North Palm Beach Real Estate Transactions Attorney

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles real estate transactions and the disputes that grow out of them for property owners, investors, landlords, and families in North Palm Beach and across Palm Beach County and Broward County. If you are looking for a North Palm Beach real estate transactions attorney, you are probably in one of two places: about to sign something significant, or holding a deal that has stopped going the way the paper said it would.

Both situations turn on the same thing, which is the written contract. Florida gives a party to a written agreement five years to sue on it, but a claim for specific performance, where you ask a court to force the other side to close, carries only a one-year limit. That gap catches people. A buyer or seller who waits to see if a deal might revive can lose the strongest remedy the contract offers before realizing the clock was running.

Our work runs from the front end of a deal, reviewing and negotiating purchase and sale contracts, leases, and closing documents, through litigation when a closing fails, title is clouded, or co-owners cannot agree. Having the same team on both sides of that line matters, because a contract drafted by someone who has tried the disputes that follow tends to be a better contract.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Your Real Estate Deal

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm serving North Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and communities throughout Palm Beach County and Broward County, along with clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own property or hold business interests in South Florida. Schwartz, has spent 37 years in litigation and has practiced in Florida since being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989.

He is joined by Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts. The firm practices as a true legal team, which means everyone working on your file knows it. We answer the phone, and when we are in court and cannot, we keep a strict 24 hour return call policy.

Real estate paperwork is where litigation experience pays off. In 2024, after a five-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. A result like that depends on how the contract was written, what the parties did afterward, and how quickly the case was filed given that one-year window. We bring that perspective to the transaction itself, and we are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as the courtroom, so we look for the resolution that fits your goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake.

Real Estate Matters We Handle for North Palm Beach Owners and Investors

• Purchase and Sale Contracts: Commercial and residential contracts that set out contingencies, deposit terms, closing dates, and default remedies, reviewed before signing so the exits you need actually exist.
• Failed Closings: Disputes over deposits, missed deadlines, financing falling through, or a seller who decides not to perform, including suits seeking specific performance or damages.
• Commercial and Residential Leases: Drafting and negotiating leases, and handling landlord and tenant disputes, including termination notices under Chapter 83 of the Florida Statutes.
• Title Problems and Quiet Title Actions: Competing ownership claims, recorded instruments that cloud title, and suits asking the court to determine who owns the land and remove the cloud.
• Partition Actions: Co-owners who cannot agree, including former business partners, siblings who inherited property, unmarried couples, and investors who want out of a shared holding.
• Property Held Through a Business: Real estate owned by an LLC or corporation whose members are deadlocked, where the property dispute is really a business divorce.
• Emergency Injunctions: Temporary and permanent injunctive relief to stop a sale, transfer, or use of property while the underlying dispute is decided.

What to Do When a Real Estate Deal Goes Wrong or Needs a Second Look

Start by gathering the paper: the signed contract and every amendment, addenda, the deposit receipt, correspondence with the other side and any brokers, and anything recorded against the property. Disputes in this area are decided on the document and the parties’ conduct, and an email in which one side said it would extend a deadline can matter as much as the clause itself. Do not delete messages, and do not sign a release, extension, or new version without having it reviewed first.

Then work out which deadline you are living under. A claim on a written contract generally has five years. An oral or implied agreement has four. Rescission has four. Fraud has four years from discovery, with an outer limit of twelve. Specific performance has one. If you want to keep the property or hold the other side to the sale, treat the one-year period as the controlling date and talk to us early.

If money or property is at risk of moving, say a seller is lining up another buyer or a co-owner is encumbering the land, speak up quickly, because a court can enter an injunction to preserve the status quo while the case proceeds. Where the dispute involves a lease, notice rules are exact: a tenant who fails to pay rent has three days after written demand, excluding weekends and court-observed holidays, before the landlord may terminate. Other breaches that can be cured generally carry seven days to fix, and breaches that cannot be cured can lead to a seven-day notice to vacate. Accepting partial rent after a notice does not waive the landlord’s rights, but it creates paperwork requirements that landlords often get wrong.

Cases above the county court limit are filed in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Palm Beach County. For a North Palm Beach property, that means the circuit court serving the county, with a courthouse in Palm Beach Gardens handling a share of local filings. If the property or the defendant is in Broward County, the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit applies, and its complex business division handles large business and construction disputes. Federal court in West Palm Beach or Fort Lauderdale is an option only when federal jurisdiction exists. A quiet title suit can be brought in any county where part of the land sits, so venue is worth discussing before anything is filed.

The most common mistakes we see are waiting too long, negotiating informally for months while a deadline passes, and making verbal side deals that contradict the written contract. Another is assuming that a title problem will clear itself. It usually does not.

Title, Partition, and Co-Ownership Disputes in Palm Beach County

Many real estate disputes are not between buyer and seller at all. They arise because two or more people own the same property and want different things. Florida’s partition statutes let a co-owner ask the court either to divide the land or, when a fair division is impractical, to order it sold and split the proceeds in proportion to each owner’s interest. The complaint must describe the land, name the owners and where they live, and state what each holds. The court generally appoints three commissioners to evaluate whether division is workable, and if it is not, the property can be sold at public auction. A court-ordered sale may allow credit terms for good cause, but at least one-third of the purchase price must be paid at the outset unless everyone agrees otherwise.

