H-778                _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1892

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Representatives Nutley and Winsley

Read first time 2/10/89 and referred to Committee on Housing.

AN ACT Relating to real estate contracts on the sale of residences; adding a new chapter to Title 61 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     All real estate contracts, as defined in RCW 61.30.010, for the sale of one to four-unit, single-family residences or dwellings shall contain the following disclosure displayed conspicuously on the face of the real estate contract:  "Under this contract, the seller retains title to the property until the last payment required under this contract is made by the purchaser.  If this contract is not recorded, there will be no public notice or record of the purchase of the real property by the purchaser under this contract; public records will show that the seller has title and the purchaser's interest will not be publicly recorded or known.  The seller will not have title to the property being sold under this contract if the seller is purchasing the real property under a real estate contract similar to this contract, and there could be several existing real estate contracts on this real property.  The purchaser may want to protect his or her interest under this contract by requiring that his or her payments be made to an escrow agent who holds the necessary documents to give the purchaser clear title to the real property being purchased under this contract."

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     If the disclosure required under section 1 of this act is not provided by the seller, the purchaser may rescind the contract in writing within thirty days of the purchaser discovering that the seller violated section 1 of this act.  If the purchaser rescinds the real estate contract, the seller shall refund all moneys paid to the seller by the purchaser under the contract.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     This act shall apply to all real estate contracts entered into on or after January 1, 1990.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 61 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.     If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.