Does a Seattle Floating on Water Residence have a title?

A Seattle Floating on Water Residence (FOWR) is transferred as personal property rather than titled real estate. It does not have a traditional real-property deed, preliminary title report, or real-estate title insurance policy.

Instead, the FOWR has a King County Personal Property Account Number for personal-property tax purposes. Ownership of the FOWR is transferred through the applicable purchase, sale, and closing documents.

It is important not to simply say that “personal property doesn’t have titles.” Certain types of personal property, such as automobiles and some vessels, can have certificates of title. The important distinction is that a Seattle FOWR is not transferred through the conventional real-property deed and title-insurance system.

The FOWR and the moorage are separate

This is one of the most important concepts for buyers to understand.

Purchasing the FOWR establishes ownership of the residence itself. The buyer must separately understand the rights and obligations associated with the location where that residence is moored.

Depending upon the property, those rights may arise through a marina or moorage lease, association documents, or another ownership/occupancy arrangement. Those documents should be carefully reviewed as part of the buyer’s due diligence.

In other words, there are two separate questions to investigate:

• What documentation transfers ownership of the FOWR?
• What gives the owner the right to keep that FOWR at its particular moorage location?

What about title insurance?

Because the FOWR itself is transferred as personal property rather than conventional real property, buyers should not expect the traditional preliminary title report and title insurance process associated with purchasing a house or condominium.

Instead, due diligence focuses on the documentation relating to the FOWR, its transfer, its King County Personal Property Account Number and tax status, and the documents governing its moorage.

The short answer

A Seattle FOWR is personal property. It has a King County Personal Property Account Number for tax purposes, but it is not transferred through the traditional real-estate deed and title-insurance system.

That distinction is one of the reasons buyers and brokers should work with professionals experienced in Seattle Floating on Water Residence transactions.