[WSBARP] Deed/Survey Legal Description Issue - Title

[Nicole Potebnya]

Dear Real Property Title Gurus:


I am working on the last round of a Purchase and Sale Agreement for
commercial real estate due tomorrow.  I represent the Seller.



Deed to be Bargain & Sale.



*GENERAL PROBLEM*:  Last Vesting Deed legal description (from early 2000's)
and current Survey (from August 2021) legal description do not match.
Purchaser insists that legal description in Survey be used in the Bargain &
Sale Deed, and Purchaser has elected to get a "Survey Endorsement" to
Purchaser's title policy.

*DETAILS*:  The difference between the Last Vesting Deed and the current
Survey legal descriptions appears to be a typo ("seconds" errantly shows 3
digits in vesting deed and correctly shows 2 digits in survey).  This typo
also appears in the vesting deed just prior to the current vesting deed.
After reviewing chain of title, for decades past, there also looks to be
other typos throughout earlier vesting deeds (different than here).

*OPTIONS*: The options I have collected (thank you, John!) to present to
Seller for Seller to decide upon for next steps include:



(1) go back through the entire chain of title and cause correction deeds to
be issued (not realistic, here), or



(2) cause correction deed to be issued for last vesting deed, only, and
proceed with using the survey legal description in the deed for the current
transaction, or



(3) do nothing in terms of correction deeds and simply proceed with using
the survey legal description in the deed for the current transaction.

Title Company that prepared last 2 vesting deeds (with same typo) says that
they always go with Option 3 when these kinds of things happen, but then
stated that standard title policies expressly terminate upon transfer of
title (so if there is no longer title insurance for those former property
owners/sellers who signed those prior "typo" deeds that title company
prepared, I am not sure where that leaves those former property
owners/sellers if a legal description issue arises somewhere down the
road?).

*MY QUESTIONS*:

(A) Any other options?

(B) What real exposure does Seller have if it chooses Option (2) above?

(C) What real exposure does Seller have if it chooses Option (3) above?

I want to make sure options/risks are clear to Seller, so Seller makes an
informed decision on this issue.  Any thoughts you have on the above would
be most appreciated, please.

All My Best,
Nicole



Nicole M. Potebnya

*Attorney at Law*

direct: 360-507-8924



P.O. BOX 6550

OLYMPIA, WA 98507

(360) 507-8920
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