We have been providing Area Reports free of charge to the consumer and any reader of our blog for about a year. It has recently been brought to our attention that providing these at no cost is considered a violation of WAC 284-29-210. Section 5 states;
(5) A title company must not give a producer reports containing publicly recorded information, comparable sale information, appraisals, estimates, or income production potential,information kits or similar packages containing information about one of more parcels of real property, except as permitted by this section, without charging and actually receiving payment for the actual cost of the work performed and the material provided (for example, costs related to providing farm packages, labels, lot book reports, home books and tax information).
We will continue to produce our King, Pierce and Snohomish County Area Reports, unfortunately we will now have to charge you $1 to send you a copy. It is our understanding that any title company providing these reports free of charge is breaking the law as set by the OIC and therefore putting themselves and any director of title insurance/escrow (i.e. real estate agents and loan officers) who receives that report at risk.
Please contact our Property Information department to purchase our most current Area Report.
