Lee County Foreclosure “Rocket Docket”

The Lee County Clerk of Courts has created a “rocket docket” to deal with the overwhelming numbers of foreclosure cases plaguing Southwest Florida. The process fast-tracks foreclosure hearing allowing judges to process a foreclosure case in under a minute.

The rocket docket process is the brain-child of Charlie Green, the Lee County Clerk Circuit of Courts. The goal is to hear upwards of 1,000 cases a day and work through the backlog facing the County. The most common outcome of a rocket docket hearing is the judge giving the defaulted homeowner 60 days to work something out with the lender or vacate the premises.

The general belief is that these cases need to be flushed through the system before the market can recover. On the backend of the process, we are seeing significant buyer interest in these foreclosed REO properties. Foreclosed homes are the market right now in Southwest Florida and buyer interest levels and activity is very high.