A statute of limitations means that an individual has a time span for when to recover the damages of a bad real estate transaction. Real estate litigation is the process of filing a lawsuit against a buyer, seller or broker who breaches a contract, commits fraud, violates a fiduciary duty or commits another harmful action. The two-year, three-year and four-year statutes of limitations in California vary based on the type of real estate dispute.
The law
Every breach of real estate contract in California must be filed within the state’s four-year statute of limitations. For fraud that involves buying and selling real estate, the statute is three years, and the statutes for other types of lawsuits are two years.
The rules and regulations that affect real estate litigation cases are outlined under the Code of Civil Procedure §§ 338(d) and 343. The four-year statute of limitations relates to breaches of contract, which affects every real estate transaction in California because each contract is required to be made in writing.
The timeline for the statute of limitations starts once the discovery of evidence is made and the breach of contract is revealed. However, determining that this breach occurred is not always straightforward.
Protecting real estate interests
Any property buyer, seller or investor can seek protection in case of a bad transaction. The problem almost always involves a real estate contract that is broken, and the rules for breaching a contract are described by the state’s real estate laws. Every real estate buyer or seller must understand the basic terms of the statutes of limitations so that they are prepared if there’s a problem.