Title 61 — Title 61 MORTGAGES, DEEDS OF TRUST, AND REAL ESTATE CONTRACTS

This chapter shall not supersede nor repeal any other provision now made by law for the foreclosure of security interests in real property.[ 1965 c 74 s 12.]

(1) The failure of the borrower or grantor to bring a civil action to enjoin a foreclosure sale under this chapter may not be deemed a waiver of a claim for damages asserting:(a) Common law fraud or misrepresentation;(b) A violation of Title 19 RCW;(c) Failure of the trustee to m…

(1) Nothing contained in this chapter shall prejudice the right of the borrower, grantor, any guarantor, or any person who has an interest in, lien, or claim of lien against the property or some part thereof, to restrain, on any proper legal or equitable ground, a trustee's sale.…

(1) It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW, for any person, acting alone or in concert with others, to offer, or offer to accept or accept from another, any consideration of any type not to bid, or to reduce a bid, at a s…

The beneficiary shall not enforce or attempt to enforce an assignment of rents by demanding or collecting rent from a tenant occupying property consisting solely of a single-family residence, or a condominium, cooperative, or other dwelling unit in a multiplex or other building c…

If the trustee elects to foreclose the interest of any occupant of tenant-occupied property, upon posting a notice of trustee's sale under RCW 61.24.040, the trustee or its authorized agent shall post in the manner required under RCW 61.24.040(1)(e) and shall mail at the same tim…

(1) A tenant or subtenant in possession of a residential real property at the time the property is sold in foreclosure must be given sixty days' written notice to vacate before the tenant or subtenant may be removed from the property as prescribed in chapter 59.12 RCW. Notwithsta…

(1) A unit owner who is or may become delinquent to an association for an assessment charged may contact a housing counselor to receive housing counseling services.(2) Housing counselors have a duty to act in good faith to assist unit owners by:(a) Preparing the unit owner for me…

(1) A unit owner who is or may become delinquent to an association for an assessment charged may contact a housing counselor to receive housing counseling services.(2) Housing counselors have a duty to act in good faith to assist unit owners by:(a) Preparing the unit owner for me…

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 5938-S.SL) ***(1) For each residential mortgage loan, as defined in RCW 31.04.015(24), originated within or outside of the state of Washington and related to property located within the state of Washington, excepting only reverse mortgage loans issued …

By December 31, 2025, the department shall provide a report to the appropriate committees of the legislature on the number and amounts received from the notice of default fee remitted under RCW 61.24.190 and the foreclosure prevention fee remitted under RCW 61.24.157 into the for…

(1)(a) A housing counselor who is contacted by a borrower under RCW 61.24.031 has a duty to act in good faith to attempt to reach a resolution with the beneficiary on behalf of the borrower within the 90 days provided from the date the beneficiary initiates contact with the borro…

(1) The foreclosure mediation program established in this section applies only to borrowers who have been referred to mediation by a housing counselor or attorney. The referral to mediation may be made any time after a notice of default has been issued but no later than 90 days p…

(1) RCW 61.24.163 applies only to deeds of trust that are recorded against residential real property of up to four units.(2) RCW 61.24.163 does not apply to deeds of trust:(a) Securing a commercial loan;(b) Securing obligations of a grantor who is not the borrower or a guarantor;…

(1) Beginning on January 1, 2024, the provisions of RCW 61.24.163 do not apply to any federally insured depository institution, as defined in 12 U.S.C. Sec. 461(b)(1)(A), that certifies to the department under penalty of perjury that it was not a beneficiary of deeds of trust in …

(1) For the purposes of RCW 61.24.163, the department must maintain a list of approved foreclosure mediators. The department may approve the following persons to serve as foreclosure mediators under this section if the person has completed ten mediations and either a forty-hour m…

The foreclosure fairness account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts received under RCW * 61.24.174, as it existed prior to July 1, 2016, ** 61.24.173, 61.24.190, and 61.24.157 must be deposited into the account. Only the director of the department of c…

Any duty that servicers may have to maximize net present value under their pooling and servicing agreements is owed to all parties in a deed of trust pool, not to any particular parties, and a servicer acts in the best interests of all parties if it agrees to or implements a modi…

(1) If a trustee under a deed of trust is named as a defendant in an action or proceeding in which that deed of trust is the subject, and if there are no substantive allegations that seek damages from the trustee or seek to enjoin the foreclosure based on any alleged unlawful act…

(1) Except as provided in subsections (6) and (7) of this section, beginning January 1, 2022, and every quarter thereafter, every beneficiary issuing notices of default, or causing notices of default to be issued on its behalf, on residential real property under this chapter must…

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.(1) "Contract" or "real estate contract" means any written agreement for the sale of real property in which legal title to the property is retained by the seller as securi…

(1) A purchaser's rights under a real estate contract shall not be forfeited except as provided in this chapter. Forfeiture shall be accomplished by giving and recording the required notices as specified in this chapter. This chapter shall not be construed as prohibiting or limit…

It shall be a condition to forfeiture of a real estate contract that:(1) The contract being forfeited, or a memorandum thereof, is recorded in each county in which any of the property is located;(2) A breach has occurred in one or more of the purchaser's obligations under the con…

(1) The required notices shall be given to each purchaser last known to the seller or the seller's agent or attorney giving the notice and to each person who, at the time the notice of intent to forfeit is recorded, is the last holder of record of a purchaser's interest. Failure …

