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Real estate fraud damages estimator: Civil Code § 3343

For buyers who purchased real property because of a false statement or a failure to disclose an important fact. Part 1 checks whether the calculator fits your situation. Part 2 estimates damages. Results update as you type.

Part 1: Does this calculator apply?

Step 1: What happened?

Did you purchase real property because of an alleged false statement or failure to disclose an important fact?


This calculator is designed for buyers of real property. Section 3343 also covers people defrauded when selling or exchanging property, and other remedies may apply to fraud outside a property transaction. Please consult an attorney about your situation.
Step 2: Who made the statement or hid the fact?

Check everyone who was involved.




Your own agent owes you fiduciary duties. A claim against your own agent can be measured differently from a claim against the seller.4 Enter the value the property would have had as represented in Step 7 to see the comparison.
Step 3: Was the problem known before closing?

Before closing, did you know the true facts or know about the defect?


Recovery may be affected because a misrepresentation claim ordinarily requires actual and reasonable reliance.1

Did you receive a home inspection or other professional report before closing?



An inspection does not by itself defeat a fraud claim. A buyer can generally rely on a seller’s statements even if a more thorough investigation might have uncovered the truth.2
If your own report flagged the problem or recommended further evaluation, the other side will likely argue you did not reasonably rely on the seller’s statements.2
Step 4: When did you discover the problem?

Deadlines to file suit can be short. These dates are used only to flag possible timing issues.5

Step 5: What type of property was involved?


This does not decide whether § 3343 applies. It identifies possible additional disclosure statutes.

For covered residential transfers of one to four units, the seller’s Transfer Disclosure Statement law (Civil Code §§ 1102–1102.19) may provide an additional basis for actual damages against anyone who willfully or negligently fails to perform a disclosure duty, which can include the seller and the agents.3 Certain transfers are exempt, including many probate, foreclosure, fiduciary, co-owner, and family transfers.
The Transfer Disclosure Statement statute generally does not apply to this property type. Section 3343 still applies to fraud in the purchase. In commercial transactions, courts may weigh the buyer’s sophistication and opportunity to investigate when evaluating reliance.

Part 2: Estimate potential § 3343 damages

The legal formulaOut-of-pocket loss: what you paid minus what the property was actually worth on the date of purchase, plus additional damages listed in § 3343(a).
The evidence used to prove itUsually a retrospective appraisal of value on the purchase date. The cost to repair is not the measure of damages and is not entered here, although an appraiser may consider it when forming an opinion of value.
Step 6: Purchase price
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Step 7: Actual value when purchased § 3343(a)
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This is not necessarily the present value or the repair cost. It ordinarily requires an appraisal or other evidence of the property’s value when the transaction occurred. Do not subtract a repair estimate from the price to arrive at this number.6

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Used only for the fiduciary comparison in the results. It is never added to the § 3343 total.

Step 8: Additional damages
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Actual, reasonable expenses: inspection, escrow, and loan fees; moving costs; improvements made before you discovered the problem. Repairs made after you learned the truth generally are not expenses made in reliance on the fraud.

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Only to the extent the loss was caused by the fraud, such as temporary housing or lost rental value while the property could not be used.

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Profits you reasonably expected if the property had the characteristics represented. Counted only if all three conditions below are met.



Step 9: Credits and offsets
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Settlements with other parties, credits or price reductions, insurance or warranty payments for the same loss.

Step 10: Prejudgment interest (optional) § 3288

In fraud cases, interest is in the discretion of the judge or jury and is not guaranteed. Uses the closing date from Step 4.

Notes and authorities

  1. The elements of fraud include justifiable reliance. Lazar v. Superior Court (1996) 12 Cal.4th 631, 638; Civ. Code §§ 1709, 1710. A buyer who knew the true facts before closing generally cannot show reliance on the contrary statement.
  2. Reliance is not unjustified merely because the buyer could have discovered the truth through investigation. Seeger v. Odell (1941) 18 Cal.2d 409, 414–415. A buyer’s negligence in failing to discover the falsity does not bar recovery unless the buyer’s conduct was manifestly unreasonable in light of the buyer’s own knowledge and intelligence. Alliance Mortgage Co. v. Rothwell (1995) 10 Cal.4th 1226, 1239–1240. An “as is” clause does not shield a seller from liability for fraud. Shapiro v. Hu (1986) 188 Cal.App.3d 324, 333–334. On a seller’s or agent’s reliance on an inspection report delivered to the buyer, see Civ. Code § 1102.4.
  3. Civ. Code § 1102 (scope: transfers of real property improved with one to four dwelling units); § 1102.2 (exempt transfers); § 1102.13 (any person who willfully or negligently violates or fails to perform a duty under the article is liable for the transferee’s actual damages; failure to comply does not invalidate the transfer). Section 1102.13 is not limited to brokers. A listing or selling agent’s separate duty to conduct a reasonably competent and diligent visual inspection of one-to-four-unit residential property appears in Civ. Code § 2079.
  4. Section 3343 is the measure of damages for fraud in the purchase, sale, or exchange of property and does not allow benefit-of-the-bargain damages in an ordinary arm’s-length transaction. Alliance Mortgage Co. v. Rothwell, supra, 10 Cal.4th at 1240. Where the defendant was the buyer’s fiduciary, courts have permitted damages under Civ. Code § 3333, including the benefit of the bargain. Stout v. Turney (1978) 22 Cal.3d 718, 725–727; Fragale v. Faulkner (2003) 110 Cal.App.4th 229, 236–240. A plaintiff may not recover the same loss twice.
  5. Fraud: three years from discovery of the facts constituting the fraud. Code Civ. Proc. § 338(d). Claims against a broker for breach of the visual-inspection duty: two years from close of escrow, recordation, or possession, whichever occurs first. Civ. Code § 2079.4. Other claims (contract, negligence, fiduciary duty) have their own deadlines.
  6. Value is measured as of the date of the transaction. Bagdasarian v. Gragnon (1948) 31 Cal.2d 744, 752–753. Later changes in market value generally do not change the measure.

This is an educational estimate, not legal advice. Using this calculator does not create an attorney-client relationship. Actual damages depend on the evidence, expert valuation, the court’s findings, and defenses such as comparative fault, the statute of limitations, and failure to mitigate. Punitive damages (Civ. Code § 3294), rescission (Civ. Code § 1689), and attorney fees are not included.

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