Question 1

Do I need a real estate license to wholesale in King County?

Accepted Answer

Not if you're buying and selling for your own account. Washington's broker-licensing statute exempts "any person who purchases or disposes of property... for that individual's own account," and a double close, where you take title on the A-to-B leg before selling B-to-C, fits inside that own-account exemption. Washington has no wholesaling-specific statute, disclosure mandate, or state guidance document on point, unlike some other states, so there is no bespoke licensing regime layered on top of the general exemption. Talk to a Washington real estate attorney about your specific contract and assignment language before you rely on this.

Question 2

Does a Seattle double close pay real estate excise tax twice?

Accepted Answer

Yes, both legs pay it, and Washington's excise tax is graduated by price, not flat. The state rate runs 1.10% up to $525,000 and 1.28% on the next bracket up to $1,525,000, on top of a countywide 0.50% local rate that King County levies in Seattle and every other King County jurisdiction except Skykomish. On a double close, each leg is its own conveyance and pays its own tax on its own price: an A-to-B leg at $650,000 owes roughly $10,625 in combined state and local excise tax, and a B-to-C leg at $750,000 owes roughly $12,405, for about $23,030 across the two closings. That is arithmetic on the sourced tiers, not a published total, so model your own price points before you rely on it, and note the state re-adjusts its price thresholds on a four-year cycle.

Question 3

Who actually closes a double close in Seattle, an attorney or a title company?

Accepted Answer

Washington closes through escrow, not through an attorney's office. Every escrow transaction has to be supervised by a licensed escrow officer under the state's Escrow Agent Registration Act, and the closing documents at most escrow and title companies are prepared by a Limited Practice Officer licensed by the Washington Supreme Court rather than by outside counsel. Line up an escrow company that can run same-day or back-to-back closings before you go under contract on either leg. Talk to your attorney if you want independent legal review of the assignment or purchase agreement itself; escrow handles the closing, not contract advice.

Question 4

Is a flat transactional funding fee legal on a Washington deal, or does usury law cap it?

Accepted Answer

Washington's usury law does not reach a business-purpose entity loan. Corporations, LLCs, partnerships and joint ventures cannot plead usury as a defense at all, and separately, any loan made primarily for a business, commercial or investment purpose is shielded from the usury statute regardless of the borrower's form. A transactional funding loan to a wholesaler's entity, used to fund the A-to-B leg of an assignment or double close, sits inside both protections. Talk to your attorney if you have questions about how a specific fee structure is documented.

Question 5

Do I owe Washington capital gains tax on the profit from a Seattle double close?

Accepted Answer

No, real estate transferred by deed is exempt. Washington's capital gains excise tax carves out "all real estate transferred by deed... filed as a public record with the counties where real property is located," and the Department of Revenue lists real estate first among the assets the tax does not touch. Both legs of a King County double close transfer title by recorded deed, so the profit on each leg sits outside that tax. The one thing to watch: selling an interest in an LLC that holds the property, instead of selling the deed itself, is only partly exempt, so talk to a Washington CPA before you structure an exit that way.

Question 6

What if my Seattle B-to-C buyer falls through and I end up holding the property?

Accepted Answer

You are not stuck with a flip in a market built for it. Seattle is tied for the lowest flip rate of any large US metro, so holding and renting can pencil out better than forcing a resale, especially in South King County cities like Federal Way, Auburn and Kent where gross rental yields run well above Seattle proper. Our DSCR rental loan qualifies on the property's rent rather than your tax returns, so you can convert a stalled assignment into a hold instead of losing the deal. That is a separate underwriting decision from transactional funding; talk to us before your closing date so we can have terms ready if you need the fallback.

Question 7

Do I need any money of my own to fund a Seattle A-to-B leg?

Accepted Answer

Not for the purchase itself. We fund up to 100% of the A-to-B purchase price, priced as a flat fee rather than a rate, over a term measured in days, not weeks, with a simultaneous close. What you do need to fund is everything around it, and a Seattle double close has a real number attached: each leg pays its own excise tax, roughly $10,625 on a $650,000 A-to-B leg and about $12,405 on a $750,000 B-to-C leg. Bring that, not a down payment. Subject to underwriting.

Question 8

Will weak credit stop me from funding a Seattle double close?

Accepted Answer

No. There is no credit check on this program at all, and no minimum score. There is also no appraisal. The loan lives and dies on the B-to-C leg closing, so what we look at is the contract, the end buyer, and the escrow company that will run both closings back to back. Line that escrow company up before you go under contract on either leg, since Washington closes through escrow rather than through an attorney's office. Subject to underwriting.

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