Palm Beach Real Estate Transactions Attorney

The contract is the deal. In most Florida real estate transactions, the deadlines, contingencies, deposit terms, and default remedies written into a purchase agreement decide how a closing goes, and they decide who wins if it falls apart. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles residential and commercial real estate transactions and litigation for buyers, sellers, investors, and co-owners across Palm Beach County, Broward County, and the rest of South Florida, and it works with a Palm Beach real estate transactions attorney mindset: read the paper closely before anyone signs it.

That focus matters because a transaction rarely stays only a transaction. A seller who stops answering after the inspection period, a buyer who walks when financing wobbles, a co-owner who will not sign, a cloud on title that surfaces during the search: each of these can turn a routine closing into a dispute. A lawyer who has tried real estate cases sees those problems while the contract is still being drafted, and knows what a judge will do with the language afterward.

What an Attorney Actually Does on a Palm Beach Real Estate Deal

On the front end, the work is drafting and reviewing. That means reading the purchase and sale agreement line by line, tightening the contingencies, clarifying who holds the deposit and under what conditions it is released or forfeited, and making sure the closing date, extension rights, and default provisions say what the client believes they say. For commercial deals, it extends to leases, loan documents, assignments, and the operating agreements of the entities taking title.

In the middle, the work is problem-solving. Title commitments get reviewed for exceptions, liens, and competing claims. Entity questions get sorted out before closing, such as who has authority to sign for an LLC or partnership that owns the property. If a counterparty is slow-walking or asserting a right the contract does not give them, a firm letter from counsel, sent early, often changes the conversation.

On the back end, when a deal breaks, the same lawyer who understands the contract can enforce it. The firm’s litigation side covers failed closings, purchase and sale contract disputes, title disputes, and landlord and tenant matters. Having transactional and trial experience under one roof means the person advising you before closing already knows how the contract would be argued in front of a judge.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Palm Beach Real Estate Work

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in South Florida’s business and real estate disputes, serving clients in Palm Beach County, Broward County, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and Fort Lauderdale, along with clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold property or business interests here. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, has spent 37 years in litigation and has practiced in Florida since being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989. His career has centered on complex contract disputes, which is exactly the skill set that real estate transactions demand when a deal goes sideways.

He 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 practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on a matter knows the file, and a strict 24 hour return call policy applies when the attorneys are in court or otherwise unavailable. Andrew holds an undergraduate degree from Emory University and a law degree from the University of Miami.

The firm’s results include a recent final judgment following a 5-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, a 32-page ruling awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. For a buyer or seller who needs a contract enforced rather than merely compensated, that is the outcome that matters, and it reflects the preparation the firm brings to the paper before a dispute ever begins. Clients also value that the firm looks for the resolution that fits their goals and budget, whether through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or trial, rather than prolonging a case for its own sake.

Real Estate Matters We Handle in Palm Beach County

• Purchase and Sale Contract Review: Drafting and negotiating residential and commercial agreements, including contingencies, inspection and financing deadlines, and deposit provisions before a deadline passes unnoticed.
• Failed Closings and Deposit Disputes: When a buyer or seller does not perform, the questions are who defaulted, what the contract allows as a remedy, and who is entitled to the deposit.
• Specific Performance Claims: Where the property is the point and money damages will not substitute, a buyer may ask a court to compel the sale. The firm has won this relief after a full bench trial.
• Title Defects and Quiet Title Actions: Competing ownership claims, recorded instruments that cloud title, and conveyances of doubtful validity can be cleared through a quiet title suit, which Florida courts hear in equity.
• Partition of Co-Owned Property: Former business partners, siblings who inherited together, unmarried couples, and investors who want out of a shared property can ask the court to divide it or order a sale.
• Commercial Leases: Negotiating and enforcing lease terms, and resolving disputes over rent, defaults, and termination between landlords and commercial tenants.
• Residential Landlord and Tenant Disputes: Notices, nonpayment, lease violations, and possession proceedings governed by Florida’s landlord-tenant statute.
• Entity-Owned Real Estate: Property held by an LLC, partnership, or corporation, where authority, member disputes, and operating agreement terms affect whether a deal can close at all.

What to Do When a Palm Beach Real Estate Deal Goes Wrong

Start with the contract itself and gather everything that touches it: the signed agreement and every addendum, emails and texts with the other side, the title commitment, proof of deposit, and any notices sent or received. Do not rely on a verbal assurance to extend a deadline. If the contract requires written notice for an extension, a termination, or a cure, the written notice is what counts.

Deadlines drive the strategy. Florida allows five years to sue on a written contract, but a claim founded on an oral agreement has four years, and an action seeking specific performance carries a much shorter one-year period. A buyer who waits to see whether a seller will come around can run out the clock on the very remedy that matters most. Bring an attorney in before the closing date passes, not after.

Be careful with what you say and sign while a dispute is live. Do not accept partial performance, a revised closing statement, or a “just sign this to move things along” amendment without understanding what rights you are giving up. If you are a landlord, notice defects are among the most common ways a possession case gets thrown off course, so follow the statutory notice periods exactly. A nonpayment demand allows three days, excluding weekends and court-observed holidays, and a curable lease violation allows seven days after delivery of notice before termination. Accepting partial rent does not by itself waive your right to proceed, but it does require specific handling.

