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On May 12, 2021, Governor Inslee signed SB 5225, streamlining the process for taking administrative and land use appeals directly to the Washington Court of Appeals. This change in the law, which goes into effect June 13, 2021, will improve landowner, developer, applicant, and opponent access to swift, efficient appellate review. This should make the…
Buying real estate for ongoing passive income can be a great long-term investment option. Buyers and sellers of real estate may assume that a real estate lawyer is only needed when there is a dispute between property owners or buyers and sellers. However, hiring a real estate attorney early on in the process of buying…
Happy New Year to all from HLG! As we start into a new year and new decade, we want to advise you as to an increase in real estate excise tax (REET) paid upon closing real estate transactions. For larger transactions this increase is substantial. Clark County Treasurer, Alisha Topper, has provided us the following…
By: Maren Calvert As the year ends and homeowners’ associations and condo associations work to pass their budgets for the next year, please note: Under recent legislation, associations are required to give residential owners the opportunity to reject every proposed budget. A failure to provide this opportunity to will mean the budget is VOID. The…
Zoning Attorneys Zoning law is one of the more complex and fascinating — not to mention ever-changing — areas of law practice. The authority to adopt, approve and/or change zoning laws is a significant governmental power. That means zoning attorneys are right in the thick of the action when it comes to working with clients to…
The Columbia River Economic Development Council (CREDC) recently published an “Employment Lands Study” white paper, summarizing the most sophisticated and detailed study to date addressing the challenges associated with ensuring a sufficient long-term supply of land available for jobs in our community. You can read the white paper here. This two-part project involved a study…
We’re particularly excited about relaunching this blog as it coincides with our updated website. In our Blog, we’ll share with you information about what we love to talk about most: Business, Real Estate, Land-Use, Government Relations and our Southwest Washington community. This Blog is for you if: You are a business owner, own, develop, lease…
What we previously referred to as an ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey was, as of February 23, 2016, changed to an “ALTA/NSPS Land Survey”. In 2012, the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (“ACSM”) merged into the National Society of Professional Surveyors (“NSPS) and, in early 2016, the NSPS published revisions to survey standards. As a…
We recently encountered several situations involving the proposed sale of a residential property located in a subdivision where neither the parties nor their respective brokers had included a legal description of the property in the Real Estate Purchase and Sale Agreement. One of the parties asked whether they could terminate that Agreement. We concluded they had…
The economy is improving in Southwest Washington. And this is creating opportunities to create jobs through new real estate development. Many of the issues that impacted development both positively and negatively prior to the recession remain. This article will address some of the key factors that will help and hinder job creation through real estate…
