READ FIRST TIME 02/13/07.   

     AN ACT Relating to deeds of trust; and amending RCW 61.24.010, 61.24.030, 61.24.040, 61.24.045, 61.24.130, and 61.24.135.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 61.24.010 and 1998 c 295 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The trustee of a deed of trust under this chapter shall be:
     (a) Any domestic corporation incorporated under Title 23B, 30, 31, 32, or 33 RCW of which at least one officer is a Washington resident; or
     (b) Any title insurance company authorized to insure title to real property under the laws of this state, or its agents; or
     (c) Any attorney who is an active member of the Washington state bar association at the time the attorney is named trustee; or
     (d) Any professional corporation incorporated under chapter 18.100 RCW, any professional limited liability company formed under chapter 25.15 RCW, any general partnership, including limited liability partnerships, formed under chapter 25.04 RCW, all of whose shareholders, members, or partners, respectively, are either licensed attorneys or entities, provided all of the owners of those entities are licensed attorneys, or any domestic corporation wholly owned by any of the entities under this subsection (1)(d); or
     (e) Any agency or instrumentality of the United States government; or
     (f) Any national bank, savings bank, or savings and loan association chartered under the laws of the United States.
     (2) The trustee may resign at its own election or be replaced by the beneficiary. The trustee shall give prompt written notice of its resignation to the beneficiary. The resignation of the trustee shall become effective upon the recording of the notice of resignation in each county in which the deed of trust is recorded. If a trustee is not appointed in the deed of trust, or upon the resignation, incapacity, disability, absence, or death of the trustee, or the election of the beneficiary to replace the trustee, the beneficiary shall appoint a trustee or a successor trustee. Upon recording the appointment of a successor trustee in each county in which the deed of trust is recorded, the successor trustee shall be vested with all powers of an original trustee.
     (3) The trustee or successor trustee shall have no fiduciary duty or fiduciary obligation to the grantor or other persons having an interest in the property subject to the deed of trust.
     (4) The trustee or successor trustee shall act impartially between the borrower, grantor, and beneficiary.

Sec. 2   RCW 61.24.030 and 1998 c 295 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     It shall be requisite to a trustee's sale:
     (1) That the deed of trust contains a power of sale;
     (2) That the deed of trust contains a statement that the real property conveyed is not used principally for agricultural purposes; provided, if the statement is false on the date the deed of trust was granted or amended to include that statement, and false on the date of the trustee's sale, then the deed of trust must be foreclosed judicially. Real property is used for agricultural purposes if it is used in an operation that produces crops, livestock, or aquatic goods;
     (3) That a default has occurred in the obligation secured or a covenant of the grantor, which by the terms of the deed of trust makes operative the power to sell;
     (4) That no action commenced by the beneficiary of the deed of trust is now pending to seek satisfaction of an obligation secured by the deed of trust in any court by reason of the grantor's default on the obligation secured: PROVIDED, That (a) the seeking of the appointment of a receiver shall not constitute an action for purposes of this chapter; and (b) if a receiver is appointed, the grantor shall be entitled to any rents or profits derived from property subject to a homestead as defined in RCW 6.13.010. If the deed of trust was granted to secure a commercial loan, this subsection shall not apply to actions brought to enforce any other lien or security interest granted to secure the obligation secured by the deed of trust being foreclosed;
     (5) That the deed of trust has been recorded in each county in which the land or some part thereof is situated;
     (6) That prior to the date of the notice of trustee's sale and continuing thereafter through the date of the trustee's sale, the trustee must ((have)) maintain a street address in this state where personal service of process may be made, and the trustee must maintain a physical presence and have telephone service at such address; and
     (7) That at least thirty days before notice of sale shall be recorded, transmitted or served, written notice of default shall be transmitted by the beneficiary or trustee to the borrower and grantor at their last known addresses by both first class and either registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, and the beneficiary or trustee shall cause to be posted in a conspicuous place on the premises, a copy of the notice, or personally served on the borrower and grantor. This notice shall contain the following information:
     (a) A description of the property which is then subject to the deed of trust;
     (b) Each county in which the deed of trust is recorded and the document number given to the deed of trust upon recording by each county auditor or recording officer;
     (c) That the beneficiary has declared the borrower or grantor to be in default, and a concise statement of the default alleged;
     (d) An itemized account of the amount or amounts in arrears if the default alleged is failure to make payments;
     (e) An itemized account of all other specific charges, costs, or fees that the borrower, grantor, or any guarantor is or may be obliged to pay to reinstate the deed of trust before the recording of the notice of sale;
     (f) The total of (d) and (e) of this subsection, designated clearly and conspicuously as the amount necessary to reinstate the note and deed of trust before the recording of the notice of sale;
     (g) That failure to cure the alleged default within thirty days of the date of mailing of the notice, or if personally served, within thirty days of the date of personal service thereof, may lead to recordation, transmittal, and publication of a notice of sale, and that the property described in (a) of this subsection may be sold at public auction at a date no less than one hundred twenty days in the future;
     (h) That the effect of the recordation, transmittal, and publication of a notice of sale will be to (i) increase the costs and fees and (ii) publicize the default and advertise the grantor's property for sale;
     (i) That the effect of the sale of the grantor's property by the trustee will be to deprive the grantor of all their interest in the property described in (a) of this subsection; and
     (j) That the borrower, grantor, and any guarantor has recourse to the courts pursuant to RCW 61.24.130 to contest the alleged default on any proper ground.

