Dania Beach Real Estate Transactions Attorney

A purchase contract that was supposed to close in thirty days is now sixty days late, the seller has stopped returning calls, and the property you were counting on sits in a pocket of Broward County that moves quickly. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles Dania Beach real estate transactions attorney work for buyers, sellers, investors, landlords, tenants, and co-owners, representing clients in Dania Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and throughout Broward County and Palm Beach County.

Real estate deals in this part of South Florida rarely involve a single issue. A waterfront or near-airport parcel may carry title questions, a commercial buyer may be financing through a loan with its own default triggers, and an inherited home may have three siblings who want three different outcomes. The paperwork at the front end of a deal decides most of what happens at the back end, so our work covers both drafting and negotiating transactions and litigating them when they fail.

Because the firm is a litigation practice, we read a contract differently than a lawyer who only closes deals. We look at how each clause would be argued in front of a judge, what the deadlines mean if a party misses one, and whether a remedy written on paper can actually be enforced.

Where Real Estate Transactions Go Wrong in Broward County

Most disputes trace back to a handful of recurring problems. The list below reflects the kinds of matters a Dania Beach real estate lawyer sees most often and the issues each one raises under Florida law.

• Failed Closings and Purchase Contract Disputes: A buyer who cannot obtain financing, a seller who receives a better offer, or a dispute over who is entitled to the deposit can all end in litigation. The written contract controls, including its deadlines, contingencies, and default remedies.
• Specific Performance Claims: Land is treated as unique under Florida law, so a buyer may ask a court to compel the sale rather than accept money damages. Timing matters because the limitations period for a specific performance action is only one year.
• Commercial Lease Conflicts: Rent escalations, common area charges, personal guarantees, assignment and subletting restrictions, and early termination clauses produce disputes between landlords and business tenants along the Federal Highway and Dania Beach Boulevard corridors and beyond.
• Residential Landlord and Tenant Matters: Florida’s residential landlord-tenant statute sets strict notice requirements, including a three-day demand for unpaid rent that excludes weekends and court-observed holidays and a seven-day notice for many other lease violations. A defective notice can derail an eviction.
• Partition of Jointly Owned Property: Former business partners, siblings who inherited a home, unmarried couples, and co-investors may need a court to divide the property or order it sold and split the proceeds.
• Title Defects and Quiet Title Actions: Competing ownership claims, recorded instruments that cloud title, and conveyances procured by fraud can be resolved through a quiet title action in the circuit court.
• Investment Property Disputes Among Partners: When a property is held through an LLC or partnership, a real estate problem often becomes a partnership problem, involving misused funds, deadlocked management, or a buyout.
• Loan Documents and Construction Agreements: Disputes over default, payment, change orders, and contractor performance frequently surface alongside the purchase or lease itself.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Dania Beach Real Estate Matters

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a South Florida business and real estate litigation firm serving business owners, investors, and families in Broward County, Palm Beach County, and the communities between. Firm founder Andrew M. Schwartz has spent 37 years in litigation, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989, and earned his law degree from the University of Miami after an undergraduate degree from Emory University. His practice has centered on complex contract disputes, partner and member conflicts, and real estate litigation, which is exactly the experience a failed or contested property transaction demands.

Andrew is joined by Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience handling business and real estate cases in state and federal courts. The firm works as a true legal team, so everyone assigned to your file knows it, calls are answered, and a strict 24 hour return call policy applies when the attorneys are in court. Andrew often tells clients that what they want is a lawyer who acts as the situation requires and uses finesse when finesse will do, and the firm looks for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake.

Recent results show what that looks like in practice. After a five-day bench trial, a Broward County circuit court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding one of our clients specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. The firm is also experienced in mediation and arbitration, handles local court appearances for clients who live out of state, and regularly receives referrals from other attorneys whose clients have Florida property disputes.

What to Do When a Florida Real Estate Deal Is Falling Apart

Start by gathering the documents before anyone argues about what was said. That means the signed contract and every addendum, the deposit and escrow records, inspection and survey reports, lender correspondence, emails and texts with the other side or their agent, and any notices sent or received. Florida courts enforce written agreements as written, so the paper trail is usually the case.

Next, look at the calendar. A claim founded on a written contract can generally be brought within five years, and an oral or implied contract claim within four. A suit to rescind a contract has a four-year period, and a fraud claim runs four years from discovery, subject to an outside limit of twelve years. A suit seeking specific performance carries a one-year period, which is the deadline people most often underestimate. Separate from these, contractual deadlines inside the deal itself, such as inspection periods, financing contingencies, and cure windows, can expire in days, and missing one can forfeit a right.

Be careful about what you say and sign while the dispute is live. Do not accept partial performance, release a deposit, or agree to an extension informally without understanding what it waives. If the problem involves a tenant, remember that notices must follow the statute exactly, and that a landlord who accepts partial rent after posting a nonpayment notice must handle it correctly to keep the eviction on track.

Where your case is heard depends on the amount and the relief you seek. County courts handle money claims up to a statutory ceiling that is adjusted periodically, and claims above it go to the circuit court. Suits involving title, partition, injunctions, or specific performance belong in circuit court. For Dania Beach properties, that means the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County and operates complex business divisions for larger commercial and business disputes. If the property or the other party is in Palm Beach County, the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit would hear the case, and federal court in the Southern District of Florida, which sits in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, may be available where federal jurisdiction exists. When a property is being sold, hidden, or encumbered while the case is pending, we can seek emergency injunctive relief to preserve it.

