Answer
It is not clear that agent may handle this transaction at all. What RE Brokerage Services has broker provided? Broker is licensed and insured only to provide RE Brokerage Services. Broker did not introduce buyer to the property and did not bring the property to buyer's attention on seller's behalf. Broker did not negotiate any terms of sale. From the facts presented, the only task broker is being asked to accomplish is the drafting of the purchase agreement and drafting a purchase agreement between two third parties is the practice of law.
The Washington State Supreme Court gave brokers a limited license to engage in the practice of law, to draft purchase agreements under narrow circumstances but only if broker's provision of RE Brokerage Services led to the need for the purchase agreement. In a situation like this, where the parties got themselves together and agreed to the terms of the transaction and all they need is the purchase agreement that will be used to close the transaction, then all that broker can do is advise the parties to seek legal counsel.
In this situation, as it is understood by the Hotline lawyer, broker will engage in the unauthorized practice of law if broker drafts this purchase agreement. There is no way to change that outcome by marking a box on the PSA indicating that broker represented one or both of the parties. To the contrary, that representation would be false in a situation where broker provided no brokerage services and thus, represented nobody in the provision of brokerage services.
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