Sunrise Real Estate Transactions Attorney

Buying, selling, leasing, or co-owning property in Sunrise usually comes down to a few signatures and a closing date, and the paperwork you sign before that date often decides who wins if the deal later goes sideways. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate matters for owners, investors, and families in Broward County, including Sunrise, and across Palm Beach County and greater South Florida. If you are looking for a Sunrise real estate transactions attorney, the practical question is rarely whether you need a contract, but whether the contract in front of you says what you think it says.

Sunrise sits in the middle of Broward’s commercial and residential corridors, so transactions here run from single-family homes and condominium units to retail centers, office space, and mixed investment holdings. Whatever the property type, the same pressure points tend to appear: deposit terms, inspection and financing contingencies, title problems that surface late, and closing deadlines that one side cannot or will not meet. Our firm approaches each deal with two perspectives at once, that of a transactional lawyer who wants the closing to happen cleanly, and that of a litigator who knows exactly how these documents get read when the parties end up in court.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation and transactions firm serving Sunrise and the rest of Broward County, along with Palm Beach County and South Florida generally. The firm represents business owners, investors, and families, including clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold property or business interests here. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989 and has spent 37 years in litigation, with a career built around complex contract disputes, partnership conflicts, and real estate. He earned his undergraduate degree at Emory University in 1986 and his law degree at the University of Miami in 1989. Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator, adds years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts.

That litigation background is the point of hiring us for a transaction. In November 2024 the firm announced a result for a client in a commercial real estate contract case: after a five-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding specific performance of the contract. Winning an order that forces a seller to actually convey the property is only possible when the contract was built and enforced carefully, and that is the standard we bring to drafting and reviewing deals before anything goes wrong.

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, we schedule conference calls at times that work for everyone, and we handle local court appearances so out of state clients do not have to travel for each hearing. We are also experienced in mediation and arbitration, and we look for the result that fits your goals and budget rather than prolonging a dispute for its own sake. A meaningful share of our work comes from referrals by other attorneys, and we communicate with referring counsel throughout.

Types of Real Estate Transactions and Disputes We Handle in Sunrise

• Purchase and Sale Contracts: Residential and commercial contracts for property in Sunrise and surrounding Broward communities, including review of deposit provisions, inspection periods, financing and appraisal contingencies, and default remedies before you sign.
• Failed Closings: Disputes over who is entitled to the deposit, whether a party defaulted, and whether a buyer or seller can compel performance. Specific performance claims carry a one-year limitations period under Florida law, so delay can cost you the remedy.
• Commercial Leases: Negotiation and enforcement of retail, office, and industrial leases, including rent escalation, personal guaranties, default and cure language, and landlord and tenant disputes.
• Residential Landlord and Tenant Matters: Notice-based terminations under Chapter 83, including the 3-day written demand for unpaid rent (weekends and court-observed legal holidays excluded) and the 7-day notices used for curable and incurable lease violations.
• Title Defects and Quiet Title Actions: Suits under Chapter 65 to clear competing ownership claims, cancel a recorded instrument that clouds title, or resolve disputes between parties claiming under the same chain of title.
• Partition of Co-Owned Property: Chapter 64 actions for former business partners, siblings who inherited a home, unmarried couples, and investors who want out of a shared property, including special rules for heirs property.
• Investment and Business-Owned Real Estate: Property held through an LLC or corporation, where a transaction problem often overlaps with a partner dispute, a diverted-funds claim, or a buyout.
• Emergency Injunctive Relief: Temporary and permanent injunctions to stop a sale, a transfer, or the movement of assets while a property dispute is pending.

What to Do Before You Sign, Close, or Walk Away From a Sunrise Deal

The most valuable step in a real estate transaction happens before you are bound. Have a lawyer read the contract while the terms can still be negotiated, paying particular attention to the deposit clause, the contingency deadlines, the default and remedy language, and any attorney fee provision. Many costly disputes trace back to a deadline someone treated as flexible that the contract treated as firm. Keep every version of the draft, every email about extensions, and every inspection or financing document, because Florida courts look closely at the written agreement and the parties’ actual dealings.

If a deal is already in trouble, act quickly and in writing. Do not stop paying, refuse to close, or declare the other side in default until you have confirmed what the contract permits, because a wrongful termination can turn you from the injured party into the defaulting one. Time limits matter here. A claim founded on a written contract has a five-year limitations period under Florida law, an oral or implied contract claim has four, and an action seeking specific performance must be filed within one year. An action to rescind a contract has four years, and fraud claims run four years from discovery subject to an outer cap of 12 years. The one-year window for specific performance is the one buyers and sellers most often miss.

Where the dispute is filed depends largely on the amount at stake and the type of relief you want. Sunrise is in Broward County, which sits in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. County court handles claims above the small claims range up to a threshold that is adjusted periodically, and the circuit court hears larger claims and equitable matters such as specific performance, quiet title, partition, and injunctions. The Seventeenth Circuit also maintains complex business divisions for large business and construction litigation, which can matter when a real estate dispute is tied to a company or a partnership. Cases involving parties from different states and enough money may also belong in the federal Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. We help you decide where a case belongs and handle the filings and appearances.

Finally, gather the title paperwork early: the deed, any title insurance commitment or policy, surveys, prior contracts, loan documents, and any correspondence with a co-owner or former partner. If you are an out of state owner, tell us your availability and we will arrange calls and handle court dates locally so the case moves without constant travel.

Title, Co-Ownership, and Partition: When Owners Cannot Agree

Some of the hardest real estate problems are not between buyer and seller but between people who already own the property together. Florida’s partition statutes let a co-owner ask the circuit court, sitting in equity, to divide the land or, if a fair division is not practical, to order it sold and the proceeds shared in proportion to ownership. The complaint must describe the property, 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 without prejudice to the owners. When it cannot, the court may order a public sale to the highest bidder, and a sale on credit generally requires at least one-third of the price to be paid down unless everyone consents otherwise.

