Estate property in Seattle

Septic inspection at time of sale

Most properties here are on public sewer, so this reaches a smaller share of homes, but where a property is on septic, the rule below governs the sale.

Where a property is served by an on-site septic system, King County Board of Health Title 13 requires a monitoring and performance inspection by a licensed On-Site System Maintainer before title transfers, with a report filed with Public Health – Seattle & King County. Before closing, the seller records the Notice of On-site Sewage System Operation and Maintenance Requirements (OSSM), NWMLS form 22U, unless it is already on title.

This is independent of the Form 17 seller disclosure exemption: a personal representative exempt from the disclosure statement is still subject to the county inspection, filing, and recording requirements.

Underground oil tanks and lead paint

Many Seattle neighborhoods were built before 1940. In housing of that age, two items recur on the Seller Disclosure Statement (Form 17): a buried heating-oil storage tank, and lead-based paint in anything built before 1978. Both are questions in the form's Environmental section.

Under RCW 64.06.010(7), if the answer to any Environmental question would be yes, the buyer may not waive receipt of that section, whatever the seller's own Form 17 exemption.

A personal representative who never lived in the property often has no knowledge of a buried tank. RCW 64.06.050 protects a seller with no actual knowledge, so a truthful "Don't know" is legitimate. The avoidable risk is a tank found during the buyer's inspection with a closing already set; it is cheaper to check before listing than to clear it in escrow.

Washington estate tax

Washington taxes estates above a state exclusion of $3,000,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2026. That threshold sits far below the federal filing level, so an estate can owe Washington tax without ever filing a federal return. The return and payment are due 9 months after the date of death, which is why liquidity often matters more than price.

This is informational, not tax advice. Confirm the estate's exposure and the current figures with its CPA or attorney.