Boca Raton Real Estate Transactions Attorney

The deal that goes wrong in South Florida real estate is rarely the one with a bad contract; it is the one where a good-looking contract was never read closely, and the problem surfaces months later at a failed closing, a title surprise, or a co-owner who will not sign. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm that handles commercial and residential Boca Raton real estate transactions attorney work, from purchase and sale agreements through closing disputes, for clients in Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, Broward County, and across South Florida.

Because the firm spends its days in courtrooms, it reads a real estate contract the way a judge eventually would. Every deadline, contingency, default clause, and notice provision in a purchase agreement is a possible exhibit in a later lawsuit. Drafting and negotiating with that in mind is the difference between a transaction that closes and one that ends up as a specific performance case.

Real estate here involves more than single-family homes. Investors buy retail and office space, families hold property inherited together, former business partners own parcels through LLCs, and out-of-state owners hold condos they rarely visit. Each of those situations has its own failure points, and the sections below focus on the ones that matter most.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in commercial and residential real estate transactions and litigation throughout Palm Beach County and Broward County, as well as clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own property in South Florida. Founder Andrew M. He earned his undergraduate degree at Emory University and his law degree at the University of Miami.

Andrew is joined by Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in state and federal courts. The firm works as a true legal team, so everyone on a matter knows the file, and it keeps a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court or otherwise unavailable.

The firm’s results show what that litigation background does for a transaction. After a 5-day bench trial, a Broward County Circuit Court judge issued a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. A contract that can survive that scrutiny is the kind we aim to build or enforce from the start. Many of our matters also come from referrals by other attorneys, including out-of-state lawyers whose clients have Florida property and Florida lawyers who do not handle real estate disputes.

Real Estate Transaction Issues We Handle for Boca Raton Clients

• Purchase and Sale Contract Review and Negotiation: Inspection periods, financing contingencies, deposit terms, and default remedies all decide what happens if either side walks away. Terms that look routine often control who keeps the deposit.
• Failed Closings and Contract Disputes: When a buyer or seller refuses to close, the questions are who breached, whether notice was properly given, and whether the remedy is damages, a deposit claim, or an order forcing the sale to go through.
• Commercial Real Estate Transactions: Office, retail, and investment property deals involve leases, estoppels, due diligence periods, and entity ownership structures that need to line up before closing.
• Title Problems and Quiet Title Actions: Competing ownership claims, old conveyances, and clouds on title can be resolved by a quiet title suit, which Florida courts handle in equity and which may be filed in any county where part of the land sits.
• Partition of Jointly Owned Property: When co-owners cannot agree, a court can divide the property or order it sold and the proceeds split. This comes up with former business partners, inherited property, unmarried couples, and investors who want out.
• Landlord and Tenant Matters: Lease enforcement, nonpayment, and termination follow strict notice rules under Chapter 83 of the Florida Statutes, and a defective notice can undo an otherwise valid case.
• Injunctions Protecting Property: Where a co-owner, buyer, or tenant threatens to move, encumber, or damage property, temporary and emergency injunctive relief can preserve the asset while the dispute is decided.
• Out-of-State Owners: Clients from the tri-state area who own Florida property can have the firm handle local filings and court appearances without traveling for each hearing.

What to Do Before Signing, and What to Do When a Deal Goes Sideways

If you have not yet signed, have the contract reviewed before you do. That is when a Boca Raton real estate attorney can change terms; afterward, the job is mostly enforcing what the paper says. Pay close attention to deadlines for inspection, financing, and cancellation, how notices must be delivered, and what the contract says happens to the deposit on default.

If a deal is already in trouble, preserve everything: the signed contract and all addenda, emails and texts with the other side or their agent, deposit receipts, loan commitment letters, and any notices sent or received. Do not send a termination or default letter without checking the contract’s notice requirements. A notice that misses the required form or timing can turn the party who thought they were wronged into the one in breach.

Timing matters more than most people expect. A claim founded on a written contract generally carries a five-year limitations period in Florida, while an oral or implied contract claim has four years. A suit to compel specific performance, however, carries only a one-year period. Someone who wants a court to force a sale to close cannot wait the way a damages claimant can.

Where the dispute involves a title question, the relevant cases are heard in the circuit courts: the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit for Palm Beach County and the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit for Broward County. Smaller-dollar contract and landlord disputes can land in county court, while larger cases belong in circuit court. Federal cases involving Palm Beach and Broward properties go to the Southern District of Florida when there is a basis for federal jurisdiction.

Tenants and landlords face their own clock. For unpaid rent, a landlord must deliver a written demand, and the tenant has three days, not counting weekends and court-observed holidays, to pay or leave. For other violations that can be cured, the notice gives seven days. Accepting partial rent does not by itself waive the landlord’s right to terminate, but it can complicate the notice unless handled correctly.

The most common mistakes are signing before reading, relying on a verbal promise that is not in the contract, missing a contingency deadline, and acting on a default without confirming the notice was valid. Each is far cheaper to prevent than to litigate.

Title Disputes, Partition, and Co-Ownership Conflicts

Some of the hardest real estate problems have nothing to do with a closing date. They involve who actually owns the property and what each owner can do with it.

