Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Can I Still Take the Man Who Sold Me My Home to Small Claims Court?

Sounds as though your suit against the seller would be for failure to disclose, which is a species of fraud, and the statute of limitations for suits based on fraud is three years from the time the fraud is discovered, or should have been discovered by the defrauded party, given reasonable diligence. So, I would say you can file your suit up till the third anniversary of when the foundation-bolting contractor pointed out the problem, although to be on the safe side, it would be better to initiate the suit before the third anniversary of the last opportunity the seller had to disclose such matters before the purchase contract became final, if possible.

The prior correspondence could be evidence of something or other, but is probably not terribly important, and I doubt that it limits your right to sue now, even if you gave him a deadline and let it slip.

Get a book on California small claims procedures and study up on preparing, filing and serving your complaint, preparing your evidence, gathering witnesses, and collecting your judgment. The limit is now $7,500, by the way.