Oakland Park Real Estate Transactions Attorney

A purchase contract in Oakland Park can look settled right up until the closing date passes, the buyer or seller stops responding, and a property you were counting on is suddenly in dispute. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles real estate transactions and real estate litigation for buyers, sellers, investors, landlords, and co-owners in Oakland Park and throughout Broward County and Palm Beach County.

If you are searching for an Oakland Park real estate transactions attorney, you probably fall into one of two camps: you are about to sign something and want it reviewed before it binds you, or something has already gone wrong and you need to know what the contract lets you do. Oakland Park sits in the middle of a busy corridor of older residential streets, small commercial buildings along its main thoroughfares, and redevelopment pressure from neighboring Fort Lauderdale. That mix produces deals with real money on the line and, occasionally, real disagreements over who owes what when a closing falls through.

The common thread is that the contract controls. Deposit disputes, financing contingencies, inspection periods, title objections, and closing deadlines are all decided by what the signed paper says and how the parties behaved afterward. Getting the document right at the front end, and knowing how to enforce it at the back end, are the two halves of this practice.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Oakland Park Real Estate Deals

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm serving Broward County, Palm Beach County, and the rest of South Florida. Founder Andrew M. 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, and his career has centered on contract disputes, partner conflicts, and real estate matters.

That litigation background matters on the transaction side. A lawyer who has spent decades watching contracts fail in court tends to notice the clauses that will cause trouble: a vague closing deadline, a deposit provision that does not say who keeps the money on default, a financing contingency with no outside date. Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in state and federal courts, works alongside Andrew on these files. The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone handling your matter knows the file, and we keep a strict 24 hour return call policy if we are in court when you call.

The firm also has recent trial experience in exactly this field. After a 5-day bench trial, the Broward County Circuit Court issued a 32-page final judgment in May of 2024 awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That result reflects how we prepare transactional work: with the understanding that a contract may someday have to be enforced by a judge.

We also serve clients who live outside Florida, including many from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, who own property or are buying in South Florida. We handle the local proceedings so you do not have to travel for every step, and we regularly work with referring attorneys whose clients need Florida real estate counsel.

Real Estate Transaction and Dispute Situations We Handle for Oakland Park Clients

• Residential Purchase and Sale Contracts: Review of the contract before signing, negotiation of contingencies for financing, inspection, and appraisal, and advice on what a deposit does and does not protect if the deal collapses.
• Commercial Real Estate Transactions: Purchase agreements for retail, small office, and mixed-use buildings, including due diligence periods, title and survey objections, and closing mechanics for investors buying in the Oakland Park area.
• Failed Closings and Deposit Disputes: Claims by buyers seeking return of a deposit or by sellers seeking to keep it, along with actions to force a closing when the other side simply refuses to perform.
• Specific Performance Actions: Lawsuits asking the court to order the other party to complete the sale, which suit real property because no two parcels are identical.
• Title Defects and Quiet Title Actions: Competing ownership claims, clouds on title, and recorded instruments that need to be cancelled so a property can be sold or financed.
• Partition of Co-Owned Property: Former business partners, siblings who inherited a house, unmarried couples, and investors who need to separate from a shared property when they cannot agree on what to do with it.
• Landlord and Tenant Matters: Lease disputes, default notices, and possession actions for residential and commercial landlords and tenants.
• Injunctions Protecting Property: Emergency and temporary relief to stop a sale, transfer, or other action that would harm a property interest while a dispute is pending.

What to Do When an Oakland Park Real Estate Deal Goes Wrong

Start by pulling together everything in writing: the signed contract and every addendum, the deposit receipt, emails and texts with the other side and the agents, inspection reports, lender correspondence, and any notices exchanged. Real estate disputes are almost always won or lost on the paper, and the timeline of who said and did what is often more persuasive than anyone’s recollection. Do not delete messages, and do not sign a release or a contract termination form until a lawyer has read it. People routinely give up deposit rights by signing a cancellation they did not understand.

