Hollywood Real Estate Attorney

Most real estate disputes end the same way: someone needs a closing to actually happen, a co-owner to be bought out or removed from title, or a competing claim to a property cleared away. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles real estate transactions and litigation for owners, investors, and families in Hollywood and across Broward County, and works toward those outcomes whether the path runs through negotiation, mediation, or a courtroom. Our firm also serves clients in Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton and West Palm Beach.

If you are looking for a Hollywood real estate attorney, the right lawyer depends on what has gone wrong. A buyer who wants a property the seller now refuses to convey needs a very different strategy than siblings who inherited a house and cannot agree to sell it, or a former business partner whose name remains on a deed. The deadlines are different, the courts are different, and the remedies are different. What follows covers the situations we see most often and what the law actually allows in each.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm representing clients in Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, and throughout Broward County and Palm Beach County. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989, has spent 37 years in litigation, and holds a law degree from the University of Miami and an undergraduate degree from Emory University. His career has centered on complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders, which is precisely the work that sits underneath many real estate fights.

Sundeep Nath, Senior Counsel, is a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts. The firm works as a true team, so everyone on a matter knows the file, and we keep a strict 24 hour return call policy when we are in court and cannot respond immediately. We are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as trial, and we look for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake.

Our results include a commercial real estate matter in Broward County where, after a five-day bench trial, the Circuit Court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of the contract. That kind of outcome depends on careful reading of the agreement and the parties’ history, which is how we prepare every contract and closing dispute. Many of our clients live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut and own property here; we handle the Florida court appearances so they do not have to travel for each hearing. A significant part of our practice also comes from referrals by other attorneys.

Real Estate Problems Our Hollywood Attorneys Handle

• Failed Closings and Contract Disputes: A buyer or seller walks away, a financing or inspection contingency is argued over, or a deposit is withheld. These cases turn on the wording of the purchase and sale contract and the conduct of each side, and remedies can include damages or an order compelling the sale.
• Specific Performance Actions: When the property is unique and money will not substitute for it, a court can order the seller to convey. The limitations period for this remedy is only one year, so waiting to see whether the other side relents can cost you the claim.
• Partition of Jointly Owned Property: Former business partners, unmarried couples, investors, and heirs sometimes hold title together and cannot agree on what to do. Florida law allows an owner to ask the court to divide the property or order it sold and the proceeds shared.
• Heirs Property Cases: Property passed down among relatives as tenants in common is governed by special partition rules that give family cotenants protections, including a chance to buy out a petitioning relative before a forced sale.
• Quiet Title Actions: When competing claims, a defective conveyance, or an old recorded instrument clouds ownership, a quiet title suit asks the court to determine who owns the land and remove the cloud.
• Title Disputes and Adverse Possession Claims: Someone occupying land for years may claim ownership by possession, or you may need to separate yourself from title to a property you no longer want to be tied to.
• Landlord and Tenant Disputes: Nonpayment, lease violations, and wrongful termination claims, handled on both the landlord and tenant side for commercial and residential properties.
• Real Estate Held Through a Business: When an LLC or corporation owns the property and the owners deadlock, the dispute is both a real estate matter and a business divorce, and the two have to be handled together.

What to Do Right Now When a Property Dispute Is Underway

Start by gathering the documents that define the dispute: the contract or lease, any amendments, the deed, closing statements, correspondence with the other side, and proof of payments. In real estate cases, the paper usually decides the outcome, and a clear timeline built from it lets a lawyer assess your position quickly. Do not sign anything new, make partial concessions in writing, or let a deadline in the contract pass without getting advice first.

Deadlines deserve immediate attention because Florida’s are short in some cases and long in others. A suit on a written contract generally must be filed within five years, an oral or implied contract within four, and a fraud claim within four years of discovery with an outer limit of twelve. A specific performance action carries a one-year period, which is the one that most often catches people off guard. Claims to recover real property are barred unless the claimant or a predecessor held possession within seven years before filing. If you are not sure which clock applies to you, it is safer to ask now than to find out after it has run.

Where the case is filed matters. Hollywood is in Broward County, which sits in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. Disputes above the county court’s limit are heard in circuit court, while smaller claims go to county court, and small claims remain a separate track for the lowest amounts. Broward County civil matters are heard at the South Regional Courthouse in Hollywood as well as the Central courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, though where a particular case lands depends on the type of claim and how it is filed. Larger business-related disputes, including certain entity dissolutions and big commercial or construction cases, may qualify for the circuit’s complex business divisions. Federal court in Fort Lauderdale is available only where there is a federal jurisdictional basis.

The most common mistakes are waiting too long, relying on verbal assurances that never made it into the contract, accepting partial rent or partial payment without documenting what it covers, and moving out of or abandoning a property in the middle of a title dispute. When assets or property are at risk of being sold, encumbered, or transferred while the case is pending, we can seek temporary or emergency injunctive relief to hold things in place until the court decides.

How Partition and Quiet Title Cases Work in Florida Courts

Partition and quiet title are the two property-focused lawsuits that people most often misunderstand. Partition actions are brought in chancery under Chapter 64 of the Florida Statutes. The complaint must describe the land, identify the owners and where they live, and state each owner’s share. If the court orders partition, it appoints three commissioners to evaluate whether the land can be divided fairly. When they report that division would prejudice the owners, the court may order a public sale to the highest bidder and divide 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 at the outset unless everyone consents otherwise.

