Real Estate Law Blog
Plain-English guides on the real estate problems Jimmy sees most often — seller nondisclosure, agent misconduct, earnest money deposits, case damages, and mediation — written for California home buyers trying to figure out what happened and what to do next.
Nondisclosure & Seller Fraud
What sellers are legally required to tell you, and what to do when they don’t.
Seller Didn’t Disclose a Defect? What California Home Buyers Can Do
What counts as a nondisclosure violation under California law, and what you may be able to recover.
Read More →Understanding California’s TDS and SPQ: What Sellers Must Tell You
A plain-English guide to the two disclosure forms at the center of most nondisclosure cases.
Read More →5 Signs Your Home Seller Lied on the Disclosure Form
Five warning signs worth investigating if something feels off about your new home.
Read More →Unpermitted Additions and Conversions: What Buyers Need to Know
Why unpermitted work is more than a paperwork issue, and how to check before and after closing.
Read More →Water Intrusion, Mold, and Foundation Issues
The three most common categories behind California real estate nondisclosure claims.
Read More →Foundation Problems After You Bought the House
Settling, slab cracks or sloping floors found after closing: what the seller had to disclose and how to prove they knew.
Read More →Earnest Money & Deposits
What happens to your deposit when a purchase falls apart, and how to get it back.
Before You Remove Contingencies in California: What a Home Buyer Gives Up
What a contingency removal does under the RPA, the 17-day defaults, the loan, appraisal and insurance traps, late disclosures, and a checklist for the day before.
Read More →Seller Changed the Property — or the Tenant — During Escrow: Can the Buyer Cancel?
A new tenant, a lower rent, missing items or fresh damage at the walk-through. What the contract promises at closing, the three ways out, and why the liquidated damages clause may not reach your deposit.
Read More →How to Get Your Earnest Money Deposit Back in California
The Civil Code § 1057.3 written demand, the 3% liquidated damages cap, and what to do first.
Read More →Agent Misconduct
What your agent owes you, and what happens when that duty is broken.
Can You Sue Your Real Estate Agent in California?
Breach of fiduciary duty explained — what it looks like and what you may be able to recover.
Read More →Dual Agency in California: Is Your Agent Really on Your Side?
Dual agency is legal in California, but it comes with risks buyers often don’t understand.
Read More →Damages & Case Value
How California calculates what a nondisclosure or fraud case is actually worth.
How Much Is My Nondisclosure Case Worth?
Understanding California damages under Civil Code §3343(a), in plain terms.
Read More →Punitive Damages in Real Estate Fraud Cases
When punitive damages are available in a California nondisclosure case — and when they’re not.
Read More →Title Fraud & Forged Deeds
When someone impersonates an owner and sells or borrows against property they don’t own.
Someone Sold My Land, and It Wasn’t Me
Seller impersonation fraud: the red flags, why a forged deed is void in California, and how owners get their title back.
Read More →Mediation & Process
What to know about the process before you file a lawsuit.
What to Do Before You Sue: Mediation Requirements in the CAR Purchase Agreement
Skipping mediation first can cost you the right to recover attorney’s fees — even if you win.
Read More →Do I Need a Lawyer at a C.A.R. Mediation?
What happens in the session, what an advocate does there that you cannot, and what it costs.
Read More →Commercial Real Estate
Leases, renewals and commercial purchases, for tenants and buyers.
Signing a New Commercial Lease in California: What to Settle Before You Sign
The letter of intent, permitted use and permits, delivery condition, the work letter and allowance, rent commencement, rentable square feet and the clauses you will want later.
Read More →Commercial Property Due Diligence in California: What to Finish Before Your Contingencies Expire
No TDS, no agent inspection duty, and contingencies that lapse in silence. Title and survey, estoppels against the rent roll, the Phase I, zoning, the CASp inspection and the Prop 13 math.
Read More →Commercial Lease Renewal in California: 5 Terms to Renegotiate Before You Sign
The notice window, CAM pass-throughs, the personal guaranty, the CASp disclosure and the deposit rules that actually apply to commercial space.
Read More →Las Vegas & Nevada
For Californians relocating to Las Vegas or buying Nevada property. Jimmy acts as a broker in Nevada, not as an attorney.
The Las Vegas Purchase Agreement vs. the California RPA: What Happens to Your Earnest Money
The one-business-day deposit, one due-diligence clock, no 3% cap, and how Nevada’s escrow-release statute differs from California’s.
Read More →Taking Title to a Las Vegas Home from California: Vesting, Trusts, LLCs and Taxes
Vesting, living trusts, Nevada LLC costs, transfer tax, the property tax cap, and what California can still tax.
Read More →Can My California Real Estate Agent Help Me Buy in Las Vegas?
Why a California license does not carry over, how referral fees are paid broker to broker, and the Nevada paperwork you will sign.
Read More →Moving from California to Las Vegas: What a Real Estate Attorney Checks First
The two-state timeline, the California sale, Nevada’s disclosure form, the HOA five-day right and the tax questions for your CPA.
Read More →1031 Exchange from California to Las Vegas
The 45- and 180-day clocks when buying from out of state, California withholding, FTB Form 3840 every year, and why you cannot simply move in.
Read More →Buying a Las Vegas Rental Property from California
The 1031 exchange’s California tail, short-term rental licensing, HOA rental caps and the property tax cap.
Read More →Buying Las Vegas New Construction from California
The builder’s contract, where earnest money and upgrade deposits go, the five-day cancellation right, soil reports and defect claims.
Read More →Nevada vs. California Seller Disclosures
The Seller’s Real Property Disclosure against the TDS and SPQ: deadlines, the four-working-day rescission, treble damages and agent duties.
Read More →Have a real estate problem that doesn’t quite match what you’ve read here? Email jimmy@lawjn.com and describe your situation — Jimmy will follow up to set a complimentary phone consultation.
Have a problem these articles didn’t cover?
Write out what happened and Jimmy will review it personally. There is no charge for the initial case evaluation. Please keep it to the facts for now — until an attorney-client relationship is established in writing, what you send may not be protected as confidential.
Jimmy represents home buyers in seller non-disclosure, agent misconduct, and earnest money disputes in California, and takes other real estate matters where the facts warrant it. He is based in San Jose and works throughout Santa Clara County and elsewhere in California — the property does not have to be nearby. He is a licensed broker in California and Nevada.
Jimmy reads every submission himself, and you can expect a reply usually within one business day.