Inherited property gets special treatment. Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act applies to cases filed on or after July 1, 2020, and covers property held by cotenants where title came from a relative and further statutory conditions are met, such as relatives holding twenty percent or more of the interests. When it applies, a court cannot simply order an auction; it must weigh a set of factors and may favor partition in kind, or give other cotenants a chance to buy out the one who wants to sell. If you inherited a share of a North Palm Beach property alongside siblings or cousins, that distinction can change the outcome.

Quiet title is the other tool. Under Chapter 65, a person claiming legal or equitable title can ask the court to determine ownership and cancel a conveyance or other instrument that clouds title. The plaintiff generally has to trace title back at least seven years. Adverse possession claims also come up in these cases, and they have exacting requirements: seven years of continuous possession, a claim of title exclusive of others, and, for claims under color of title, a recorded instrument. Where a property sits inside a business entity, the same facts can support a judicial dissolution claim, since a Florida circuit court can dissolve an LLC when members are deadlocked and irreparable injury is threatened or assets are being misappropriated.

Questions North Palm Beach Clients Ask About Real Estate Transactions

When should I hire a real estate attorney for a purchase or sale?

Before you sign. Once a contract is executed, its deadlines and default remedies bind you. Having counsel review the contingencies, deposit terms, and closing mechanics before signing is far cheaper than litigating them later.

Can I force a seller to close on a property I contracted to buy?

Possibly. Specific performance asks a court to order the sale to go through, and it is most often available for real estate because each parcel is considered unique. You must be ready, willing, and able to close yourself, and the action must be brought within one year.

How long do I have to sue over a broken real estate contract?

For a contract founded on a written instrument, five years. For oral or implied contracts, four. Rescission is four years, fraud is four years from discovery with a twelve-year cap, and specific performance is one year. Which one applies depends on what remedy you want.

What happens to my deposit if the deal falls through?

That depends on the contract’s default and contingency language and on who failed to perform. Deposits are frequently disputed after failed closings, and the answer usually comes down to whether a contingency was properly exercised on time.

Is a partition action the same as a sale?

Not necessarily. Partition can divide the land physically, but if that would harm the owners as a group, the court can order a sale and divide the proceeds by ownership share. Heirs property cases have additional protections.

What is a quiet title action?

It is a lawsuit asking the court to determine who owns property and to cancel a recorded instrument or claim that clouds the title. It is used when ownership is contested or when you need to clear a competing claim.

Can a co-owner force me to sell inherited property?

A co-owner can file for partition, but if the property qualifies as heirs property, the statute gives the other cotenants specific rights, including an opportunity to buy out the petitioner, and limits when a court can order a forced sale.

My landlord gave me a notice. How long do I have to respond?

For unpaid rent, the written demand gives three days, excluding weekends and court-observed holidays. For other curable violations, seven days to correct. Some breaches that cannot be cured lead to a seven-day notice to vacate. The notice must follow the statute’s requirements to be effective.

I live in New York or New Jersey and own property in North Palm Beach. Can you handle a dispute for me?

Yes. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with South Florida property, handle the local court appearances, and keep you informed so you do not need to travel for every hearing.

Does a real estate dispute always end up in court?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, especially when the contract requires it. We pursue whichever path is most likely to reach your goal efficiently, and we prepare every case as though it could be tried.

If my business owns the property, who has authority to sell it?

That is governed by the operating or shareholder agreement and Florida entity law. If members disagree, the sale itself can become the dispute, and remedies range from a negotiated buyout to a court-supervised dissolution.

Do you work with attorneys who have clients with Florida real estate issues?

Yes. A significant part of our practice comes from referrals by other lawyers, and we communicate with referring counsel throughout the matter and respect their relationship with the client.

Serving North Palm Beach Real Estate Clients Across Palm Beach and Broward Counties

We represent property owners and investors in North Palm Beach and the neighboring communities of Palm Beach Gardens, Juno Beach, Jupiter, Lake Park, Riviera Beach, Tequesta, and Singer Island. Moving south through Palm Beach County, our work reaches West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Lake Worth Beach, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and Boca Raton. In Broward County, we serve clients in Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, and Hollywood.

Whether the issue is a purchase contract on a waterfront property, a commercial lease dispute, or co-owners fighting over a shared parcel, we handle the proceedings in the courts that matter for your property, and we work with out of state owners from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who need local representation without the burden of constant travel.

Talk With a North Palm Beach Real Estate Attorney Before the Deadline Decides for You

Whether you are about to sign a contract, stuck in a failed closing, or sharing title with someone you can no longer work with, a conversation with a North Palm Beach real estate attorney at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can tell you which remedy is still available and how much time you have to use it. Call us to schedule a consultation and bring whatever documents you have. We will tell you plainly what we see and what it will likely take.