(1) The required notices shall be given in writing. The notice of intent to forfeit shall be signed by the seller or by the seller's agent or attorney. The declaration of forfeiture shall be signed and sworn to by the seller. The seller may execute the declaration of forfeiture t…

The notice of intent to forfeit shall be given not later than ten days after it is recorded. The declaration of forfeiture shall be given not later than three days after it is recorded. Either required notice may be given before it is recorded, but the declaration of forfeiture m…

(1) The notice of intent to forfeit shall contain the following:(a) The name, address, and telephone number of the seller and, if any, the seller's agent or attorney giving the notice;(b) A description of the contract, including the names of the original parties to the contract, …

(1) If the seller fails to give any required notice within the time required by this chapter, the seller may record and give a subsequent notice of intent to forfeit or declaration of forfeiture, as applicable. Any such subsequent notice shall (a) include revised dates and inform…

(1) Even if the contract contains a provision allowing the seller, because of a default in the purchaser's obligations under the contract, to accelerate the due date of some or all payments to be made or other obligations to be performed by the purchaser under the contract, the s…

(1) The recorded and sworn declaration of forfeiture shall be prima facie evidence of the extent of the forfeiture and compliance with this chapter and, except as otherwise provided in RCW 61.30.040 (1) and (2), conclusive evidence thereof in favor of bona fide purchasers and enc…

(1) The forfeiture may be restrained or enjoined or the time for cure may be extended by court order only as provided in this section. A certified copy of any restraining order or injunction may be recorded in each county in which any part of the property is located.(2) Any perso…

(1) Except for a sale ordered incident to foreclosure of the contract as a mortgage, a public sale of the property in lieu of the forfeiture may be ordered by the court only as provided in this section. Any person entitled to cure the default may bring or join in an action seekin…

(1) If an order restraining or enjoining the forfeiture or an order of sale under RCW 61.30.120 expires or is dissolved or vacated at least ten days before expiration of the time for cure, the seller may proceed with the forfeiture under this chapter if the default is not cured a…

(1) An action to set aside a forfeiture not otherwise void under RCW 61.30.040(1) may be commenced only after the declaration of forfeiture has been recorded and only as provided in this section, and regardless of whether an action was previously commenced under RCW 61.30.110.(2)…

(1) Whoever knowingly swears falsely to any statement required by this chapter to be sworn is guilty of perjury and shall be liable for the statutory penalties therefor.(2) A seller who records a declaration of forfeiture with actual knowledge or reason to know of a material fail…

An action brought under RCW 61.30.110, 61.30.120, or 61.30.140 shall take precedence over all other civil actions except those described in RCW 59.12.130.[ 1985 c 237 s 16.]

This chapter may be known and cited as the real estate contract forfeiture act.[ 1985 c 237 s 17.]

This act shall take effect January 1, 1986, and shall apply to all real estate contract forfeitures initiated on or after that date, regardless of when the real estate contract was made.[ 1985 c 237 s 21.]

This act applies to all real estate contract forfeitures initiated on or after June 9, 1988, regardless of when the real estate contract was made.[ 1988 c 86 s 16.]

The legislature finds that persons are engaging in patterns of conduct which defraud innocent homeowners of their equity interest or other value in residential dwellings under the guise of a purchase of the owner's residence but which is in fact a device to convert the owner's eq…

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.(1) An "act of equity skimming" occurs when:(a)(i) A person purchases a dwelling with the representation that the purchaser will pay for the dwelling by assuming the oblig…

Any person who wilfully engages in a pattern of equity skimming is guilty of a class B felony under RCW 9A.20.021. Equity skimming shall be classified as a level II offense under chapter 9.94A RCW, and each act of equity skimming found beyond a reasonable doubt or admitted by the…

(1) In addition to the criminal penalties provided in RCW 61.34.030, the legislature finds that the practices covered by this chapter are matters vitally affecting the public interest for the purpose of applying chapter 19.86 RCW. A violation of this chapter is not reasonable in …

(1) Any provision in a contract that attempts or purports to require arbitration of any dispute arising under this chapter is void at the option of the distressed homeowner.(2) This section applies to any contract entered into on or after June 12, 2008.[ 2008 c 278 s 9.]

(1) A distressed home consulting transaction must:(a) Be in writing in at least twelve-point font;(b) Be in the same language as principally used by the distressed home consultant to describe his or her services to the distressed homeowner. If the agreement is written in a langua…

A distressed home consultant has a fiduciary relationship with the distressed homeowner, and each distressed home consultant is subject to all requirements for fiduciaries otherwise applicable under state law. A distressed home consultant's fiduciary duties include, but are not l…

(1) A person may not induce or attempt to induce a distressed homeowner to waive his or her rights under this chapter.(2) Any waiver by a homeowner of the provisions of this chapter is void and unenforceable as contrary to public policy.[ 2008 c 278 s 4.]

A distressed home purchaser shall enter into a distressed home reconveyance in the form of a written contract. The contract must be written in at least twelve-point boldface type in the same language principally used by the distressed home purchaser and distressed homeowner to ne…

The contract required in RCW 61.34.080 must contain the entire agreement of the parties and must include the following:(1) The name, business address, and telephone number of the distressed home purchaser;(2) The address of the distressed home;(3) The total consideration to be pr…

(1) In addition to any other right of rescission, a distressed homeowner has the right to cancel any contract with a distressed home purchaser until midnight of the fifth business day following the day on which the distressed homeowner signs a contract that complies with this cha…