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Washington

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Washington — Contract for Deed / Real Estate Contract

Legal information, not legal advice. Verify against the cited primary sources before acting. Statutes in this area are frequently amended. Last verified: 2026-06-08.

Washington is the leading “real estate contract” jurisdiction, and its remedy regime is hybrid. On default the seller may either (1) forfeit the contract non-judicially under the comprehensive statutory procedure of RCW ch. 61.30 — recording a notice of intent to forfeit and giving the purchaser a 90-day cure period — or (2) at the seller’s option foreclose the contract as a mortgage under RCW ch. 61.12 (RCW 61.30.020). Forfeiture is not strict and self-executing: it must run through the statutory notice-and-cure machinery, and a court may, where the property’s fair market value substantially exceeds the balance owed, order a public sale in lieu of forfeiture to protect the purchaser’s equity (RCW 61.30.120) — Washington’s statutory analogue to the Skendzel substantial-equity rule. The vendee holds a recognized equitable interest in the land (cascade-security-bank-v-butler-1977).

0. Identity & Terminology

  • In-state name(s): “real estate contract” is the dominant statutory and practice term (Title 61, ch. 61.30; the recording, excise-tax, and homestead statutes all speak of a “real estate contract”). “Installment land contract,” “contract for deed,” and “land contract” are used colloquially and in academic writing for the same instrument. The buyer is the vendee/purchaser; the seller is the vendor/seller. — RCW ch. 61.30, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30
  • Recognition: Statutory and common law. Forfeiture is codified at RCW ch. 61.30 (1985, am. 1988); the vendee’s equitable interest is common-law (equitable conversion), confirmed in cascade-security-bank-v-butler-1977.
  • Statutory home: RCW ch. 61.30 (Real Estate Contract Forfeitures), esp. § 61.30.020 (forfeiture or foreclosure; other remedies not limited), § 61.30.030 (conditions to forfeiture), § 61.30.050 (notice form/service), § 61.30.070 (notice of intent to forfeit — contents; 90-day cure), § 61.30.090 (acceleration; cure), § 61.30.100 (effect of forfeiture), § 61.30.110 (forfeiture restrained/enjoined), § 61.30.120 (sale in lieu of forfeiture). Mortgage-style foreclosure is RCW ch. 61.12; recording is RCW 65.08.070; excise tax is RCW ch. 82.45; homestead is RCW ch. 6.13. — https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30&full=true
  • Remedy regime: hybrid. RCW 61.30.020 expressly gives the seller a choice between statutory forfeiture (ch. 61.30) and foreclosure as a mortgage (ch. 61.12), and the two are not mutually exclusive elections — commencing one does not bar the other for the same or a different breach (RCW 61.30.020(2)). Statutory forfeiture carries a 90-day cure (§ 61.30.070) and a court-ordered substantial-equity sale option (§ 61.30.120). — https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.020