Cases in this market are heard in the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit for Palm Beach County, with county court handling smaller claims within its monetary limit, and circuit court hearing the larger ones. Where a property or counterparty is in Broward, the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit applies, and the Southern District of Florida sits in both West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale when federal jurisdiction is proper. Because the firm regularly appears in these courts, out of state clients do not have to travel for each hearing.

When Co-Owners Cannot Agree: Partition and Title Problems

Many real estate disputes in South Florida are not buyer-versus-seller at all. They are owner-versus-owner. A partition action is the court-supervised way out. Florida law places partition in the courts of equity, and the process begins with a complaint that describes the land, names each owner, and states what share each holds. The court can divide the property in kind, but when a fair division is not practical, it may order the land sold and the proceeds shared in proportion to each owner’s interest. Judicial sales can be made on credit for good cause, but a meaningful portion of the price must be paid down.

Inherited property gets special treatment. Florida’s heirs property rules apply when relatives hold property as tenants in common without a binding agreement on partition, and they add protections before a forced sale, including the court’s consideration of whether dividing the property in kind would prejudice the owners as a group. If the co-owners are family, that framework can change the strategy considerably.

Title disputes follow a different path. A quiet title action asks the court to determine who owns the land and to cancel an instrument that clouds title. The plaintiff generally must trace title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise, and the suit can be filed in any county where part of the land sits. Where an adverse possession claim is in play, Florida requires seven years of continuous possession under a claim of title, and the claimant must meet strict filing and legal description requirements. These are not matters to improvise.

Questions About Palm Beach Real Estate Transactions

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

Florida does not require one, but the cost of a poorly drafted contract usually exceeds the cost of review. An attorney catches unfavorable default terms, missing contingencies, and title problems before they become expensive. For commercial deals and entity-owned property, representation is close to essential.

What happens to my deposit if the closing falls through?

That depends entirely on the contract language and on who is found to have defaulted. Some agreements make the deposit the seller’s sole remedy; others allow additional claims. Disputes over the deposit are common, and the written terms and notice history usually decide them.

Can a court force a seller to complete the sale?

Yes. Because every parcel is considered unique, a court can order specific performance of a real estate contract. The firm obtained that relief for a client on a commercial contract after a 5-day bench trial. The deadline to file is short, a one-year period under Florida law, so delay is dangerous.

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

A claim on a written contract has five years. A claim on an oral or implied agreement has four. A suit to rescind a contract has four years, and a fraud claim has four years from discovery, subject to an outer cap. Specific performance is one year. An attorney can identify which clock applies.

What is a quiet title action and when is it needed?

It is a lawsuit asking the court to declare who holds title and to remove competing claims or defective instruments. It is typically needed when a recorded document, a missing heir, a disputed conveyance, or an old claim prevents a clean sale or refinance.

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

Generally, yes. Any co-owner may ask the court for partition, and if the property cannot be fairly divided, the court may order it sold. Heirs property has additional protections, so the answer can shift when the owners are relatives who inherited together.

My co-owner is my business partner. Does that change anything?

It can. If the property is held by an LLC or corporation, the operating or shareholder agreement and the dissolution statutes may control, rather than ordinary partition. Judicial dissolution, deadlock provisions, and buyout rights can all come into play, and the firm handles both sides of that overlap.

I live in New York or New Jersey. Can I handle a Palm Beach closing remotely?

Often, yes. The firm regularly represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, handles the local proceedings, and keeps clients informed so they do not need to travel for every step.

How long does a real estate lawsuit take in Palm Beach County?

It varies with the claim, the court’s calendar, and whether the case settles. Palm Beach County assigns civil cases to differentiated tracks that affect scheduling. Many disputes resolve through negotiation or mediation, and an attorney can give a realistic estimate once the claims and the opposing party’s posture are clear.

As a landlord, how much notice do I owe a tenant before eviction?

For unpaid rent, the notice is three days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and court-observed holidays. For other violations that can be cured, the tenant gets seven days to fix the problem; for violations that cannot be cured, or repeat violations within twelve months of a written warning, a seven-day notice to vacate may apply. Defective notices are a frequent reason these cases stall.

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

Often it is, because the dollar amount of the claim does not capture the value of the property or the precedent set by how the dispute is handled. A short consultation can clarify whether the matter belongs in county court, circuit court, or mediation, and whether the cost of pursuing it makes sense.

Serving Real Estate Clients Across Palm Beach County and South Florida

The firm represents buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, investors, and co-owners throughout Palm Beach County, including West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth Beach, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Greenacres, Riviera Beach, Juno Beach, Tequesta, and the western communities around Belle Glade. From the coastal corridor through the central county and out toward the western edge, the same contract and title questions arise whether the property is a waterfront home, a retail center, or a parcel held by a family entity.

Just to the south, the team also serves clients in Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, and neighboring communities, and appears in state and federal courts in both counties. Out of state investors and heirs with a stake in South Florida real estate can work with the firm without relocating their lives around a lawsuit.

Speak With a Palm Beach Real Estate Transactions Lawyer

If a closing is approaching, a deal has stalled, or a co-owner or counterparty has stopped cooperating, the sooner an attorney reads the contract, the more options remain. A Palm Beach real estate transactions lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review the paperwork, explain where you stand, and recommend whether negotiation, mediation, or litigation fits your goals. Call to schedule a consultation.