If the property qualifies as heirs property, a separate set of rules in the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act applies instead. Qualifying property is held as tenants in common with no binding agreement among the owners about partition, with at least one cotenant having acquired title from a relative, and with additional conditions such as relatives holding twenty percent or more of the interests. In those cases, the court cannot simply order a sale; partition in kind is entered only after commissioners consider the statutory factors and find that dividing the land would prejudice the cotenants as a group. These protections can change the whole strategy, so identifying whether the property is heirs property early is critical.

Quiet title is governed by Chapter 65. A person claiming legal or equitable title can ask the court to determine ownership, including to cancel a conveyance or other evidence of title held by someone who is not the rightful owner. The suit may be filed in any county where part of the land lies, and the plaintiff must trace title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise. Where the claim rests on a fraudulent attempted conveyance, the statute provides for a summary procedure and for advancing the case on the calendar. Adverse possession is a related but distinct doctrine: without color of title it requires seven years of continuous, exclusive possession under a claim of title, and a claimant must file a return with a full legal description of the property.

Co-ownership disputes frequently grow out of a failed business relationship. When an LLC owns the real estate, a court can dissolve the company on specified grounds, including deadlock that threatens irreparable injury, misappropriation of assets, or inability to carry on the business under the operating agreement. A deadlock sale provision in the operating agreement, if properly triggered, can take priority over a judicial dissolution. We handle both sides of that problem so the property and the entity are not litigated at cross purposes.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hollywood Real Estate Litigation

When should I hire a real estate attorney in Hollywood?

Ideally before a dispute hardens. Review of a contract before signing, or a call when a closing starts to slip, is cheaper than a lawsuit. If a deal has already collapsed, you are being excluded from jointly owned property, or someone is asserting a claim against your title, you should speak with a lawyer right away because limitation periods may already be running.

What is the deadline to sue over a breach of a real estate contract in Florida?

A claim on a written contract generally must be brought within five years. Claims not founded on a written instrument have four years. Remember that these periods are different from the one-year period for specific performance, so a case that includes both a damages claim and a demand that the seller convey the property may have more than one deadline.

Can I force the sale of a house I own with someone else?

Generally, yes. A co-owner can file a partition action asking the court to divide the property or order it sold. Courts usually order a sale when the property cannot be divided fairly, and the proceeds are split by ownership share. Special protections apply if the property is heirs property.

What is a quiet title action and when do I need one?

It is a lawsuit asking the court to determine who owns property and to remove competing claims from the record. You may need one when a deed is defective, an old lien or conveyance clouds your title, or someone claims an interest that you dispute.

Does a seller have to complete the sale if the contract is signed?

Not automatically, but a signed contract creates enforceable obligations. If the seller refuses to close, a buyer can sue for damages or, because real property is considered unique, seek specific performance compelling the sale. Prompt action matters because of the short limitations period.

My former business partner is still on the deed. What can I do?

Options include negotiating a buyout or deed transfer, filing a partition action, or, if the property is held in an LLC, pursuing remedies under the operating agreement or through judicial dissolution. The right route depends on how title is held and what the governing agreements say.

Can someone claim my property by living on it?

Possibly, but the requirements are demanding. Adverse possession in Florida requires seven years of actual, continuous possession under a claim of title, and the claimant must follow the statutory filing procedures. Regular enforcement of your rights, such as objecting to the occupation or resolving it legally, can defeat the claim.

How long does a real estate lawsuit take in Broward County?

It varies with the claim, the court, and how contested it is. A straightforward title issue or an agreed partition can move quickly, while a case with disputed facts, expert valuation, or a trial may take considerably longer. Many disputes resolve earlier through mediation, and a lawyer can give you a realistic estimate after reviewing the documents.

I live out of state. Can I handle a Hollywood property dispute remotely?

Often, yes. We represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own property or business interests in South Florida, handle the Florida court appearances, and keep clients informed so they do not need to travel to every hearing.

Can I stop a co-owner from selling or encumbering property while we fight?

In some cases, yes. A court can issue temporary or permanent injunctions to preserve the property and prevent assets from being moved or spent during the case. These motions are fact-intensive, and speed matters.

How much notice does a landlord have to give before terminating a lease for nonpayment?

For a residential tenancy, a landlord may terminate if rent remains unpaid three days after written demand for payment or possession, excluding weekends and court-observed legal holidays. For other violations that can be cured, the notice gives seven days to fix the problem. Accepting partial rent does not necessarily waive the landlord’s right to proceed, but there are specific steps to follow.

Serving Hollywood Real Estate Clients Across Broward and Palm Beach Counties

We represent property owners and investors in Hollywood and neighboring Broward County communities including Hallandale Beach, Dania Beach, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Davie, and Fort Lauderdale, along with clients in Plantation, Sunrise, and Deerfield Beach. Our reach continues north into Palm Beach County, where we serve clients in Boca Raton and West Palm Beach and the communities around them.

Whether the dispute involves a condominium, a commercial building, vacant land, or a family home, the same questions of title, contract, and co-ownership apply. We also work with clients throughout South Florida who live in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and hold property here, and with referring attorneys whose clients have Florida real estate disputes.

Speak With a Hollywood Real Estate Attorney at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team

A property dispute rarely improves with delay, and several of the deadlines that govern it are short. If you need a Hollywood real estate attorney to evaluate a failed closing, a co-ownership conflict, a title cloud, or a landlord and tenant problem, contact the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team to talk through your situation and the options available. We will review the documents, explain where you stand, and recommend the path that fits your goals and budget.