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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Mates,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>I have a client purchasing a single family home and an old deed showed up on title with a restriction against “carrying on a trade or business” on the property or else the property “immediately reverts to the grantors” who are long since dead. I’ve been to the property and there is nothing there to suggest it’s been used for anything but a typical residence since the house was built in the 90s and the current owners have owned for more than 10 years. However, they have registered two LLCs to using this property’s address. When asked they said they have never operated a business on the property and that the LLCs are holding companies they own for two completely unrelated multifamily properties run by an outside property manager. On the advice of their real estate agent, they signed and notarized a written statement to that effect. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The sellers will be conveying by warranty deed and the title company is excepting the old deed from title policy. Whether the old deed was sufficient to create a defeasible fee is debatable but assuming that it was, what more, if anything, should I do to look out for the buyers’ interest? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Marc Holmes<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Holmes Law Group PLLC<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>808 5th Ave N<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Seattle WA 98109<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><a href="http://holmeslawgroup.com/"><span style='color:blue'>HolmesLawGroup.com</span></a><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><a href="mailto:marc@holmeslawgroup.com"><span style='color:blue'>marc@holmeslawgroup.com</span></a><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Ofc: 206-357-4224<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Cell: 206-849-0853<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>