Next, pay attention to the clock. Florida sets different limitation periods depending on the claim. An action founded on a written contract generally must be filed within five years, while a claim on an oral or implied contract has four years. An action to rescind a contract has four years, and a fraud claim runs four years from discovery, subject to an outer cap of 12 years. The one that catches people off guard is specific performance: a suit seeking to compel a closing carries a one-year period. If you want the court to order the sale completed, waiting while you hope the other side comes around can cost you that remedy entirely.

Check the contract itself for deadlines that are much shorter than any statute. Inspection periods, financing contingency dates, title objection windows, and cure periods after a default notice all run on their own clocks, and missing one can waive a right you would otherwise have. Send notices in the manner the contract requires, to the address it specifies, because a notice sent the wrong way may not count.

Where the case goes depends on the property and the money. Property in Broward County, which includes Oakland Park, falls under the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and property in Palm Beach County falls under the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. A lawsuit over real property can be filed in the county where the land sits. Circuit courts hear disputes above the county court ceiling, and county courts handle claims up to that amount, which is adjusted periodically. Broward also has a complex business division within its circuit court that handles large business and construction litigation, which can come into play when a real estate dispute is tied to a larger commercial deal. Federal court enters the picture only in limited situations, such as diversity of citizenship between out-of-state parties.

Finally, talk to a lawyer before you take a position in writing. A demand letter, a notice of default, or even a casual email saying you are “walking away” can shape the case. If you need to stop a transfer or protect an asset right away, an injunction may be available, and those requests are only as strong as the speed and specificity with which they are brought.

Title Problems, Partition, and the Cases That Do Not Look Like Transactions

Some of the hardest real estate disputes are not about a contract between buyer and seller at all. They are about who actually owns the property. When a recorded instrument clouds title, or when two people claim the same parcel, Florida courts can resolve the question through a quiet title action. The plaintiff generally has to trace the chain of title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise, and the case can be filed in any county where part of the land lies. A quiet title judgment can cancel a conveyance or other document that stands in the way and remove the cloud so the property can be sold or refinanced.

Adverse possession claims come up in this territory too. Florida requires possession for seven years, and the claimant must meet statutory conditions, including, where there is no color of title, a return filed with the property appraiser that contains a full legal description. If title rests on a written instrument, that instrument must be recorded in the county before the possession counts as under color of title. These rules are technical, and the claim is often raised defensively by someone who has been told they have no right to the land.

Co-owned property is the other common source of conflict. When owners cannot agree, any of them can ask the court for partition. These actions are heard in equity, and the complaint must describe the land, identify the owners, and state what share each holds. The court can divide the property physically, but where that would prejudice the owners the court may order a sale at public auction and divide the proceeds by ownership share. Commissioners are appointed to evaluate whether division is practical. Florida also has a special statute for heirs property, which applies when relatives hold property as tenants in common under certain conditions, and it gives cotenants protections that ordinary partition does not, including added hurdles before a forced sale. Because many Oakland Park homes are held by families across generations, that statute is often the first thing we check.

When the co-owners are business partners and the real estate is an asset of the company, the question may belong in a different forum entirely, such as a judicial dissolution proceeding for an LLC or corporation. We handle those cases as well, which means we can tell you early whether the right vehicle is partition, dissolution, or a negotiated buyout.

Questions Oakland Park Buyers, Sellers, and Owners Ask Us

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

Florida does not require one for every residential deal, and many closings run through agents and title companies without a lawyer. A lawyer is worth the cost when the contract has unusual terms, the property has a title or survey issue, you are buying for investment or through an entity, or you are already in a disagreement with the other side. Having the contract reviewed before you sign is far cheaper than fighting about it afterward.

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

That depends entirely on the contract’s default and deposit provisions and on who actually breached. Contingencies for financing, inspection, and appraisal often give a buyer a right to cancel and recover the deposit if the buyer follows the required steps and deadlines. If a buyer defaults without a contractual excuse, the seller may be entitled to keep the deposit or pursue other remedies. Both sides routinely lose rights by missing a notice requirement.