In a quiet title action, a person claiming legal or equitable title asks the court to resolve competing claims and remove a cloud created by a conveyance or recorded instrument held by someone who is not the rightful owner. The plaintiff must trace title back at least seven years before filing, unless the court orders otherwise. Cases built on a fraudulent attempted conveyance can proceed on an expedited summary track.

Partition is the remedy when co-owners deadlock. All partition actions are heard in equity. The complaint must describe the land, name the owners and their residences, and state each owner’s share. The court then appoints three commissioners, chosen by the court unless the parties agree, to assess whether the land can be divided fairly. If it cannot be divided without prejudice to the owners, the court may order a public auction and distribute the proceeds according to each owner’s interest. A sale on credit is possible for good cause, but at least one-third of the price must be paid down unless everyone consents otherwise.

Inherited property gets special treatment. Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act applies to partition cases filed on or after July 1, 2020, when the land is held as tenants in common without a binding partition agreement, at least one owner got title from a relative, and further conditions are met, such as relatives holding twenty percent or more of the interests. In those cases, a court must consider additional factors and will not simply order a division in kind unless it finds that doing so would not prejudice the cotenants as a group. Families with inherited Boca Raton or Broward property should have this analyzed before assuming a forced sale is the only path.

Real estate held through a company adds another layer. When business partners or LLC members own property together and fall out, the dispute can involve both the operating agreement and the property itself. Florida law allows judicial dissolution of an LLC where managers or members are deadlocked and irreparable injury is threatened, where assets are being misappropriated or wasted, or where it is not reasonably practicable to carry on the business under the operating agreement. A court may appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a buyout of a petitioning member. Because the firm handles business divorce and real estate litigation together, it can address the entity and the property in one strategy.

Common Questions About Real Estate Transactions in Boca Raton

Do I need an attorney to buy or sell property in Florida?

Florida does not require an attorney for every sale, but having one review the contract before signing is worthwhile, particularly for commercial deals, investment property, entity-owned parcels, or any transaction with unusual contingencies or financing terms.

What does a real estate transactions attorney actually do?

The work includes reviewing and negotiating purchase agreements, advising on due diligence and title issues, coordinating with the other side and the closing agent, and stepping in if the deal is breached. When a transaction turns into a dispute, the same lawyer can enforce or defend the contract in court.

What happens to my deposit if the buyer or seller backs out?

That depends on the contract’s default and contingency provisions and on whether the party who backed out was entitled to do so. Disputes over deposits usually turn on notice timing and exact contract wording, so keep every communication.

Can a court force the other party to close?

Yes. A court can order specific performance of a real estate contract, which compels the sale to proceed. The firm obtained this relief for a client after a bench trial on a commercial contract. Because the limitations period for such an action is one year, delay can forfeit the remedy.

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

A claim on a written contract generally has five years, an oral or implied contract claim has four, a fraud claim runs four years from discovery with an outer limit of twelve, and a specific performance action has one year. The right deadline depends on the claim, so confirm early.

What is a quiet title action?

It is a lawsuit asking the court to determine who owns property and to cancel or remove competing claims or recorded instruments that cloud title. It may be filed in any county where part of the land is located.

Can one co-owner force the sale of a jointly owned property?

Often yes, through a partition action, though a court may first consider whether the property can be divided fairly. If it cannot, the court can order a sale and divide the proceeds by ownership share. Heirs property follows a separate set of protective rules.

I live in New York or New Jersey. Can you handle my Boca Raton property dispute?

Yes. The firm regularly represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with South Florida property, handles local court appearances, and keeps clients informed so they do not have to travel for each hearing.

If a tenant stops paying rent, how fast can a landlord act?

The landlord must deliver a written demand for payment or possession, and the tenant has three days, excluding weekends and court-observed holidays, to cure or leave. The notice must be done correctly, or the later eviction case can be challenged.

Can a co-owner or partner sell or encumber property while we are in dispute?

Sometimes they can, which is why speed matters. A court can issue temporary or emergency injunctive relief to prevent assets from being moved, sold, or damaged while the dispute is pending.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a smaller real estate dispute?

Often, yes, because the cost of a missed notice or a poorly drafted agreement can exceed the fee. The firm looks for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget, including mediation or arbitration where they make sense, instead of prolonging a case.

Serving Real Estate Clients Across Boca Raton and South Florida

The firm represents buyers, sellers, investors, landlords, and co-owners in Boca Raton and throughout Palm Beach County, including West Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Highland Beach, Lake Worth Beach, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens. To the south, it serves Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, Parkland, Coconut Creek, Margate, Sunrise, Plantation, and Hollywood.

Many clients hold Boca Raton and nearby property while living elsewhere, and the firm regularly works with owners from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Whether the matter is a commercial purchase, a failed closing, a co-ownership standoff, or a title cloud, we handle the filings and court appearances in the state and federal courts that serve the region.

Talk With a Boca Raton Real Estate Attorney Before the Deal Decides for You

Whether you are about to sign a purchase agreement or already facing a failed closing, a title dispute, or a co-owner who will not cooperate, speaking with a Boca Raton real estate attorney early gives you the most options. Call the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team to discuss your situation; we return calls within 24 hours and can arrange a scheduled conference call at a time that works for you.