{"id":2700,"date":"2023-03-31T11:16:59","date_gmt":"2023-03-31T18:16:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/shewmake\/?p=2700"},"modified":"2023-03-31T11:16:59","modified_gmt":"2023-03-31T18:16:59","slug":"shewmake-condominium-supply-bill-passes-senate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/shewmake\/2023\/03\/31\/shewmake-condominium-supply-bill-passes-senate\/","title":{"rendered":"Shewmake condominium supply bill passes Senate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Legislation to increase the supply and affordability of condominiums unanimously passed the Washington State Senate today. SB 5258<\/a>, sponsored by Sen. Sharon Shewmake (D-Bellingham), would reduce costly litigation by encouraging developers and condo owners to work together and fix any defects in a building without going to court. SB 5258 would also set up a fund to support condo buyers who use downpayment assistance programs through the Housing Finance Commission.<\/p>\n

\u201cAffordable condominiums are a missing piece of Washington\u2019s housing market. We\u2019ve got regulations that are well-intentioned that don\u2019t do much to protect consumers but do increase costs. These high costs make it so the only condos that pencil out for developers to build are the really high-end expensive ones, at a time when we need starter homes too,\u201d said Shewmake. \u201cBecause so many people get their start in the housing market with a condo or townhome, lowering the costs to build condos means we can build more starter homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill would ensure a \u201cright to cure\u201d for condominium developers. If there is a construction defect in a condo building and the owner of a unit makes a defect claim against the builder, the builder would have 21 days to respond and offer to \u201ccure\u201d the defect by fixing the defect themselves, paying the cost to fix it to the owner, or purchasing back the entire unit from the owner. If the builder fails to respond or disputes the defect, then the owner would still have the opportunity to bring a lawsuit against the builder.<\/p>\n

Ensuring the opportunity to cure rather than immediately going to litigation would reduce the costs for litigation insurance for developers and help make it profitable to build lower cost condominium buildings.<\/p>\n

The bill also creates a financial incentive for building affordable condos by making them more attractive to buyers who are part of a downpayment assistance program offered by the state\u2019s Housing Finance Commission. These programs give low interest rate loans to qualifying buyers \u2013 mostly veterans and low or moderate-income individuals \u2013 to help them afford the downpayment on their purchase of a home. SB 5258 would deposit the real estate excise tax paid by the seller of a condo or townhome into an account that would help qualifying buyers pay off their downpayment assistance loan.<\/p>\n

The bill now goes to the House for consideration. As a revenue-related bill, it is considered \u201cnecessary to implement the budget\u201d if included in the final operating budget agreement, and is not subject to the cutoff dates that most bills are, so it could pass any time before the end of session, April 23.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Legislation to increase the supply and affordability of condominiums unanimously passed the Washington State Senate today. SB 5258, sponsored by Sen. Sharon Shewmake (D-Bellingham), would reduce costly litigation by encouraging developers and condo owners to work together and fix any defects in a building without going to court. SB 5258 would also set up a fund to support condo buyers who use downpayment assistance programs through the Housing Finance Commission. \u201cAffordable condominiums are a missing piece of Washington\u2019s housing market. We\u2019ve got regulations that are well-intentioned that don\u2019t do much to protect consumers but do increase costs. These high costs…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":2557,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-release"],"yoast_head":"\nShewmake condominium supply bill passes Senate - Sen. Sharon Shewmake<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/shewmake\/2023\/03\/31\/shewmake-condominium-supply-bill-passes-senate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shewmake condominium supply bill passes Senate - Sen. Sharon Shewmake\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Legislation to increase the supply and affordability of condominiums unanimously passed the Washington State Senate today. SB 5258, sponsored by Sen. Sharon Shewmake (D-Bellingham), would reduce costly litigation by encouraging developers and condo owners to work together and fix any defects in a building without going to court. SB 5258 would also set up a fund to support condo buyers who use downpayment assistance programs through the Housing Finance Commission. \u201cAffordable condominiums are a missing piece of Washington\u2019s housing market. We\u2019ve got regulations that are well-intentioned that don\u2019t do much to protect consumers but do increase costs. These high costs...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/shewmake\/2023\/03\/31\/shewmake-condominium-supply-bill-passes-senate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sen. 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