In Washington, real estate contracts must be:

Verbal contracts are generally not enforceable for real estate transactions in Washington. The Statute of Frauds explicitly requires real estate contracts to be in writing, making verbal agreements legally invalid for property transfers.

While notarization adds authenticity to a document, it is not a requirement for a real estate contract to be enforceable in Washington. Notarization becomes important later when documents need recording.

Recording a document provides public notice of ownership interests but is not required for the contract itself to be enforceable between the parties. The writing requirement comes before recording.