1. Formation & Mandatory Disclosures

  • Statute of frauds: A contract for the sale of land must be in writing and signed. Washington’s conveyancing statute requires real-property conveyances and contracts to be in writing and acknowledged to be recordable; the general statute of frauds, RCW 19.36.010, and RCW 64.04.010 (deeds/conveyances in writing) govern. — RCW 64.04.010, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=64.04.010
  • Mandatory disclosures: Washington has no CFD-specific disclosure schedule (unlike Texas §§ 5.069–5.070 or Minnesota ch. 559A). Instead, the general residential seller-disclosure act, RCW ch. 64.06, applies — and it expressly reaches installment sales: “The transfer of a vendee’s interest under a real estate contract is subject to the requirements of this chapter” (RCW 64.06.010). The seller must deliver the statutory “Form 17” real property transfer disclosure statement (improved residential: RCW 64.06.020; unimproved: RCW 64.06.015). — RCW 64.06.010, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=64.06.010
    • Penalty for omission: The buyer’s statutory remedy is rescission, not damages on the form. After receiving the disclosure statement the buyer has three business days to rescind the purchase agreement (RCW 64.06.030); if the seller never delivers it, the buyer’s right to rescind continues until the earlier of three business days after receipt of the disclosure statement or the date the transfer has closed (RCW 64.06.040). The disclosure statement itself is “for disclosure only” and is not part of the contract (RCW 64.06.020). Misrepresentation outside the form may still support common-law fraud/Consumer Protection Act (ch. 19.86) claims. — RCW 64.06.030/.040, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=64.06.040
  • Recording requirement: No statutory deadline to record, but recording is a precondition to forfeiture: RCW 61.30.030(1) bars forfeiture unless “the contract being forfeited, or a memorandum thereof, is recorded in each county in which any of the property is located.” Recording also protects priority — Washington is a race-notice state, and an unrecorded conveyance is “void as against any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee in good faith and for valuable consideration … whose conveyance is first duly recorded” (RCW 65.08.070). In practice the seller records to preserve the forfeiture remedy; the buyer records (the contract or a memorandum) to protect priority. — RCW 61.30.030, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.030; RCW 65.08.070, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=65.08.070
  • Annual accounting statement: No general statutory annual-accounting mandate for real estate contracts. (Cure figures are instead disclosed transactionally: the notice of intent to forfeit must itemize/estimate all sums required to cure — RCW 61.30.070.) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.070
  • Prepayment: Washington does not bar prepayment of a real estate contract; terms govern. (No CFD-specific prepayment-penalty prohibition located; see needs_verification.)
  • Usury / interest cap: General usury law is RCW ch. 19.52. The maximum lawful rate is the greater of 12% per year or four percentage points above the 26-week T-bill equivalent coupon-issue yield from the first auction in the month before the agreement (RCW 19.52.020(1)); absent a written rate the default is 12% (RCW 19.52.010). Numerous exemptions apply (notably the broad “regulated transaction”/retail-installment and savings-and-loan carve-outs of RCW 19.52.080). Application of a hard cap to a seller-carry real estate contract is fact-specific (credit sale vs. loan). — RCW 19.52.020, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=19.52.020

2. Buyer’s Equitable Interest

  • Equitable title passes / equitable conversion recognized: Yes. The vendee under a real estate contract holds a present equitable interest in the land that constitutes “real estate,” and the vendor retains legal title as security. Washington reached this rule by overruling the old no-interest fiction of Ashford v. Reese (1925). — cascade-security-bank-v-butler-1977, 88 Wn.2d 777, 567 P.2d 631 (1977), https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1195579/cascade-security-bank-v-butler/; see equitable-conversion.
  • Buyer’s interest recordable: Yes — the contract or a memorandum is recorded under RCW 65.08.070, and recording of the contract/memorandum is a precondition to the seller’s forfeiture remedy (RCW 61.30.030(1)). — https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=65.08.070
  • Buyer’s interest insurable: Yes; vendee’s-interest title coverage and owner’s policies covering the equitable interest are available from Washington title insurers.
  • Risk of loss: Contract-governed; under equitable conversion the equitable owner (vendee in possession) ordinarily bears risk of loss absent a contrary clause — consistent with the ownership incidents catalogued in cascade-security-bank-v-butler-1977.
  • Improvements and waste: The vendee in possession holds the equitable fee and may improve the property; improvements are lost on forfeiture. The seller’s only post-forfeiture money claim is for waste that drove fair market value below the unpaid obligations (RCW 61.30.100(1)(d)). — https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.100

