Homebuilding
Our firm has long represented several national and local homebuilders and developers of residential land, including representation of some of the largest builders in Washington.
We bring years of experience and industry know-how to our work for homebuilders. This includes drafting and negotiating purchase and sale agreements for land in all phases of residential development, including finished lots, entitled lots, vacant land, townhome parcels, and entire master planned communities and other subdivisions. For several clients with high volumes of land acquisition transactions, we provide an array of transaction management services, including tracking critical contract dates, managing title review, and coordinating closings.
Our attorneys have singular familiarity and experience with the specialized agreements encountered in the homebuilding and land development process, including joint development agreements, joint venture agreements, price participation agreements, land banking arrangements, complex easements, and latecomer agreements and other agreements involving on-site and offsite infrastructure for residential, mixed-use, and commercial communities.
We also assist homebuilding and land development clients and their teams with review of surveys, plats, and other subdivisions, and other technical questions arising in their interactions with local jurisdictions. Our work for homebuilders and land developers includes:
Assistance with compliance with the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (WUCIOA), Interstate Land Sales Disclosure Act (ILSDA), real estate broker licensing and transaction matters, the Washington Anti-Indemnity Statute, and other complex statutes and regulations;
Development of standard-form purchase and sale agreements for the sale of new homes, Public Offering Statements and other disclosure documents;
Development of standard forms for homebuilders’ and developers’ agreements with contractors, design professionals, consultants, and other vendors;
Drafting CC&Rs and other community governance documents, and permanent and temporary easements and construction licenses.
On several occasions, we have been selected to represent national homebuilders in their fast-track acquisitions of local homebuilders or land inventories as part of their expansion into the Pacific Northwest. In these transactions, we have taken the lead role in drafting and negotiating asset purchase agreements, analyzing potential successor liability, conducting extensive due diligence, and managing the complex closing process, typically involving multi-tiered closing statements, new title policies for each community, assignment of land acquisition agreements, obtaining necessary consents from land sellers and other parties, transfers of declarant rights, and the replacement of vendor agreements. Our industry knowledge and experience helped enable our clients to consummate these major transactions in 60 to 120 days.