§21.8 - Bona Fide Purchaser Defense

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§21.8 BONA FIDE PURCHASER DEFENSE

Abona fide purchaser (BFP) "is one who purchases property without actual or constructive knowledge of another's claim of right to, or equity in, the property, and who pays valuable consideration." Albice v. Premier Mortg. Servs. of Wash., 174 Wn.2d 560, 573, 276 P.3d 1277 (2012). Under RCW 61.24.040(7), if the purchaser is a BFP, recitals of compliance with the Act in the trustee's deed will "be prima facieevidence of [statutory] compliance and conclusive evidence thereof in favor of bona fide purchasers." Id. The prima facie evidence may present a very practical bar to setting the sale aside. Glidden v. Mun. Auth. of Tex., 111 Wn.2d 341, 758 P.2d 487 (1988); Steward v. Good, 51 Wn.App. 509, 754 P.2d 150, review denied, 111 Wn.2d 1004 (1988).

A trustee's deed that merely includes conclusory boilerplate statements without reciting the facts necessary to show the sale complied with the Act, or a deed that contains false or misleading statements of fact, may not be sufficient to serve as conclusive evidence of compliance with the Act. Albice, 174 Wn.2d at 573 n.9.

Practice Tip: The recitals in the trustee's deed must be tailored to the specific facts of the foreclosure. A trustee should not simply rely on conclusory statements that the sale complied with the Act. A trustee should err on the side of including all

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