Sec. 3   RCW 61.24.040 and 1998 c 295 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     A deed of trust foreclosed under this chapter shall be foreclosed as follows:
     (1) At least ninety days before the sale, the trustee shall:
     (a) Record a notice in the form described in RCW 61.24.040(1)(f) in the office of the auditor in each county in which the deed of trust is recorded;
     (b) To the extent the trustee elects to foreclose its lien or interest, or the beneficiary elects to preserve its right to seek a deficiency judgment against a borrower or grantor under RCW 61.24.100(3)(a), and if their addresses are stated in a recorded instrument evidencing their interest, lien, or claim of lien, or an amendment thereto, or are otherwise known to the trustee, cause a copy of the notice of sale described in RCW 61.24.040(1)(f) to be transmitted by both first class and either certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, to the following persons or their legal representatives, if any, at such address:
     (i) The borrower and grantor;
     (ii) The beneficiary of any deed of trust or mortgagee of any mortgage, or any person who has a lien or claim of lien against the property, that was recorded subsequent to the recordation of the deed of trust being foreclosed and before the recordation of the notice of sale;
     (iii) The vendee in any real estate contract, the lessee in any lease, or the holder of any conveyances of any interest or estate in any portion or all of the property described in such notice, if that contract, lease, or conveyance of such interest or estate, or a memorandum or other notice thereof, was recorded after the recordation of the deed of trust being foreclosed and before the recordation of the notice of sale;
     (iv) The last holder of record of any other lien against or interest in the property that is subject to a subordination to the deed of trust being foreclosed that was recorded before the recordation of the notice of sale;
     (v) The last holder of record of the lien of any judgment subordinate to the deed of trust being foreclosed; and
     (vi) The occupants of property consisting solely of a single-family residence, or a condominium, cooperative, or other dwelling unit in a multiplex or other building containing fewer than five residential units, whether or not the occupant's rental agreement is recorded, which notice may be a single notice addressed to "occupants" for each unit known to the trustee or beneficiary;
     (c) Cause a copy of the notice of sale described in RCW 61.24.040(1)(f) to be transmitted by both first class and either certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, to the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney of record, in any court action to foreclose a lien or other encumbrance on all or any part of the property, provided a court action is pending and a lis pendens in connection therewith is recorded in the office of the auditor of any county in which all or part of the property is located on the date the notice is recorded;
     (d) Cause a copy of the notice of sale described in RCW 61.24.040(1)(f) to be transmitted by both first class and either certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, to any person who has recorded a request for notice in accordance with RCW 61.24.045, at the address specified in such person's most recently recorded request for notice;
     (e) Cause a copy of the notice of sale described in RCW 61.24.040(1)(f) to be posted in a conspicuous place on the property, or in lieu of posting, cause a copy of said notice to be served upon any occupant of the property;
     (f) The notice shall be in substantially the following form:

[If any personal property is to be included in the trustee's sale, include a description that reasonably identifies such personal property]

[If there is another action pending to foreclose other security for all or part of the same debt, qualify the statement and identify the action.]

[If default is for other than payment of money, set forth the particulars]

Sec. 4   RCW 61.24.045 and 1985 c 193 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     Any person desiring a copy of any notice of sale described in RCW 61.24.040(1)(f) under any deed of trust, other than a person entitled to receive such a notice under RCW 61.24.040(1) (b) or (c), must, after the recordation of such deed of trust and before the recordation of the notice of sale, cause to be filed for record, in the office of the auditor of any county in which the deed of trust is recorded, a duly acknowledged request for a copy of any notice of sale. The request shall be signed and acknowledged by the person to be notified or such person's agent, attorney, or representative; shall set forth the name, mailing address, and telephone number, if any, of the person or persons to be notified; shall identify the deed of trust by stating the names of the parties thereto, the date the deed of trust was recorded, the legal description of the property encumbered by the deed of trust, and the auditor's file number under which the deed of trust is recorded; and shall be in substantially the following form:

Sec. 5   RCW 61.24.130 and 1998 c 295 s 14 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Nothing contained in this chapter shall prejudice the right of the borrower, grantor, any guarantor, or any person who has an interest in, lien, or claim of lien against the property or some part thereof, to restrain, on any proper legal or equitable ground, a trustee's sale. The court shall require as a condition of granting the restraining order or injunction that the applicant pay to the clerk of the court the sums that would be due on the obligation secured by the deed of trust if the deed of trust was not being foreclosed:
     (a) In the case of default in making the periodic payment of principal, interest, and reserves, such sums shall be the periodic payment of principal, interest, and reserves paid to the clerk of the court every thirty days.
     (b) In the case of default in making payment of an obligation then fully payable by its terms, such sums shall be the amount of interest accruing monthly on said obligation at the nondefault rate, paid to the clerk of the court every thirty days.
     In the case of default in performance of any nonmonetary obligation secured by the deed of trust, the court shall impose such conditions as it deems just.
     In addition, the court may condition granting the restraining order or injunction upon the giving of security by the applicant, in such form and amount as the court deems proper, for the payment of such costs and damages, including attorneys' fees, as may be later found by the court to have been incurred or suffered by any party by reason of the restraining order or injunction. The court may consider, upon proper showing, the grantor's equity in the property in determining the amount of said security.
     (2) No court may grant a restraining order or injunction to restrain a trustee's sale unless the person seeking the restraint gives five days notice to the trustee of the time when, place where, and the judge before whom the application for the restraining order or injunction is to be made. This notice shall include copies of all pleadings and related documents to be given to the judge. No judge may act upon such application unless it is accompanied by proof, evidenced by return of a sheriff, the sheriff's deputy, or by any person eighteen years of age or over who is competent to be a witness, that the notice has been served on the trustee.
     (3) If the restraining order or injunction is dissolved after the date of the trustee's sale set forth in the notice as provided in RCW 61.24.040(1)(f), the court granting such restraining order or injunction, or before whom the order or injunction is returnable, shall, at the request of the trustee, set a new sale date which shall be not less than forty-five days from the date of the order dissolving the restraining order. The trustee shall:
     (a) Comply with the requirements of RCW 61.24.040(1) (a) through (f) at least thirty days before the new sale date; and
     (b) Cause a copy of the notice of trustee's sale as provided in RCW 61.24.040(1)(f) to be published in a legal newspaper in each county in which the property or any part thereof is situated once between the thirty-fifth and twenty-eighth day before the sale and once between the fourteenth and seventh day before the sale.
     (4) If a trustee's sale has been stayed as a result of the filing of a petition in federal bankruptcy court and an order is entered in federal bankruptcy court granting relief from the stay or closing or dismissing the case, or discharging the debtor with the effect of removing the stay, the trustee may set a new sale date which shall not be less than forty-five days after the date of the bankruptcy court's order. The trustee shall:
     (a) Comply with the requirements of RCW 61.24.040(1) (a) through (f) at least thirty days before the new sale date; and
     (b) Cause a copy of the notice of trustee's sale as provided in RCW 61.24.040(1)(f) to be published in a legal newspaper in each county in which the property or any part thereof is situated, once between the thirty-fifth and twenty-eighth day before the sale and once between the fourteenth and seventh day before the sale.
     (5) Subsections (3) and (4) of this section are permissive only and do not prohibit the trustee from proceeding with a trustee's sale following termination of any injunction or stay on any date to which such sale has been properly continued in accordance with RCW 61.24.040(6).
     (6) The issuance of a restraining order or injunction shall not prohibit the trustee from continuing the sale as provided in RCW 61.24.040(6).

Sec. 6   RCW 61.24.135 and 1998 c 295 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:
     It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW, for any person, acting alone or in concert with others, to offer, or offer to accept or accept from another, any consideration of any type not to bid, or to reduce a bid, at a sale of property conducted pursuant to a power of sale in a deed of trust. The trustee may decline to complete a sale or deliver the trustee's deed and refund the purchase price, if it appears that the bidding has been collusive or defective, or that the sale might have been void. However, it is not an unfair or deceptive act or practice for any person, including a trustee, to state that a property subject to a recorded notice of trustee's sale or subject to a sale conducted pursuant to this chapter is being sold in an "as-is" condition, or for the beneficiary to arrange to provide financing for a particular bidder or to reach any good faith agreement with the borrower, grantor, any guarantor, or any junior lienholder.