3. Default & Remedies → see forfeiture-vs-foreclosure

  • Primary remedy: Seller’s election between (a) statutory forfeiture under RCW ch. 61.30 (non-judicial; notice + 90-day cure) and (b) foreclosure as a mortgage under RCW ch. 61.12 (judicial sale with the mortgage-foreclosure redemption period). The seller is not put to an election — beginning one does not bar the other (RCW 61.30.020(2)). — https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.020
  • Forfeiture available? Yes — but only through the RCW ch. 61.30 statutory procedure, not by a self-executing contract clause. Conditions (RCW 61.30.030): (1) the contract/memorandum is recorded in each county where the land sits; (2) a breach has occurred and the contract provides that the breach entitles the seller to forfeit; and (3) no arbitration/judicial action on the secured obligation is pending (except a receivership petition). — https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.030
    • Substantial-equity bar: Yes — statutory, via court-ordered sale. RCW 61.30.120 lets any person entitled to cure bring an action for a public sale in lieu of forfeiture; if the court finds the fair market value substantially exceeds the unpaid/unperformed obligations plus senior liens, it may order the property sold, the proceeds applied to the seller’s claim, and the surplus paid to the purchaser. This is Washington’s codified analogue to skendzel-v-marshall-1973 — equity-rich buyers are protected by a sale that captures their equity rather than forfeiting it. A sale under § 61.30.120 satisfies the obligation regardless of price and bars any deficiency (RCW 61.30.120). — https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.120
  • Statutory forfeiture — mechanics (RCW ch. 61.30):
    • Cure period (runs from recording of the notice of intent to forfeit): the notice must state a cure date “not less than ninety days after the notice of intent to forfeit is recorded” (or any longer period the contract specifies). Cure within the period reinstates the contract. — RCW 61.30.070, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.070
    • Runs from: recording of the notice of intent to forfeit (the cure deadline is measured from recording, not from service). — RCW 61.30.070.
    • Notice form prescribed: Yes — RCW 61.30.070 prescribes the required contents (seller/agent identity; contract description with recording number; legal description; each default; the ≥90-day cure-date statement; the effects of forfeiture; an itemized cure amount; and a statement of the purchaser’s right to contest or seek more time in court). The notice of intent to forfeit must be recorded (it sets the cure clock); the declaration of forfeiture is recorded afterward (RCW 61.30.040, .070). — https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.070
    • Service method: as provided in the contract, or by personal service (civil-action manner) or by certified/registered mail return receipt plus regular first-class mail; if the recipient’s identity/address is unknown, by posting on the property and publishing once a week for two weeks. — RCW 61.30.050, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.050
    • Reinstatement right: Yes — timely tender of the cure amount during the period reinstates the contract, and the seller must furnish a written statement that the contract is no longer subject to forfeiture; a partial-cure insufficiency notice extends the cure 10 days. Acceleration cannot be used to inflate the cure amount: “the seller may not require payment of the accelerated payments … as a condition to curing the default … except to the extent the payments … would be due without the acceleration.” — RCW 61.30.090, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.090
  • Judicial foreclosure required when: Never required as the exclusive remedy, but it is the seller’s alternative (RCW 61.30.020), and a buyer with substantial equity can effectively force a judicial sale under RCW 61.30.120. Mortgage foreclosure (RCW ch. 61.12) carries the statutory redemption period that forfeiture lacks. — https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.020
  • Acceleration enforceable? Conditional. An acceleration clause is enforceable to accelerate the debt, but it cannot be leveraged to defeat the statutory cure right — only payments due without acceleration may be required to cure and reinstate (RCW 61.30.090). — https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.090
  • Restitution offset on forfeiture? Not required by statute. On forfeiture the purchaser loses all rights and “all sums previously paid … belong to and [are] retained by the seller” (RCW 61.30.100). The purchaser’s protection against an unconscionable windfall is the § 61.30.120 substantial-equity sale (capturing surplus equity), not a payment refund. — RCW 61.30.100, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.100
  • Seller’s other remedies: specific performance / action for the price, damages, mortgage foreclosure (ch. 61.12), and — RCW 61.30.020 confirms — other contract or statutory remedies are not limited by the forfeiture chapter. After forfeiture, the seller’s record title is restored and the purchaser is removed as a holdover.

▸ For Sellers / Operators — Washington gives you a two-track default remedy, and the choice is consequential. (1) Statutory forfeiture (RCW ch. 61.30) is fast and keeps all payments — but it is procedure-driven: you must have recorded the contract or a memorandum before you forfeit (RCW 61.30.030(1)), you must record a notice of intent to forfeit with the prescribed RCW 61.30.070 contents and serve it correctly (RCW 61.30.050), and you must allow at least 90 days to cure measured from recording the notice; acceleration cannot be used to bloat the cure figure (RCW 61.30.090). (2) Your alternative is foreclosing the contract as a mortgage (RCW ch. 61.12) — and RCW 61.30.020 lets you start one track without forfeiting (waiving) the other. The decisive risk on the forfeiture track is the substantial-equity sale: if the buyer (or a junior party) shows the property’s fair market value substantially exceeds what is owed, a court can order a public sale in lieu of forfeiture and return the surplus equity to the buyer (RCW 61.30.120) — so forfeiting an equity-rich deal can convert into a court sale. Confirm your federal threshold exposure (§ 4), your excise-tax duty on the contract (§ 6), and any wrap/due-on-sale consent issue (§ 5).

