Moving out of Florida? Start with the introduction.

What I do once you call

Starting with what I cannot do

People sometimes ask me what they should offer in Bellingham, and I will not answer. Not because the question is difficult, but because answering it is the advisory half of brokerage, and doing that where I hold no licence is the precise thing this page says I do not do. It is also a protection for you. A number from someone who has not stood in the property and does not work the area is worth nothing, however confidently it is delivered.

Where I stop, on purpose

I will not tell you where to live. Not which part of Bellingham, not which street, not which side of a road. Some of that is because I do not know. The rest is because steering people towards or away from particular areas is exactly what fair housing law exists to prevent, and an agent who does it casually is not doing you a favour. You set the criteria. Your agent shows you what meets them.

Structural differences worth knowing before you go

• Licensing in this industry is granted state by state, not federally. A Florida licence carries no authority in Washington, and a Washington licence carries none in Florida — which is why an introduction, rather than representation, is the only honest offer on this page.
• Washington joins Florida in having no broad-based tax on wage income, so that particular line in the relocation spreadsheet does not move. Most of the other lines will.
• Washington is a community property state. How a married couple may take title, and what happens to cost basis on the first death, follow different rules than in Florida. Raise it with your attorney before closing, not after.
• Closings in Washington generally run through a title or escrow company rather than requiring an attorney as a matter of course — structurally closer to what you are used to in Florida than not.
• Florida’s homestead exemption and its Save Our Homes assessment cap do not follow you. Washington has its own property tax treatment, its own exemptions, and its own rules on how fast an assessment may rise. Confirm the specifics with the local taxing authority.

The first conversation, made useful

• If I need to back out, what actually happens to my deposit under a standard Washington contract?
• How are deposits handled in Washington — who holds the money, what amount is customary, and at what point does it stop being refundable? Get that answer before you write the cheque rather than after.
• When an inspection turns something up, what is the local practice — a price reduction, a credit at closing, or the seller arranging the work — and who conducts that negotiation on my behalf?
• If the property is listed by your own brokerage, what happens to my representation, what does Washington law permit in that situation, and what exactly would you be asking me to sign?

Selling here, buying there

Not everyone sells. If you are keeping the Florida property and letting it out, that is a different conversation with different consequences: the homestead position changes once it stops being your primary residence, and the insurance and association questions change alongside it. I am not your tax adviser and the county property appraiser is the authority on the exemption itself, but I can tell you what the Florida side of that decision looks like in practice before you commit to it.

Other cities in Washington

• Kennewick
• Vancouver
• Kirkland
• Seattle
• Spokane Valley
• Redmond
• Kent
• Pasco
• All of Washington