot contradict. Estoppel certificates are very common when dealing with commercial property. In the commercial property context, estoppel certificates are relatively simple documents that request a tenant to provide/verify…
Read MoreSellers of undeveloped land selling to buyers who plan on developing the land often want the buyer’s development work if the buyer does not follow through with the deal. In Mangat v. Snohomish County, No. 67712-8, (Div. 1, Aug. 26, 2013),…
Read MoreIn Bavand v. OneWest Bank, F.S.B., the original deed of trust named IndyMac Bank, F.S.B. as the “Lender” and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (“MERS”) as “the beneficiary” and “as a nominee for the Lender and Lender’s successors and assigns.”…
Read MoreThe use of unpaid internships to provide “real world” work experience has grown tremendously in recent years. For example, a recent study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that 55 percent of students in the class of…
Read MoreWashington law generally permits deeds of trust to be foreclosed upon by non-judicial trustee’s sale. This provides secured creditors with a faster and generally less expensive alternative to judicial foreclosure. Washington law affords debtors additional protections where a creditor elects…
Read MoreEntrepreneurs developing new and original commercial products commonly ask whether it is necessary to register a copyright in order to protect their intellectual property. While technically a registered copyright is not necessary to claim a degree of protection, registering a…
Read MoreWashington has adopted minor changes to RCW 62A-9A (Washington’s version of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC Article 9) regarding secured transactions) through Substitute House Bill 1115. The changes I point out here deal with the debtor’s name and additional information as…
Read MoreThe City of Seattle’s relatively recent Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance (Seattle Municipal Code (“SMC”) 22.214) requires most landlords that provide rental housing to be registered with the City of Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development between 2014 and 2016,…
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