▸ For Buyers — Your protections are real but procedural: an unrecorded contract can’t be forfeited against you for priority purposes, but recording the contract/memorandum also protects you against the seller’s later buyers (RCW 65.08.070). On default you get a ≥90-day cure running from recording of the notice (RCW 61.30.070), you can reinstate by paying only the actual arrearage (not the accelerated balance) (RCW 61.30.090), and — your strongest tool — if you have built substantial equity, you can sue under RCW 61.30.120 to force a sale that pays you the surplus instead of forfeiting it. You may also move to restrain or enjoin a defective forfeiture (RCW 61.30.110).

3b. Remedies — Advanced

  • Election of remedies: Does not apply to bar switching. RCW 61.30.020(2) states that commencing a mortgage foreclosure does not bar later forfeiture, and commencing forfeiture does not bar later foreclosure — for the same or a different breach. The seller may not, however, pursue both simultaneously to double-recover. — https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.020
  • Deficiency after forfeiture/foreclosure: No deficiency after statutory forfeiture — the purchaser “shall not be liable to the seller for any portion of the purchase price unpaid” (RCW 61.30.100(1)), the narrow exception being a waste claim where value fell below the balance. A § 61.30.120 public sale likewise bars any deficiency “regardless of the sale price or fair value.” (A ch. 61.12 mortgage foreclosure follows the ordinary mortgage deficiency rules.) — RCW 61.30.100/.120, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.100
  • Anti-forfeiture / equitable relief from forfeiture: A purchaser (or party entitled to cure) may bring an action to restrain or enjoin a forfeiture (RCW 61.30.110) and may seek the substantial-equity sale (RCW 61.30.120); a forfeiture already declared may be challenged by an action to set aside (RCW 61.30.140). The statute thus channels equitable relief into defined statutory actions. — RCW 61.30.110/.120/.140, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.110
  • Ejectment vs. eviction path: Pre-default, the vendee is the equitable owner in rightful possession (cascade-security-bank-v-butler-1977). After a completed forfeiture, the purchaser has “no further rights … and no person shall have any right … to redeem” (RCW 61.30.100), and the seller recovers possession as against a holdover. Because legal title never left the seller, forfeiture (unlike mortgage foreclosure) involves no sale and no redemption.
  • Quiet title after cancellation: Recording the declaration of forfeiture perfects the seller’s record title; the purchaser’s interest is extinguished by the recorded declaration without a separate quiet-title action in the ordinary case. A contested forfeiture may be litigated under RCW 61.30.140 (set-aside) or 61.30.110 (injunction). — https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.100
  • Forfeited payments treatment: Forfeiture of all sums paid is the statutory default (RCW 61.30.100) and is not treated as an unenforceable penalty; the equity-protective backstop is the § 61.30.120 sale, not a penalty-doctrine refund.
  • Intervening seller-lien risk to buyer: The vendor holds record legal title during the contract, so a judgment or lien against the vendor can attach to the vendor’s interest. Conversely, cascade-security-bank-v-butler-1977 holds the vendee’s equitable interest is itself leviable real estate, so the buyer’s own judgment creditors can reach it. Recording the contract/memorandum (RCW 65.08.070) is the buyer’s chief priority defense.

4. Federal Overlay (as applied in-state) → see dodd-frank-seller-financing, safe-act-mlo, garn-st-germain-due-on-sale

  • Dodd-Frank exposure: Federal seller-financing rules apply in Washington with no special state carve-out. A natural-person seller financing one dwelling in 12 months may use the ≤1-property exclusion (no balloon limit, no ATR test); the ≤3-property exclusion (persons/entities, with ATR and no negative amortization) is the next tier — per the “mortgage originator” definition and seller-financer exclusion at 15 U.S.C. § 1602(dd)(2) and 12 C.F.R. § 1026.36(a)(4)–(5) / § 1026.43. — see dodd-frank-seller-financing.
  • SAFE Act MLO licensing: Sellers exceeding the federal seller-financer thresholds may trigger loan-originator licensing. Washington administers SAFE-Act MLO licensing through the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Division of Consumer Services, under the Consumer Loan Act / Mortgage Broker Practices Act framework (RCW ch. 19.146 and Title 31 regulations). — Washington DFI, https://dfi.wa.gov/; see safe-act-mlo and needs_verification (exact Washington S.A.F.E. chapter cite).
  • State consumer-protection overlay / CFPB enforcement notes: Washington has no CFD-specific predatory-sales statute of the Texas/Minnesota type. The generally applicable overlays are the Consumer Protection Act (RCW ch. 19.86) for unfair/deceptive practices and the RCW ch. 64.06 disclosure regime (above). Post-2016 CFPB/state-AG scrutiny of predatory contract-for-deed selling (e.g. Harbour Portfolio) is the national compliance backdrop. — RCW ch. 19.86, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=19.86

