Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Washington

I perform searches at the county level of the State of Washington for unclaimed proceeds resulting from Tax Deed Sales. The State of Washington has a 5% fee cap that finders can charge to perform this service for "property reported to the "state" of Washington". Since my finds are at the county level, and not reported to the state, and do not get turned over to the state, would this cap still apply?


Asked on 2/18/11, 2:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Gary Preble Preble Law Firm, P.S.

You raise an interesting question that I would have to research to provide an accurate answer. To begin with, that would require looking at both the statutes involving escheats and those involving tax deed sales, as well as research on any cases that have addressed the issue.

However, my initial thought is if the statute language regarding escheats is clear as to "state" and the county has not yet forwarded the unclaimed proceeds to the state (as I expect would be required by the escheat statutes), the 5% fee cap would probably not apply. If the unclaimed proceeds are by statute never required to escheat to the state, and there is no statute regrading a fee cap at the county level, you could probably charge the market rate.

Read more
Answered on 2/21/11, 10:12 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Real Estate and Real Property questions and answers in Washington