Inherited property gets special treatment. Florida adopted the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act for partition actions filed on or after July 1, 2020. A property qualifies as heirs property when it is held as tenants in common with no binding agreement among the cotenants about partition, at least one cotenant acquired title from a relative, and certain further conditions are met, such as twenty percent or more of the interests being held by relatives. When it applies, the court generally must follow the Act’s procedures, including a preference for partition in kind where it would not prejudice the cotenants as a group. This matters to siblings and extended family who inherited a Broward home or investment property together.

Quiet title is the companion remedy when the question is not how to divide property but who owns it. Chapter 65 allows a person claiming legal or equitable title to ask the court to settle ownership, including cancelling a recorded instrument held by someone who is not the rightful owner. The suit can be filed in any county where part of the land sits, and the plaintiff must generally trace title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise. Related rules matter too: Florida bars a suit to recover real property unless the claimant or a predecessor held possession within seven years, and adverse possession, with or without color of title, requires seven years of continuous possession along with other statutory requirements. Our firm regularly helps clients clear title, separate themselves from title they no longer want, or defend against a competing claim.

Frequently Asked Questions About Real Estate Transactions in Sunrise

Do I need a lawyer to buy or sell property in Sunrise?

Florida does not require one, but the contract you sign controls what happens if the deal fails. A lawyer can negotiate the deposit language, contingencies, and remedies before you are bound, and can identify title or lease issues that a standard form contract does not address. This matters most on commercial deals, investment property, and any transaction involving co-owners or a company.

What is the difference between a transactional and a litigation attorney in real estate?

A transactional lawyer drafts, negotiates, and closes the deal. A litigator enforces or defends it in court when something breaks. Our firm combines both, which means the contract is written with an eye toward how a judge would read it if the parties later disagree.

Can a buyer or seller force the other side to close?

Sometimes. A court can order specific performance, which compels the breaching party to complete the sale. Because real property is considered unique, this remedy is available in appropriate cases, but the action must be brought within one year. We obtained this result for a client after a five-day bench trial in a Broward County commercial real estate case.

Who keeps the deposit if a closing falls through?

It depends on the contract’s default and contingency provisions and on who actually breached. A buyer who properly terminates under a financing or inspection contingency may be entitled to a refund, while a buyer who simply walks away may forfeit it. Review the exact language and the timing of every notice before taking a position.

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

For a contract founded on a written instrument, the period is five years. Oral or implied contract claims have four years, rescission has four, and fraud has four years from discovery with a 12-year cap. Specific performance is only one year, so a buyer who wants the property rather than money has the shortest clock.

My co-owner will not sell. Can I force a sale?

Often yes. A partition action asks the circuit court to divide the property or order it sold and split the proceeds. If the property came from a relative and qualifies as heirs property, a different set of protections and procedures applies, including steps designed to give other cotenants a chance to buy out the party seeking partition.

Is a title problem something I can fix without going to court?

Sometimes a corrective deed, a release, or a negotiated agreement resolves it. When someone holds a recorded instrument that clouds your title or competing parties claim ownership, a quiet title action under Chapter 65 may be necessary, and the court generally expects you to trace title back at least seven years.

How does the landlord notice process work for unpaid rent in a residential lease?

The landlord delivers a written demand for payment or possession, and if rent remains unpaid for 3 days after delivery, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and court-observed legal holidays, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement. Accepting partial rent after the notice does not by itself waive the right to proceed, but the landlord must follow the statute’s steps for handling the partial payment.

I live in New York or New Jersey and own property in Broward County. Can you handle the case?

Yes. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with South Florida property. We attend the local hearings, keep you informed at each stage, and schedule calls around your availability so you are not traveling for every court date.

Will a real estate dispute with a business partner end up in complex business court?

It may. The Seventeenth Circuit has complex business divisions that handle matters such as certain business dissolutions and large business and construction litigation, and a case can be directly filed there only by following the circuit’s administrative procedure. Whether your case qualifies depends on its size and nature, and we can evaluate that at the outset.

Can a court stop a property transfer while the dispute is pending?

In appropriate circumstances, yes. Temporary and emergency injunctions can halt a sale, a transfer, or the movement of company assets while the case proceeds. These requests move quickly and require prompt, well-supported filings, so contact a lawyer as soon as you learn a transfer is planned.

Serving Sunrise Real Estate Clients Across Broward and Palm Beach Counties

We represent property owners, buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, and investors in Sunrise and throughout Broward County. That includes Plantation, Tamarac, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, Davie, Weston, Pembroke Pines, Coral Springs, Margate, Coconut Creek, Deerfield Beach, Oakland Park, Hollywood, and Fort Lauderdale. Broward matters are heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and we handle filings and appearances for clients who live in the county as well as those who own property here from elsewhere.

Our work extends north into Palm Beach County, which is covered by the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, and Palm Beach Gardens. For disputes that belong in federal court, the Southern District of Florida sits in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Across all of South Florida, we also serve clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business interests or real estate here and need a Florida litigator to manage the local proceedings.

Speak With a Sunrise Real Estate Transactions Lawyer

Whether you are about to sign a contract, stuck in a failed closing, or locked in a disagreement with a co-owner over a property in Sunrise, the right time to talk to a Sunrise real estate transactions lawyer is before the next deadline passes. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team will review your documents, explain where you stand, and recommend the path that fits your goals and your budget, whether that is a negotiated fix, mediation, or a court filing. Call us to schedule a consultation, and expect a prompt response, since we return every call within 24 hours.