Davie Real Estate Attorney

Most real estate disputes end one of three ways: the deal closes the way the contract said it would, the property is divided or sold so the owners can part ways, or the title is cleared so the owner can finally sell or borrow against it. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team helps owners, buyers, sellers, investors, and landlords in Davie, Broward County, and across South Florida reach those outcomes through real estate transactions and litigation. A Davie real estate attorney who also tries cases is a different resource than one who only reviews paperwork, and that difference matters most when a closing falls apart or co-owners stop agreeing.

Davie properties tend to produce a particular kind of dispute. Acreage and equestrian parcels are often held by families across generations, commercial buildings along the major corridors are frequently owned by partnerships or LLCs, and investor-owned rentals change hands quickly. When one co-owner wants out and another does not, or when a buyer and seller disagree about what a purchase contract required, the answer usually lies in the exact language of the documents and the history between the parties.

Real Estate Litigation Compared With Real Estate Transactions

People often lump these together, but they call for different work. A transaction matter is about getting a deal documented and closed: reviewing a purchase and sale contract, negotiating terms, and addressing title and closing issues before anyone has a grievance. A litigation matter begins after something has gone wrong: a buyer refuses to close, a seller will not convey, a lease is breached, or an owner discovers a competing claim to the land.

Florida limitations periods are the clearest dividing line. A lawsuit on a written contract, including a real estate purchase agreement, generally must be filed within five years. A claim on an oral or implied agreement has four. Rescission of a contract carries four years, and fraud runs four years from discovery, with an outside cap of twelve. The one that catches people most often is specific performance, the remedy that forces a seller to actually deliver the property: that action carries a one-year period. A buyer who waits to see whether a seller will relent can lose the strongest remedy available.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in business and real estate disputes throughout Broward County and Palm Beach County, including Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach. Founder Andrew M. His practice has centered on complex contract disputes and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders, which is exactly the setting in which many real estate fights arise.

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. Clients are told plainly what to expect, and the firm looks for the resolution that fits their goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake.

The firm’s record includes a recent commercial real estate result. After a 5-day bench trial, the Broward County Circuit Court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That is the remedy a buyer needs when money damages will not substitute for the property itself, and it reflects the kind of trial preparation the firm brings to contract-driven real estate disputes. Many matters also arrive through referrals from other attorneys, including out of state counsel whose clients own property here.

Real Estate Disputes We Handle for Davie Property Owners

• Failed Closings and Purchase Contract Disputes: Buyers who cannot compel a seller to close, sellers facing a buyer’s default, and disagreements over deposits, contingencies, and deadlines. These cases turn on the contract’s wording and on how quickly the one-year specific performance window is protected.
• Partition Actions: When co-owners cannot agree, Florida’s partition chapter lets a court divide the land or, if division would harm the owners, order a sale at auction with proceeds shared by ownership interest. Common among former business partners, siblings who inherited property, unmarried couples, and investors leaving a shared deal.
• Heirs Property Situations: Land held in tenancy in common after a family member’s death is subject to a special statutory framework when cotenants are related and certain conditions are met. The court must follow that framework, which affects how a sale or division is evaluated.
• Quiet Title and Title Disputes: Actions to remove a cloud on title, cancel a conveyance held by someone who is not the rightful owner, or resolve competing ownership claims. The plaintiff must trace title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise.
• Adverse Possession and Boundary Claims: Florida generally requires seven years of continuous, exclusive possession, and a claim without a written instrument has its own filing and legal description requirements. Neighbors in Davie’s larger-lot areas sometimes face these questions.
• Commercial and Residential Landlord-Tenant Matters: Lease defaults, notices to terminate, and possession disputes for investors and operating businesses that rent space or own rental property.
• Co-Owned Real Estate Within a Business: Property held through an LLC or partnership where the owners are deadlocked, a member is diverting rents, or the company may need judicial dissolution.
• Injunctions Involving Property: Emergency and temporary relief to stop a sale, transfer, or dissipation of rents and proceeds while the underlying dispute is pending.

What to Do When a Davie Property Dispute Starts

Start by identifying which clock is running. If a seller has refused to close, the one-year specific performance period is the most urgent, and it is far shorter than the five years most people assume applies to written contracts. Gather the signed contract, every amendment and addendum, the correspondence and text messages about closing dates, proof of deposits, and any title commitment. Do not sign a release, a new agreement, or a quitclaim deed under pressure before someone has read it against the original documents.

If you are a landlord, the notice requirements are strict and mistakes are costly. For unpaid rent, the tenant has three days after delivery of a written demand, not counting Saturdays, Sundays, or court-observed legal holidays, before the landlord may terminate. For curable non-rent violations the notice must give seven days to fix the problem, and certain incurable conduct, such as intentional destruction of property, allows a seven-day notice to vacate without a chance to cure. If you accept partial rent after posting a nonpayment notice, you must follow one of the statutory options, such as issuing a receipt stating the balance due or posting a new notice, and accepting it does not by itself waive your right to proceed.

Where the case is filed depends on the amount and the relief sought. Claims up to a statutory ceiling go to county court, while larger disputes and equity matters such as partition, quiet title, and injunctions are heard in circuit court. For property in Davie, that means the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County, with courthouses in Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Plantation, and Deerfield Beach. The Seventeenth Circuit also maintains complex business divisions for large business and construction litigation and certain entity dissolutions, which can be relevant when real estate is tied up in a company dispute. Federal claims proceed in the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

The most common mistake is waiting. Owners hope a co-owner will come around, or that a buyer will cure a default, and the deadline quietly passes. A second mistake is a self-help move such as changing locks, cutting off utilities, or selling an asset while a dispute is live. Both can create liability that did not exist before. A short consultation early usually costs far less than repairing a missed deadline.

