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- 834K Residents
- $40B County GDP
- $48,452 GDP per Capita
Lee County
Lee County
Lee County anchors southwest Florida around Fort Myers (county seat), Cape Coral, Estero, and Sanibel/Captiva. The economy combines tourism, healthcare (Lee Health), retiree services, construction, and a strong vacation-rental market. Hurricane Ian (2022) caused catastrophic damage and reshaped insurance, rebuild, and inventory. The Clerk & Comptroller (Kevin C. Karnes) runs custom case search and a clerk-operated tax deed system.
Property in Lee
What every owner, heir, and investor should know.
Owning a home in Lee.
Lee is a high-volume coastal market with active hurricane recovery and rising insurance costs.
- Florida Homestead Exemption and Save Our Homes apply.
- Tax bills Nov 1; discounts through February; delinquent April 1.
- Wind, flood, roof age, and post-Ian rebuild costs dominate insurance pricing.
- Tax deed redemption to day of sale (Ch. 197, F.S.).
- Foreclosure surplus rights under § 45.032, F.S. (60 days).
- Significant condominium inventory means HOA dues and post-Surfside reserves matter.
Investing in Lee.
Lee delivers active short-term rental, condo, and single-family rental investment plus large foreclosure/tax-deed pipelines.
- Foreclosure auctions on lee.realforeclose.com.
- Tax deed sales on lee.realtaxdeed.com.
- Property Appraiser at leepa.org.
- Court case search at lee-civilbenchmark.leeclerk.org.
- Watch for unrepaired Hurricane Ian damage, condominium milestone-inspection costs, and Cape Coral seawall/lot-fill issues.
After a Lee foreclosure or tax deed sale.
Lee runs one of Florida's largest foreclosure and tax deed dockets. All foreclosures are judicial (Ch. 45, F.S.); tax deeds run under Ch. 197, F.S.
- Foreclosure auctions held online via lee.realforeclose.com; the 20th Judicial Circuit handles cases.
- Surplus funds: claim under § 45.032, F.S. within 60 days of certificate of disbursement.
- Tax certificates sold yearly by the Tax Collector; tax deed application after 2 years.
- Tax deed sales on lee.realtaxdeed.com; surplus paid to lienholders, then former owner.
- Notices published in the News-Press.
Courts and records in Lee.
- Lee County Justice Center — 1700 Monroe St, Fort Myers, FL 33901 — 20th Judicial Circuit
- 20th Judicial Circuit (Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee)
- Second District Court of Appeal
- Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller — Kevin C. Karnes — (239) 533-5000 — leeclerk.org
- Property Appraiser — Matt Caldwell — 2480 Thompson St — leepa.org
- Tax Collector — Noelle Branning — leetc.com
- Sheriff — Carmine Marceno — 14750 Six Mile Cypress Pkwy, Fort Myers