5. Title, Recording & Wraps → see garn-st-germain-due-on-sale

  • Memorandum recording: Permitted and effectively required — the contract or a memorandum must be recorded in each county where the land lies as a precondition to forfeiture (RCW 61.30.030(1)), and recording protects the buyer’s priority under the race-notice statute (RCW 65.08.070). — RCW 61.30.030, https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=61.30.030
  • Garn-St. Germain due-on-sale: A real estate contract is a transfer that can trigger a due-on-sale clause in an underlying loan; Garn-St. Germain (12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3) preempts state restrictions and makes due-on-sale clauses generally enforceable, subject to the enumerated residential exemptions (the federal exemptions do not cover a sale on an installment land contract where the borrower parts with occupancy/possession). See garn-st-germain-due-on-sale.
  • Underlying-mortgage / wrap: Wraps (“wrap-around” real estate contracts over an existing mortgage) are permitted in Washington but carry the standard risk: the senior lender may call or foreclose the underlying loan on a due-on-sale trigger even if the buyer pays the seller on time, and a senior foreclosure can wipe the buyer’s junior equitable interest. No Washington statute specifically conditions a wrap on lender consent (contrast Minnesota § 559A.04), so disclosure and escrow of payments are contractual best practice. — see garn-st-germain-due-on-sale.
  • Deed delivery: The seller retains legal title and conveys by deed at payoff (commonly a fulfillment/warranty deed); escrow of the executed deed is a common mechanism. Note the excise tax is generally paid up front on the contract, so the fulfillment deed at payoff is typically exempt as already taxed (see § 6).
  • Marketable title at payoff: The seller must convey marketable title at payoff; the recorded contract plus the fulfillment deed clears the chain.
  • Title insurance: Available to buyers (vendee’s-interest and, at payoff, owner’s policies) through Washington title insurers.
  • Seller death / bankruptcy effect: The vendor’s interest (legal title + payment stream) passes to the estate or bankruptcy estate; the buyer’s recorded equitable interest and right to the deed at payoff survive.

6. Tax Treatment

  • IRC § 453 installment reporting: A real estate contract is an installment sale; a non-dealer seller may report gain under IRC § 453 as principal is collected (dealer-property and other exceptions apply). — 26 U.S.C. § 453, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/453; see irc-453-installment-sale.
  • Property-tax responsibility: Contract-governed; in practice the vendee in possession (equitable owner) pays property tax, and as equitable owner is the party who can claim owner benefits.
  • Homestead exemption for equitable owner: Eligible. Washington’s homestead statute defines “owner” to include “a purchaser under a … real estate contract,” so the vendee’s equitable interest qualifies for the homestead exemption (RCW 6.13.010). — https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=6.13.010
  • Transfer / excise tax: Washington imposes the real estate excise tax (REET, RCW ch. 82.45) on the sale of real property, including a sale by real estate contract, and the tax is due on the date of sale regardless of when the conveyance is recorded (WAC 458-61A-306) — i.e., REET is paid up front on the real estate contract, not deferred to the fulfillment deed at payoff. The later fulfillment deed is then generally exempt as a completion of an already-taxed sale. The graduated state REET rate runs from 1.1% up to 3.0% by price tier (RCW 82.45.060), plus local REET. — RCW 82.45.060; WAC 458-61A-306, https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=458-61A-306
  • Mortgage registration tax: None — Washington imposes no mortgage recording/registration tax on a real estate contract; recording is a flat per-document recorder fee.

