All Forum Posts by: Greg Lovern

I've been in brief discussion with a person whose foreclosure auction date is this Friday Jan 11, but he's stopped communicating and I wonder if he's given up and will go through with foreclosure. What do I need to do to be able to bid on the house this Friday morning?

In Washington State, if a home buyer and seller both want to close as quickly, and the buyer has already inspected the home and neighborhood to satisfaction, how quickly can the sale close?

Googling for information about Due On Sale clause and the Washington State non-judicial foreclosure process and timeline, I stumbled across this interesting bit from a  Washington State lawyer's obituary:

Wow, really?? Can anyone comment on this? The context indicates that this happened in the late 1970s. Does this really mean that Due On Sale clauses are effectively unenforceable in Washington State?

Here's the obituary:

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/seattletimes/obi...

Every week, the King County, Washington sheriff's office posts a list of judicial foreclosure auctions from that Friday morning, with the starting bid and final selling price for each home. 

But it's only for judicial foreclosures. Where can I find that information for non-judicial foreclosures, i.e. Trustee Sales, in King County?

As far as I can tell, the auctions for both kinds of foreclosures happen at the same time and place each week; is that correct?

In Washington State after a foreclosure auction, does the former homeowner normally get to stay in the home during the redemption period? Or can the new owner normally evict them and bring in a paying tenant during the redemption period?

I'm looking at an NTS in King County, Washington State where the amount in arrears is over 9 years' worth of monthly mortgage payments totaling over $208,000. Why would a lender let it go so long? Just trying to get my head around how this could happen.

NTS #20181106000302, from November 6th.

If you buy a home from a homeowner who is living in the home, is there a standard amount of time for them to be allowed to live there before vacating, while they look for another place to live and move there?

I learned here recently that this web page can be used to convert parcel numbers in King County, Washington State to street addresses:

https://blue.kingcounty.com/Assessor/eRealProperty...

However, to get to it you have to agree to this:

"I understand that Washington State law, RCW 42.56.070.(9) prohibits the use of lists of individuals for "commercial purposes". I understand that the use for "commercial purposes" of said records may also violate the rights of the individual(s) named therein and may subject me to liability for such commercial use. I understand that "commercial purposes" means that the person requesting the record intends that the list will be used for general business purposes, including but not limited to communicating with the individual(s) named in the record for the purpose of facilitating profit expecting activity.

I acknowledge and agree to the prohibitions listed in RCW 42.56.070(9) against releasing and/or using lists of individuals for commercial purposes."

There is no RCW 42.56.070(9), but it seems to mean 42.56.070(8), which reads:

"This chapter shall not be construed as giving authority to any agency, the office of the secretary of the senate, or the office of the chief clerk of the house of representatives to give, sell or provide access to lists of individuals requested for commercial purposes, and agencies, the office of the secretary of the senate, and the office of the chief clerk of the house of representatives shall not do so unless specifically authorized or directed by law" (it goes on to make exceptions for professional licensees).

It seems to me this law would apply just as much to going to the county clerk's office and asking for the same information there, which is widely recommended. What are your thoughts about using addresses from this web page to contact homeowners? 

@Joe Mercer I don't see that there is such a thing as a distressed home consultant license in Washington State. Where Mike M. tells me a few posts above yours to "get licensed", I think he is referring to getting licensed as a general contractor.

Another option, made available in a 2015 amendment to the law, is to hire a general contractor to oversee all the work. 

In cases where the home is in good condition and can be put on the market without improvements, I think it would be legal to do general maintenance work such as cleaning and mowing the lawn, but I need to get clarification on that.

Two questions about the requirements in Washington State around making improvements to a home that I buy for the purpose of flipping and own for less than 12 months:

• If I'm not licensed as a general contractor, but hire one to oversee the work, can I do any of the work myself? Or does RCW 18.27.090(11) mean that I can't do any of that work even though it is overseen by the general contractor?
• If I'm not licensed as a general contractor, can I still do routine maintenance work such as cleaning and mowing the lawn? What about pruning the landscaping?