NWMLS Forms and the Washington REALTORS Forms For Purchase and Sale Agreements are Changing and the Current Version Will No Longer Be Available

This fall, the current Washington residential purchase agreement form will not be available. The new Washington REALTORS forms will be taking the place of the current standard. Classes are available (and for the most part, a requirement) in the use of the new forms. One notable change is the requirement to attach a legal description to the purchase and sale agreement, as opposed to merely writing the description in to the listing agreement. To acquire a hard copy of the legal description my necessitate opening title or contacting a title company for the latest recorded legal description. These are the facts, now for an opinion.

I understand the Washington Association of REALTORS® desire to unify the forms all Washington real estate agents use, however, the legal description requirement of including a hard copy will create unnecessary additional paperwork in the purchase and sale agreement. What should have been the requirement, is a mandate requiring a hard copy of the legal description to be obtained prior to the opening of escrow. This way, a legal description does not become another chore for a REALTOR® to accomplish when the buyer and seller may never agree upon terms. Leave it to bureaucracy to add another piece of paperwork to what might be a futile effort to bring a buyer and seller together.

Related: Washington Association of REALTORS® August Newsletter. Page 1, then 11 discusses the new statewide purchase agreement form.

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