7. Bankruptcy & Death / Divorce

  • Buyer bankruptcy: Whether a Washington real estate contract is an executory contract (11 U.S.C. § 365) or a secured debt in the buyer’s bankruptcy is subject to the national split. Washington’s equitable-conversion view — vendee holds equitable title, vendor holds legal title as security (cascade-security-bank-v-butler-1977) — supports secured-debt-style treatment, but the federal characterization is fact- and court-specific. — see needs_verification.
  • Seller bankruptcy: The vendor’s interest enters the estate subject to the vendee’s recorded equitable interest and right to the deed at payoff.
  • Assignability by buyer: The vendee’s equitable interest is real estate (cascade-security-bank-v-butler-1977) and is generally assignable subject to contract terms; due-on-sale and anti-assignment clauses are enforced per their terms (and the federal Garn-St. Germain overlay for underlying loans).
  • Survivorship / divorce treatment: The vendee’s interest is real property that passes by will/intestacy and is divisible community or separate property on dissolution; Washington community-property rules (RCW ch. 26.16) govern character and division.

8. Case Law (real, verified)

CaseYearTopicHolding (plain English)Source
cascade-security-bank-v-butler-19771977equitable_interestA real estate contract vendee holds an equitable interest that is “real estate” (leviable, recordable, insurable); the vendor holds legal title as security. Overrules Ashford v. Reese (prospectively).https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1195579/cascade-security-bank-v-butler/

9. Edge Cases (state-specific notes)

  • garn-st-germain-due-on-sale — A real estate contract sale can trigger a due-on-sale clause on an underlying loan; no Washington statute conditions a wrap on lender consent, so the wrap risk is allocated by contract.
  • Substantial-equity sale (RCW 61.30.120) — Washington’s statutory Skendzel analogue: a court may order a public sale in lieu of forfeiture where fair market value substantially exceeds the balance, returning surplus equity to the buyer and barring any deficiency.
  • Seller’s two-track election (RCW 61.30.020) — forfeiture and mortgage foreclosure are alternatives, and beginning one does not waive the other.
  • No deficiency after forfeiture (RCW 61.30.100) — except a narrow waste claim.
  • (Add: manufactured/mobile-home real estate contracts, SCRA servicemember protections, receivership during forfeiture (RCW 61.30.030(3) exception).)

10. Operations

  • Where records live: County auditor/recorder where the land sits; real estate contracts, memoranda, notices of intent to forfeit, and declarations of forfeiture are recorded there (RCW ch. 65.08; RCW 61.30.030, .040).
  • Recorder / agency portals: County auditor recording (e.g. King, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane county recorder portals); REET is processed through the county treasurer with the Department of Revenue REET affidavit. — Washington DOR Real Estate Excise Tax, https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/other-taxes/real-estate-excise-tax
  • Who may draft (UPL notes): Real-estate-contract and forfeiture-notice forms are standardized in practice, but RCW 61.30 forfeitures are exacting (recording, prescribed notice contents, ≥90-day cure, service rules) and contested forfeitures (RCW 61.30.110/.120/.140) are litigated through counsel; non-attorney drafting/forfeiting for others risks UPL exposure.
  • Typical costs: Recorder per-document fees; REET up front on the contract (1.1%–3.0% state + local); reinstatement requires the buyer to pay the actual arrearage plus permitted costs (RCW 61.30.090).
  • Typical timelines: ≥90-day cure from recording the notice of intent to forfeit (RCW 61.30.070); REET due within one month of the date of sale (WAC 458-61A-306); mortgage-foreclosure (RCW ch. 61.12) alternative carries the longer judicial-sale-plus-redemption timeline.
  • Key agencies: County auditor/recorder; county treasurer (REET); Washington Department of Revenue (REET); Washington Department of Financial Institutions (SAFE/MLO licensing); Office of the Attorney General (Consumer Protection Act).
  • Useful forms: Recorded real estate contract or memorandum of contract; notice of intent to forfeit and declaration of forfeiture (RCW 61.30.070); Form 17 seller disclosure statement (RCW 64.06.020); REET affidavit (DOR).

11. Meta

Disclaimer. This page is legal information, not legal advice, and may be out of date. Contract-for-deed / real estate contract statutes are frequently amended and remedies turn on facts. Washington forfeitures under RCW ch. 61.30 are procedure-driven and a substantial-equity sale can displace forfeiture. Consult a licensed Washington attorney before drafting, enforcing, or signing a real estate contract.

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