Partition and Quiet Title: Resolving Co-Ownership and Cloudy Ownership

Co-ownership is one of the most common sources of real estate conflict. Under Florida’s partition statute, any co-owner may ask the circuit court to divide the property. The complaint must describe the land, identify the owners and where they live, and state each owner’s share. The court then appoints three commissioners, chosen by agreement of the parties or by the court, to determine whether the land can be divided fairly. If division would prejudice the owners, the court may order a public sale and divide the proceeds according to ownership interests. When a sale is made on credit for good cause, at least one-third of the price must be paid at closing unless everyone consents otherwise.

Inherited property gets special treatment. Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act applies when the cotenants hold title as tenants in common, there is no binding agreement governing partition, at least one cotenant acquired title from a relative, and certain additional conditions are met, including that twenty percent or more of the interests are held by relatives. In those cases the court must follow a more protective process and will not order partition in kind unless the commissioners considered the statutory factors and found that the group of cotenants would be prejudiced by dividing the land.

Quiet title actions address a different problem: a recorded instrument or competing claim that clouds who owns what. The circuit court has authority to determine title and cancel a conveyance or other evidence of title held by someone who is not the rightful owner. A plaintiff generally must trace title back at least seven years before filing, and the suit may be brought in any county where part of the land lies. Related doctrines such as adverse possession, which requires seven years of continuous possession under the statutory requirements, sometimes surface in these cases and are fact-intensive.

Frequently Asked Questions About Dania Beach Real Estate Transactions

Do I need a lawyer to buy or sell property in Dania Beach?

Florida does not require one, but a transaction involving commercial property, an investment entity, a seller-financed deal, or any unusual contract term benefits from legal review before signing. Fixing a bad clause before closing costs far less than litigating it afterward.

What can I do if a seller refuses to close?

Depending on the contract, you may be able to sue for specific performance, seek damages, or recover your deposit. The right choice depends on the default provisions and on how quickly you act, since a specific performance action must be filed within one year.

Who keeps the deposit if a deal collapses?

The contract’s default and contingency language decides it. If a financing or inspection contingency was properly exercised within its deadline, the buyer may be entitled to the deposit back. If the buyer defaulted, the seller may be entitled to keep it under the contract’s remedy provisions.

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

A claim on a written contract generally has a five-year period and an oral or implied contract claim four years. Rescission claims have four years, and fraud claims run four years from discovery with a twelve-year outer limit. Specific performance has one year.

Can a co-owner force the sale of a property in Florida?

Yes. Any co-owner may file a partition action. The court may divide the property if that can be done fairly, or order it sold and the proceeds distributed in proportion to ownership.

What is heirs property and why does it matter?

It is jointly held real property, typically inherited, where relatives hold a significant share and no agreement governs partition. A special statute gives those owners added protections, including a process that favors keeping the property in the family when possible.

How is a quiet title action different from a partition action?

Partition divides or sells property among people who agree they co-own it. Quiet title determines who the rightful owner is when there is a competing claim or a cloud on the title.

Can a quiet title case be filed for a fraudulent deed?

Yes. Florida law allows an action to quiet title based on a fraudulent attempted conveyance, and the petitioner is entitled to a summary procedure that requires the court to move the case forward on its calendar.

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

For unpaid rent, the written demand gives three days, not counting weekends or court-observed holidays. For many other lease violations the tenant has seven days to cure, and for violations that cannot be cured, a seven-day notice to vacate may be used. The notice must follow the statute to be valid.

Can a business partner’s misuse of company-owned property be addressed in a real estate case?

Often yes. When a property is held through an LLC or partnership, we can pursue claims such as breach of fiduciary duty and an accounting alongside the real estate claims, and seek emergency relief if assets are being moved or spent.

I live in New York or New Jersey. Can you handle my Dania Beach property dispute?

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

Will my case have to go to trial?

Not necessarily. Many disputes resolve through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration. We pursue whichever path is most likely to achieve your goal efficiently, and we are prepared to try the case when settlement is not realistic.

Serving Real Estate Clients Across Dania Beach and Broward County

Our work for Dania Beach property owners extends from the neighborhoods near the beach and the Dania Beach Boulevard corridor to the commercial areas along U.S. 1 and Federal Highway. We also represent clients in neighboring Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, Pembroke Pines, Davie, and Fort Lauderdale, along with Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Plantation, Sunrise, Coral Springs, and Miramar throughout Broward County.

Many clients also hold property or business interests farther north, so the firm serves Palm Beach County as well, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and West Palm Beach. We represent investors, landlords, tenants, business owners, and families, along with clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut whose co-owners or counterparties are here in South Florida.

Speak With a Dania Beach Real Estate Attorney

If a closing has collapsed, a co-owner is blocking a decision, or a tenant or landlord dispute is escalating, the sooner a Dania Beach real estate attorney reviews the documents, the more options you are likely to have. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team will look at the contract, the deadlines, and your goals, and tell you plainly what path makes sense. Call today to schedule a consultation.