Plantation Real Estate Transactions Attorney

A closing that happens on schedule, with clean title, a contract that says what both sides thought it said, and no surprises after the money moves: that is the outcome nearly everyone buying, selling, or leasing property wants. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles Plantation real estate transactions attorney work for buyers, sellers, investors, landlords, and co-owners in Plantation and across Broward County and Palm Beach County, and steps into litigation when a deal falls apart.

Real estate transactions in Plantation run from single-family sales west of University Drive to commercial purchases along Broward Boulevard and the Pine Island Road corridor. The documents are different, but the weak points are the same: a purchase contract with loose deadlines, a title problem nobody searched for, a co-owner who will not sign, or a seller who decides not to close. We read the paper closely, because that is where these disputes are won or lost.

Our work covers both sides of the table. We help clients structure and review deals before they sign, and we litigate when a closing fails, a title is clouded, or a tenant or partner will not cooperate. Having a litigator review the contract on the front end tends to produce better contracts.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm serving Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and the rest of Broward County and Palm Beach County. Our clients are business owners, investors, and families, including many who live in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut but own property or business interests in South Florida. We handle the local court appearances so those clients do not have to travel for every hearing.

Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989 and has spent 37 years in litigation. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989. Sundeep Nath, Senior Counsel, is 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, meaning everyone working on your matter knows the file and can answer when you call. We keep a strict 24 hour return call policy when we are in court. We are also experienced in mediation and arbitration, and we look for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than stretching a case out.

The work shows up in results. After a 5-day bench trial, a Broward County circuit judge issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That outcome, a court ordering the other side to actually close the deal, is the kind of relief that matters when a seller walks away from a contract. Many of our matters also come to us through referrals from other attorneys, including out of state lawyers whose clients have Florida property disputes.

Real Estate Transaction Issues We Handle for Plantation Clients

• Purchase and Sale Contract Disputes: Disagreements over inspection periods, financing contingencies, deposit forfeiture, closing dates, and what the contract actually requires of each side. These cases often turn on exact wording and on how the parties dealt with each other during the contract period.
• Failed Closings and Specific Performance: When a seller refuses to close, a buyer may ask the court to compel the sale rather than just seek damages. Florida sets a short one-year limitations period for specific performance actions, so waiting is risky.
• Commercial Real Estate Transactions: Purchases and sales of office, retail, and investment property, including contract review, negotiation, and resolving disputes that surface between contract and closing.
• Title Disputes and Quiet Title Actions: Competing ownership claims, liens, and defective conveyances that cloud title. A quiet title suit asks the court to determine who owns the land and cancel competing claims.
• Partition Actions: When co-owners cannot agree, whether former business partners, siblings who inherited a home, or unmarried couples, a court can divide the property or order it sold and split the proceeds.
• Landlord and Tenant Matters: Lease disputes, nonpayment, lease violations, and terminations for both residential and commercial properties, handled within Florida’s notice requirements.
• Co-Owner and Investor Disputes: Property held through an LLC or partnership where the owners are deadlocked, misusing funds, or no longer want to be in the deal together.

What to Do When a Plantation Real Estate Deal Goes Wrong

Start by stopping the paper trail from changing. Do not sign amendments, extensions, or releases until someone has read them. Gather the contract, every addendum, the escrow or deposit records, emails and texts with the other side and the brokers, inspection reports, and any title commitment. These documents decide most disputes.

Check your deadlines early. Florida’s limitations periods differ by claim: five years for an action founded on a written contract, four years for an oral contract or a rescission claim, four years from discovery for fraud with an outer limit of twelve years, and one year for specific performance. The shortest one governs if you want the court to force a closing, so a buyer who sits on a failed deal can lose the best remedy while the contract claim is still alive.

If someone is threatening to move, sell, or encumber the property while the dispute is pending, ask about emergency relief right away. Courts can issue injunctions to preserve property and assets, but they act on evidence, not worry, so documentation matters.

Where the case is filed depends on the amount and the type of claim. Disputes above the county court ceiling and claims involving title or specific performance belong in circuit court. Broward County cases are heard by the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which has regional courthouses, including a West Regional Courthouse in Plantation, and a complex business division that handles larger commercial disputes. Palm Beach County cases go to the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. Disputes with federal jurisdiction can land in the Southern District of Florida, which sits in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

The common mistakes are predictable: sending an angry email that concedes a point, missing a notice deadline in the contract, assuming a verbal promise changes the written terms, and waiting months to see whether the other side “comes around.” Talk to a Plantation real estate attorney before you respond in writing.