Partition, Dissolution, and Co-Owner Conflicts in Detail

Partition is the tool for owners who cannot agree about shared land. The complaint must describe the property, name the owners and where they live, and state each owner’s share. If the court orders partition, it appoints three commissioners, chosen by agreement of the parties or by the court, who evaluate whether the land can be divided fairly. If they report that division would prejudice the owners, the court may order a sale at public auction and split the proceeds in proportion to each interest. Where a credit sale is allowed for good cause, at least one-third of the price must be paid down unless everyone consents otherwise. For heirs property, the court must apply a separate statutory process, and it will not order a division in kind unless commissioners have weighed the required factors and found that dividing the land would prejudice the cotenants as a group.

When the property sits inside a company, the dispute often becomes a dissolution question. A member of a Florida LLC can ask a circuit court to dissolve the company on grounds that include deadlock with threatened irreparable injury, misappropriation or waste of assets, or that carrying on in line with the operating agreement is no longer reasonably practicable. The court may appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest. If the operating agreement has a deadlock sale provision that is initiated before the court finds deadlock, that provision generally controls. For corporations, a shareholder’s dissolution petition can be answered by an election to purchase the petitioner’s shares at fair value, which becomes irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to modify, and the parties have 60 days after the first election to agree on price and terms. Courts can also issue injunctions and preserve assets during these proceedings.

Questions Davie Property Owners Ask

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

A claim founded on a written contract generally has five years, while an oral or implied agreement has four. A suit seeking specific performance, which compels a seller to convey the property, has just one year. The right period depends on the claim you are bringing.

Can I force a co-owner to sell property we own together?

Yes, through a partition action. The court may divide the land or, if division would harm the owners, order a sale at auction and divide the proceeds by ownership share. A co-owner generally cannot block the process simply by refusing to cooperate.

What is a quiet title action?

It is a lawsuit asking the court to determine who owns land and to remove a cloud on title, such as a conveyance or claim held by someone who is not the rightful owner. It may be filed in any county where part of the land sits, and the plaintiff must generally trace title back seven years.

Do I need a lawyer to buy or sell a home in Davie?

Florida does not require one for every closing, but a lawyer is worth the cost when a contract has unusual terms, the property is commercial or investment property, there are title questions, or a contingency is in dispute. Problems found before closing are much cheaper to solve than problems found after.

What happens if a seller backs out of a signed purchase contract?

You may be able to sue for damages or, if the property is unique, seek specific performance. Because the specific performance period is only one year, act quickly. The firm’s recent commercial judgment awarding specific performance after a bench trial illustrates the remedy in practice.

How does adverse possession work in Florida?

The claimant must show actual, continuous possession for seven years under a claim of title exclusive of any other right. A claim without a written instrument requires a return filed with the property appraiser that includes a complete legal description. A claim under color of title requires the instrument to be recorded in the county where the land sits.

My sibling and I inherited a house together and cannot agree. What are our options?

You can negotiate a buyout, sell and split the proceeds, or file for partition. If the property qualifies as heirs property, a special statutory process applies, which affects how the court values and divides it and gives cotenants protections before a forced sale.

How long does a real estate case take in Broward County courts?

It varies with the claim, the number of parties, and whether the case is contested. Emergency injunction requests can be heard quickly, while a case that goes to a full trial takes considerably longer. Many disputes resolve earlier through negotiation or mediation, which the firm uses when it serves the client’s goals.

I live in New York or New Jersey but own property in Davie. Can you handle the case?

Yes. The firm regularly represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with real estate or business interests in South Florida, and handles the local court appearances so clients do not have to travel for every hearing.

Can a landlord evict me after accepting part of my rent?

Often yes. Under the statute, accepting partial rent does not waive the landlord’s right to terminate or sue, though the landlord must follow one of the required steps, such as giving a receipt stating the balance due or posting a revised notice.

Can a court stop a property from being sold while we fight over it?

Possibly. Temporary and permanent injunctions can freeze a transfer or protect assets and rents while the case is pending. The firm has experience seeking early and emergency relief when waiting for a final judgment would defeat the purpose of the lawsuit.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a smaller property dispute?

Often it is, especially when the issue is title or co-ownership, because the consequences can outlast the dispute. The firm weighs cost against value and looks for the most efficient path, including mediation or arbitration where appropriate.

Serving Real Estate Clients Across Davie and South Florida

The firm’s real estate work starts in Davie and Broward County and extends outward. We represent property owners in Davie, Plantation, Sunrise, Cooper City, Weston, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, and Fort Lauderdale, and in neighboring communities such as Southwest Ranches, Miramar, Hallandale Beach, and Deerfield Beach. To the north, we serve clients throughout Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and West Palm Beach.

Many of our clients live elsewhere but hold a stake in South Florida real estate, including investors and heirs from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Whether the dispute involves an acreage parcel, a commercial building, a rental property, or a house inherited by several siblings, the same questions apply: what the documents say, which deadlines are running, and which court can give the relief the client actually needs.

Talk With a Davie Real Estate Lawyer About Your Case

If a closing has collapsed, a co-owner is blocking a sale, or a title problem is keeping you from using your property, speak with a Davie real estate lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team before a deadline passes. Call us to schedule a consultation, and we will review your documents, explain the options available under Florida law, and recommend the path most likely to reach your goal efficiently.