Annie Fitzsimmons

Annie Fitzsimmons is a lawyer whose entire post-adolescent life has focused on the Washington real estate market place in one form or another. When she was 11 years old, her parents opened a real estate company and she worked in the office first as the cleaning crew, later as a receptionist, bookkeeper and typist and ultimately as a real estate licensee. At age 23, she attended school at the University of Washington and upon graduating, began her legal career with the Tacoma law firm of Gordon, Thomas, Honeywell, Malanca, Peterson & Daheim. She was one of the firm’s primary residential real property lawyers until 2001 when she left to open her own office and since has served as Washington REALTORS ® Legal Hotline Attorney as well as providing a variety of other legal services for WR.

Annie also served on the task force that drafted the Agency Law from 1994 to 1996 and the task force that worked in 2004 and 2005 considering revisions to the Licensing Law, RCW 18.85. She has sued and defended real property owners, buyers, sellers and brokers across the state but has recently made it her personal priority to ensure that no Washington REALTOR® is ever sued again for something they could have avoided. Believing that education is the best way to achieve this goal, she is here today. So, take advantage of her experience and ask questions that are important to you. Raise your hand and focus discussion on issues that are challenging you today.    

Speaker Topic: The Best is Yet to Come!  

Join Annie Fitzsimmons, WR Legal Hotline Lawyer, as she presents an informative session on the real estate industry's evolutionary history. Annie will cover the implementation of RCW 18.86 in 1997 and the recent updates to the Agency Law Pamphlet. These revisions include the elimination of the requirement for a written compensation agreement before property can be shown, and the correction of minimum agency duties application to all parties involved. 

During the presentation, there will be a discussion on how the revisions to the Agency Law will protect Washington's consumers, making it less likely for brokers licensed in the state to become subject to class action litigation. Annie will also present the plan for implementation of the new law, which will take about 10 minutes. This plan will cover the effective date of January 1, 2024, and how it will affect the real estate industry in Washington. 

 Additionally, the session will feature an update on other legislation changing the industry. You'll learn about HB 1070, which covers seller leasebacks, and SB 5399, which discusses future listing rights contracts.