[CPEO-BIF] Washington State disclosure law

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

New Washington Law First to Require Disclosure of Environmental 
Conditions in Commercial Real Estate Transactions

By Meline MacCurdy
Marten Law
September 17, 2010

Under a new law that took effect in June and is the first of its kind in 
the U.S., sellers of commercial real estate in Washington State are now 
required to disclose a wide range of “environmental conditions” to 
prospective buyers, exposing them to new liabilities. The law (SB 
6749),[1] which is based on disclosures required for residential 
properties and unanimously passed by the State House and Senate, 
requires sellers to fill out a new disclosure form (Form 17 Commercial) 
before closing a transaction involving commercial property. The law was 
designed to resolve an ambiguity in Washington’s existing disclosure 
requirements that at times complicated commercial real estate 
transactions. However, the broad environmental disclosure requirements 
in the law could compel sellers to ensure that they disclose even minor 
past contamination, and risk rescission for failure to do so.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.martenlaw.com/newsletter/20100917-environmental-conditions-disclosure

--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org


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