[WSBAPT] condo question

Tue Feb 3 17:54:55 PST 2015

I'm sorry to be a contrarian, but I believe the abbreviated legal
description is required regardless of whether the full legal is on the
first page or not.  RCW 65.04.045(1)(f) requires that the deed include on
the first page: "An abbreviated legal description of the property, and for
purposes of this subsection, “abbreviated legal description of the
property” means lot, block, plat, or section, township, range, and
quarter/quarter section, and reference to the document page number where
the full legal description is included, if applicable;"

In my experience, the abbreviated legal for a condo unit would be "Unit X
of ABC Condominium." At least the Spokane and Franklin County recorders
have been happy with that format.

The full legal should be something like: "Unit X of ABC Condominium,
according to Condominium Survey Map and Plans, ___________ County Auditor’s
File No. _____________, and according to that Condominium Declaration
recorded under ___________ County Auditor’s File No. ____________, both
recorded on Month Day, Year, ___________ County, State of Washington."

The mention of percentage interests in the common elements or of assigned
limited common elements are optional for Condominium Act condo units (post
7/1/90) and required, together with a statement of the intended use of the
unit, for Horizontal Property Regimes Act units, per RCW 64.32.120.

As others have stated, I am confused by the need to add the unit number to
the legal description. I wonder if there wasn't a scrivener's error in the
original deed?

Spencer A. W. Stromberg
Sullivan Stromberg, PLLC
827 W. 1st Avenue, Suite 425
Spokane, WA 99201-3914
P: 509.413.1004 ext. 101
D: 509.828.4644
F: 509.413.1078
E: spencers at sullivanstromberg.com

www.sullivanstromberg.com

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email and any attachments are confidential and
may be protected by legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient,
be aware that any disclosure, copying or distribution, or use of this email
or any attachment is prohibited. If you have received this email in error,
please notify me and delete it from your system.

On Tue, Feb 3, 2015 at 4:21 PM, Eric Nelsen <Eric at sayrelawoffices.com>
wrote:

>  Abbreviated legal isn't required to make the deed effective but the
> County Recorder might refuse to record, if the full legal isn't on page one
> of the deed. First page either needs the full legal, or an abbreviated
> legal with a reference to the page with the full legal.
>
>
>
> I am a little concerned that the "full legal" from a prior deed didn't
> include the unit number already. That makes me wonder what is going on
> there. A condo legal description also typically mentions percentage
> interest in common elements and might also mention a separate parking space
> and/or storage unit. Obviously I can't tell from this vantage point.
>
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
>
> Eric
>
>
>
> Eric C. Nelsen
>
> SAYRE LAW OFFICES, PLLC
>
> 1320 University St
>
> Seattle WA  98101-2837
>
> phone 206-625-0092
>
> fax 206-625-9040
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* wsbapt-owner at lists.wsbarppt.com [mailto:
> wsbapt-owner at lists.wsbarppt.com] *On Behalf Of *Martin Silver
> *Sent:* Tuesday, February 03, 2015 4:05 PM
> *To:* WSBA RPPT Probate & Trust Discussion Forum
> *Subject:* [WSBAPT] condo question
>
>
>
> Folks,
>
>
>
>     I was asked a reet question by a family where father wants to
> quitclaim his share of a condo to his son.  I answered the question but I
> think they wanted to do their own deed and I did not want to take on the
> work for a few dollars.  I gave him a form of qcd and based on my perusal
> of the deed that had granted title to the two of them I told them to use
> the same legal, which differed from all I could l see in inserting the unit
> number “unit 415” at the front of the full legal.  The deed was a pretty
> thing with a caption and in the caption it also suggested an abbreviation
> for the legal, which seemed to me inessential to validity.  Anyone heartily
> disagree and I will let them know that perhaps they should consult a real
> lawyer.
>
>
>
> MARTIN SILVER, LLM TAXATION, NYU
> ATTORNEY AT LAW
>
> 1420 - Fifth Avenue, Suite 3000
> Seattle, Washington 98101
>
> Tel: (206) 224-3461
> Fax: (206) 224-3459
>
> Web: http://silvertaxlaw.com
>
> CIRCULAR 230 DISCLOSURE: To comply with Treasury Department regulations,
> we inform you that, unless otherwise expressly indicated, any tax advice
> contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended
> or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding
> penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code or any other
> applicable tax law, or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another
> party any transaction, arrangement, or other matter
>
> THIS MESSAGE MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL OR PRIVILEGED INFORMATION. IF YOU
> ARE NOT THE INTENDED RECIPIENT PLEASE IMMEDIATELY ADVISE THE SENDER BY
> REPLY EMAIL AND DELETE THE MESSAGE. THANK. YOU.
>
> =======================
>
> - To contact the list administrator, send a message to:
> webmaster at wsbarppt.com
>
> - To unsubscribe, send a new email addressed to: imail at lists.wsbarppt.com,
> with the following in the body of the message: unsubscribe wsbapt - OR -
> send a message to webmaster at wsbarppt.com asking that you be removed from
> the wsbapt list.
>
> Information provided on this list should not be considered legal advice.
> As with all lists - let the reader beware! No warranties or representations
> are made as to the accuracy of any information provided. All opinions and
> comments in this message represent the views of the author and do not
> necessarily have the endorsement of the Washington State Bar Association
> nor its officers or agents.
>
> _______________________________________________
> WSBAPT mailing list
> WSBAPT at lists.wsbarppt.com
> http://mailman.fsr.com/mailman/listinfo/wsbapt
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbapt/attachments/20150203/a719fd9a/attachment.html>