Tomlinson v. Clarke

Facts of Case

This is a dispute over a small parcel of lakefront property in Snohomish County. The sole issue is whether a purchaser who is buying land under a real estate contract can be a bona fide purchaser and, as a consequence, have an interest in the land that is superior to a prior unrecorded interest of another purchaser who also is buying the land under a real estate contract.

We hold that purchasers under real estate contracts, like those who purchase real property under other financing devices, may take advantage of the bona fide purchaser doctrine. That doctrine provides that a good…