Title, Partition, and Co-Ownership Problems

Title problems are quiet until a sale or refinance. A quiet title action under Florida’s chapter 65 lets a person claiming legal or equitable title ask the court to remove a cloud, including canceling a conveyance held by someone who is not the rightful owner. The plaintiff generally must trace title back at least seven years, and the suit can be filed in any county where part of the land sits. Adverse possession claims, which require seven years of continuous possession under a claim of title and compliance with the statute’s filing requirements, add another layer when boundaries or abandoned parcels are involved.

Partition is the exit when co-owners are stuck. Florida partition actions are brought in the circuit court, and the complaint must describe the land, name the owners, and state each owner’s share. If the court finds the property cannot be divided fairly, it can order a sale at public auction and divide the proceeds by ownership interest. Inherited property gets additional protection under Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, which applies when the property is held by cotenants without a binding partition agreement, at least one cotenant took title from a relative, and further statutory conditions are met. In those cases the court must follow a different process that favors keeping the property in the family when possible.

When the co-owners are business partners holding property through an LLC or corporation, judicial dissolution may be the better path. Grounds for dissolving an LLC include deadlock with irreparable injury, misappropriated or wasted assets, and a situation where the company’s business cannot practicably go forward under its operating agreement. Courts can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, and some operating agreements include their own deadlock sale mechanism that takes priority if properly initiated.

Plantation Real Estate Attorney FAQ

When should I hire a lawyer for a real estate transaction?

Before you sign. Contract terms on deposits, contingencies, deadlines, and default remedies are hard to fix after the fact. A review costs far less than a dispute.

Can I force a seller to close on a signed contract?

Often, yes. Specific performance is an equitable remedy a court may order when the contract is enforceable and the buyer was ready to perform. The limitations period for it is one year, so move quickly.

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

Five years if the claim is founded on a written contract, four years for oral agreements and rescission. Fraud is four years from discovery, capped at twelve. Specific performance is one year.

What happens to my deposit if the deal collapses?

It depends on the contract’s contingency and default language and on who breached. Disputes over deposits are among the most common closing-related claims, and the contract wording controls.

What is a quiet title action?

It is a lawsuit asking the court to determine who owns property and to cancel competing claims or clouded instruments, so the true owner can sell or finance with clear title.

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

Generally, a co-owner can file for partition, and if the property cannot be divided fairly the court may order it sold and split the proceeds. Inherited property may be subject to special heirs property rules that change the process.

My business partner and I own a property through an LLC and disagree. Where do we start?

Start with the operating agreement, which may contain buyout, deadlock, or sale provisions. If it does not resolve the problem, court remedies include dissolution, a receiver or custodian, or a court-ordered purchase of one owner’s interest.

How does a landlord properly end a residential tenancy in Florida?

The notice depends on the reason. For unpaid rent, the landlord delivers a written demand and the tenant has three days, excluding weekends and court holidays, to pay or leave. For curable lease violations the notice gives seven days to fix the problem, and for violations that cannot be cured the tenant has seven days to vacate.

Does accepting partial rent waive a landlord’s right to evict?

Not by itself, but the landlord must follow the statute’s handling rules, such as giving a receipt, depositing the partial payment into the court registry on filing, or serving a new notice for the revised amount.

I live out of state. Can you handle my Plantation property dispute?

Yes. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, manage the local filings and hearings, and keep you informed so you do not have to travel for every proceeding.

Will my case have to go to trial?

Not necessarily. Many disputes resolve through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration. We prepare every file as if it may be tried, which tends to improve settlement leverage.

Serving Real Estate Clients Across Plantation and South Florida

We represent property owners, buyers, investors, and landlords in Plantation and throughout Broward County, including Sunrise, Davie, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, Tamarac, Weston, Pembroke Pines, Coral Springs, Parkland, Coconut Creek, Margate, Hollywood, and Fort Lauderdale. Within Plantation itself, that includes neighborhoods and corridors near Pine Island Road, University Drive, Broward Boulevard, and the communities around Plantation Acres and Central Park.

Our reach extends north into Palm Beach County, where we serve clients in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, and the surrounding communities. Whether the property is a home, a shopping center, an investment unit, or a parcel held through an entity, our team handles transactional and litigation work throughout South Florida.

Talk With a Plantation Real Estate Attorney Today

If you are buying, selling, or leasing property in Plantation, or a deal has gone sideways, the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your documents, explain where you stand, and tell you what the realistic options are. Call to schedule a consultation with a Plantation real estate attorney who knows how to close deals and how to litigate them when they fail.