A San Jose real estate attorney who is also a licensed broker
Jimmy Nguyen is a real estate attorney in San Jose, California, practicing from an office at 772 North 1st Street — a few blocks up the same street from the civil courthouses where Santa Clara County real estate cases are heard. He is a California licensed attorney (State Bar #282045) and a licensed real estate broker in California (DRE 01496817) and Nevada (B.1003193.LLC), and he has worked inside the real estate industry for over 20 years.
Most of the people who contact him are home buyers who have just discovered something the seller never mentioned, or who are still in escrow and watching a deposit they cannot afford to lose. He 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.
The disputes that bring people to this office
- A seller who did not disclose. Water intrusion, a foundation problem, unpermitted work, a death on the property, a neighbor dispute — something material the seller knew and left off the TDS or the SPQ. Seller disclosure and agent misconduct claims.
- An agent or broker who did not protect you. A skipped visual inspection, a material fact papered over, a dual-agency conflict, pressure to remove a contingency so a commission could close. Suing your own real estate agent.
- An earnest money deposit nobody will release. The other side is sitting on your deposit, or the seller is claiming the whole thing as liquidated damages. Earnest money and deposit disputes.
- A purchase contract that is going wrong while you are still in escrow. This is the moment when advice is worth the most and the one most people wait too long to ask for.
- A commercial property or lease dispute. Commercial real estate matters.
Where a Santa Clara County real estate case actually goes
People are often surprised at how local this gets. Civil real estate cases in this county are filed and heard downtown, within a few blocks of each other on North First Street:
- Downtown Superior Court, 191 North First Street — Departments 1 through 16, handling civil, probate and small claims matters. Civil filings go to the Clerk’s Office here, and there is a drop box in the lobby.
- The Old Courthouse, 161 North First Street — six further civil departments, Departments 17 through 22. Its mailing address is the Downtown Superior Court’s.
Which door your matter goes through depends mostly on what you are asking for. A deposit dispute under the small claims limit — $12,500 for an individual claimant — can be brought without a lawyer at all, and if that is genuinely the best route for your situation, Jimmy will tell you so on the first call rather than after you have paid him. A non-disclosure claim seeking repair costs, diminution in value and consequential damages under Civil Code § 3343 is an ordinary civil action and belongs in one of the departments above.
There is a step before any of it that catches people out. The California Association of Realtors residential purchase agreement most Santa Clara County transactions are written on requires the parties to attempt mediation before filing, and a party who refuses a proper mediation request can forfeit the right to recover attorney fees even if they go on to win. That single clause has cost buyers more than any filing fee. More on the mediation requirement, and Jimmy’s own real estate mediation practice.
Deadlines are the reason to call early
Real estate claims run on clocks that start before most people realise anything is wrong, and the evidence that proves them — listing photos, prior MLS records, permit history, the agent’s own file — gets harder to obtain the longer you wait. If you are still in escrow, the contingency and closing dates in your contract are running right now. If you have already closed and found something, the useful question is not whether you have a case but how much time you have left to decide. That is what the first conversation is for.
San Jose and the rest of Santa Clara County
Jimmy is based in San Jose and takes matters throughout Santa Clara County — Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Mountain View, Cupertino, Campbell, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Milpitas, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Palo Alto and Los Altos among them — as well as elsewhere in California where the facts warrant it. The property does not have to be in San Jose for him to look at it; several current matters involve homes hours away.
What happens after you write to him
Jimmy reads every submission himself and replies personally, usually within one business day. If the matter is one he can help with, the next step is a complimentary phone consultation to understand the facts and answer your preliminary questions. There is no obligation and no fee for that conversation.
If you decide to move forward after that, he will quote a fee for the specific work you have agreed on — depending on the matter, a flat fee, an advance retainer, an hourly arrangement, or in some cases a contingency fee paid from a recovery. You will have the scope and the fee arrangement in writing before anything begins.
Attorney and broker in one
Few attorneys see a real estate dispute from as many angles. Jimmy has been licensed as a California salesperson since 2005 and as a broker since 2007, which means that when a seller hides a defect or an agent gives bad advice, he understands both the law being broken and the ordinary industry practice it departed from — what an agent should have put in the AVID, what a reasonable listing file looks like, what the disclosure packet should have contained. Jimmy is licensed to practise law only in California; his Nevada credential is a real estate broker licence, not a law licence.
Further reading on the most common Santa Clara County matters: Seller Didn’t Disclose a Defect? What California Home Buyers Can Do, How to Get Your Earnest Money Deposit Back in California, Understanding California’s TDS and SPQ, and the Real Estate Law FAQ.
Questions buyers ask first
How much does it cost to talk to a real estate attorney in San Jose?
Jimmy offers a complimentary phone consultation to understand your matter and answer preliminary questions. There is no obligation and no fee for that conversation. If you decide to move forward afterwards, he quotes a fee for the specific work you have agreed on — depending on the matter, a flat fee, an advance retainer, an hourly arrangement, or in some cases a contingency fee paid from a recovery. You will have the scope and the fee arrangement in writing before anything begins.
Do I have to live in San Jose for Jimmy to take my case?
No. Jimmy is based in San Jose and takes matters throughout Santa Clara County, and elsewhere in California where the facts warrant it. Several current matters involve properties hours away. What matters is the nature of the dispute, not the distance.
How long do I have to sue a seller who did not disclose a defect?
Three different limitations periods can run on the same facts. Fraud or concealment against the seller is generally three years from when you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the problem. Breach of the written purchase agreement is four years. A claim against a real estate agent for the visual-inspection duty under Civil Code section 2079 is capped at two years from the date of possession by Civil Code section 2079.4, and the discovery rule does not extend it. That two-year cap is the one that usually expires first.
Do I have to mediate before I can file in Santa Clara County?
Usually, yes. The California Association of Realtors residential purchase agreement that most Santa Clara County transactions are written on requires the parties to attempt mediation before filing, and a party who refuses a proper mediation request can forfeit the right to recover attorney fees even if they go on to win. Check the mediation clause in your own agreement before you do anything else.
Where would my Santa Clara County real estate case be heard?
Civil real estate matters in this county are heard downtown on North First Street. The Downtown Superior Court at 191 North First Street houses Departments 1 through 16, covering civil, probate and small claims, and the Old Courthouse at 161 North First Street houses six further civil departments, 17 through 22. A deposit dispute under the $12,500 small claims limit for an individual claimant can be brought without a lawyer at all.
Does an “as-is” clause mean I have no claim?
No. California courts have rejected the idea that selling a home as-is excuses a seller from disclosing known defects. An as-is provision does not relieve a seller who actively misrepresented or failed to disclose the true condition of the property. If you were told the as-is language ends the discussion, that is not correct.
More at the Real Estate Law FAQ, and if you have just discovered something, start with what to do in the first 72 hours.
Tell Jimmy what happened
If something on this page sounds like your situation, 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 of your situation 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 a licensed broker in California and Nevada.
Jimmy reads every submission himself, and you can expect a reply usually within one business day.