Washington · state portion

Washington real estate law vocabulary

16 terms, defined plainly. Where a term is commonly confused with another, the definition says so — that confusion is usually the wrong answer.

Broker (Washington)

Washington's ENTRY-LEVEL real estate licence. Not 'salesperson' or 'sales agent' — those are other states' terms. A managing broker is a separate, HIGHER licence.

Designated broker

The licensee a real estate firm designates to be responsible for the firm — the supervising licensee. Do not confuse with 'managing broker', which is a licence level, not a role.

Real estate firm

The licensed business entity under which brokers are affiliated. RCW 18.85.011 includes a sole proprietorship or LLC — not only partnerships and corporations.

RCW 18.86

Washington's STATUTORY agency law for real estate. It replaced common-law agency, so WA agency questions are answered from statute, not from common-law fiduciary doctrine.

The Law of Real Estate Agency pamphlet

The agency disclosure pamphlet a WA licensee must provide. Washington has NO IABS (Texas), NO Consumer Notice (Pennsylvania) and NO Working With Real Estate Agents form (North Carolina).

Dual agency (Washington)

Legal with the written consent of both parties. Where two licensees of the same firm represent opposite sides, the firm's DESIGNATED BROKER is by default the dual agent.

Department of Licensing (DOL)

Washington's real estate regulator, headed by the DIRECTOR — who adopts rules and imposes discipline. The Real Estate Commission ADVISES; it does not issue licences or adopt rules.

Real Estate Research Center

A body funded from licensing fees to support real estate research and education in Washington. Distinct from the advisory Commission.

REET (real estate excise tax)

Washington's tax on the sale of real property, paid by the SELLER and graduated by sale price. Not North Carolina's $1-per-$500 excise stamp.

Firm trust account

Client money is held in the FIRM'S pooled trust account maintained by the designated broker under WAC 308-124. A broker delivers funds to the firm and never holds them personally; commingling and conversion are prohibited.

Community property (Washington)

Washington IS a community-property state. It recognises tenancy in common and joint tenancy, but NOT tenancy by the entirety.

90 clock hours

Washington's pre-licence education: a 60-hour Real Estate Fundamentals course plus a 30-hour Real Estate Practices course, each with its own school final requiring 70%.

Two-portion PSI exam

Washington's exam is delivered by PSI, not Pearson VUE: 140 questions total — national 105 (100 scored) and Washington state 35 (30 scored) — needing 70% on EACH portion, scored independently.

Six-month rule

Both exam portions must be passed within six months of each other, or you retake both. Separately, exam results stay valid for one year before you must apply for the licence.

Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (RCW 59.18)

Washington's landlord-tenant statute. Property management sits under the statutes-and-rules area of the state exam, not a separate landlord-tenant area as in North Carolina.

No promulgated forms

Washington has no state-mandated contract forms. The widely used NWMLS forms are private-industry forms — unlike Texas, where TREC promulgates required forms.