We are all familiar with franchises to some degree or another. If you don’t think you are familiar, just drive down a main street in any town, and you will surely encounter a franchised business at some point. Because franchises…
Read MoreWhen tenants rent space in a multi-unit commercial complex, they often demand protection from competition within their real property leases through noncompete provisions. The risk is that the landlord will lease another unit within the same commercial complex to a…
Read MoreThe 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 MoreThere has long been doubt and ambiguity in Washington about whether consideration must be recited in a deed gifting real property, but a Washington Court of Appeals has recently dispelled the confusion. The requirements for transferring real property vary from…
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,…
Read MoreA Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is a corporation, trust, or association that combines the capital of investors to own and many times operate income-producing real estate (e.g., apartments). Generally, to be considered a REIT, the REIT must pay at least…
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