Can I force a seller to close on a house or building?

Possibly. Courts can order specific performance of a real estate contract because each parcel is treated as unique. You generally must show you were ready, willing, and able to close and that the contract is enforceable. The suit carries a one-year limitation period, so it should not be left to sit. The firm obtained this kind of relief for a client in a commercial real estate case after a bench trial in Broward County.

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

A claim on a written contract generally has five years, and a claim on an oral or implied contract has four. Rescission carries four years, fraud runs four years from discovery with a 12-year outer limit, and specific performance has just one year. Because different remedies carry different clocks, the claim you can still bring may be narrower than the one you first had.

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

It is a lawsuit asking a court to declare who owns a property and to cancel any recorded document that clouds title. You might need one when a conveyance was fraudulent or defective, when someone else asserts a claim to your land, or when you need to clear title before a sale or refinance. Plaintiffs typically must trace title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise.

My siblings and I inherited a house and cannot agree. Can one of us force a sale?

Any co-owner can generally ask a court for partition, but when the property qualifies as heirs property, Florida’s special statute applies and adds protections. The court must work through specific factors and appoint commissioners before ordering a division in kind, and a sale is not automatic. We can look at how the title is held and how the family came to own it before recommending a path.

How is a dispute over a commercial lease different from a residential one?

Residential tenancies are governed by a detailed statutory scheme, including a 3-day notice for unpaid rent that excludes weekends and court-observed holidays and a 7-day notice for certain non-curable violations or uncured breaches. Commercial leases lean much more heavily on the lease language itself, so remedies, default definitions, and notice rules often come from the document. Reading the lease closely is the first step in either case.

If a landlord accepts partial rent after posting a notice, does the notice still count?

Accepting partial rent does not by itself waive the landlord’s right to terminate or sue, but the landlord has to handle it correctly. Options include giving a written receipt that states the amount and the agreed balance and due date, placing the partial payment in the court registry when filing, or serving a fresh 3-day notice for the new amount. Mishandling this is a common reason possession cases get tossed or delayed.

I live in New York or New Jersey and own property near Oakland Park. Can you handle a dispute for me?

Yes. We represent out-of-state owners and investors in Broward County and Palm Beach County regularly, handling court appearances locally and keeping you informed through scheduled calls so you do not need to travel for every hearing. We also work with attorneys from other states whose clients have Florida real estate problems.

Does every real estate dispute have to go to court?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and some contracts require one of those routes. Our attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and we look for the resolution that serves your goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake.

Can a court stop a sale or transfer while our dispute is pending?

In appropriate cases, yes. Courts can issue temporary and permanent injunctions to preserve property or prevent a transfer while the underlying claims are decided. These requests are time sensitive, and success depends on showing a concrete threat to a property interest, so early legal advice matters.

Serving Oakland Park Real Estate Clients Across Broward and Palm Beach Counties

We begin with Oakland Park itself and the Broward County communities around it: Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors, Lauderdale Lakes, Lauderhill, Tamarac, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, Lighthouse Point, Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, and Plantation. Investors and owners in those neighborhoods often bring us purchase contract disputes, commercial closings, and title questions that cross city lines.

Moving north into Palm Beach County, we represent clients in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth Beach, West Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens, along with the surrounding communities that make up South Florida’s coastal real estate market. Cases in Broward are heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit and cases in Palm Beach County in the Fifteenth, and the Southern District of Florida sits in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach for matters that belong in federal court. We also serve clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold real estate or business interests throughout the region.

Speak With an Oakland Park Real Estate Attorney Before the Deadline Passes

Whether you are about to sign a contract or already caught in a failed closing, a title fight, or a dispute with a co-owner, talking to an Oakland Park real estate attorney early gives you more options than waiting. Some of the clocks in this area are short, and the contract language often decides the outcome before anyone files a lawsuit.

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your documents, explain where you stand, and recommend whether negotiation, mediation, or litigation makes the most sense. Call to schedule a consultation and bring the contract and any correspondence with you.