Deposit transfer

Definition

The move of residents' held deposits from the seller's account to the buyer's, at the same moment.

Why It Matters

This is the clearest case on the shelf of money a buyer can inherit without receiving. Washington requires deposits to sit in a dedicated trust account, and when the landlord changes, the sums in that account transfer to the successor's equivalent account at the same moment, with the residents notified of the new depository. The residents' claim outranks every creditor of the seller, a trustee in bankruptcy included, even where the money was commingled. So a credit for deposits on the settlement statement is not the same thing as a transferred balance: taking the first buys the liability without the cash.