Fort Myers Real Estate Attorney

Lee County has a lot of rental property and a lot of owners who live elsewhere. Cape Coral's canal neighborhoods, Fort Myers' older streets and the condominiums of Bonita Springs and Estero attract seasonal residents, retirees and investors who buy single family homes to rent. That mix brings the same questions again and again: how to close from out of state, how to keep homestead when the house goes into a trust, how to watch for deed fraud on a house you rarely see, and how to remove a tenant correctly. This page covers how Lee County handles each one.

Communities we serve in Lee County

• Fort Myers
• Cape Coral
• Bonita Springs
• Estero
• Lehigh Acres and North Fort Myers
• Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach

Recording and stamp tax in Lee County

The Lee County Clerk of Court and Comptroller records deeds, mortgages and liens in the county's Official Records. The Clerk's fee schedule lists $10.00 for the first page of a standard document and $8.50 for each additional page, and documentary stamps on deeds at $0.70 per $100 of consideration. On a $425,000 Cape Coral home, that is $2,975 in deed stamps. Copies of recorded documents are $1 per page, with $2 more for certification.

The title work behind a closing matters more than the recording fee. Older plats, unreleased mortgages or gaps in the chain of title can surface when a vacant lot or a long held house finally sells. A title commitment shows those issues before closing, while they can still be fixed. Our Florida real estate closing page walks through the commitment, the deed and recording.

Lee County Property Fraud Alert

The Clerk runs a free Property Fraud Alert that emails subscribers within 24 hours when a land record is recorded that matches a registered name or parcel. You can register personal names, business names, trusts and individual parcels, and a 2024 change in state law makes the registration details exempt from public records. The alert does not cover documents filed in court cases, and it cannot stop a fraudulent deed from being recorded. It does let an absentee owner respond quickly. If a forged deed or a bad lien has already been recorded, our real estate litigation page explains quiet title and related remedies.

Homestead, trusts and portability

The Lee County Property Appraiser accepts homestead applications online, by email, by mail or in person, and the application is due by March 1 of the year you qualify, under section 196.011. Save Our Homes begins the year after the exemption is granted and limits yearly increases in assessed value to 3 percent. The Property Appraiser asks owners to contact it when ownership changes in any way, and gives putting the property into certain trusts or an LLC as examples, because some changes affect the exemption. Ask before you sign the deed, not after.

When you buy a new home, homestead and portability are two separate applications, and neither transfers on its own. Under section 193.155(8), up to $500,000 of your Save Our Homes benefit can generally move to the new home if you had a homestead exemption on January 1 of any of the three preceding years. Our Florida homestead exemption guide explains the basics.

Condominiums and milestone inspections

Lee County's coastal condominiums are subject to the statewide milestone inspection law. Section 553.899 requires a milestone inspection of condominium and cooperative buildings three or more stories tall by December 31 of the year the building turns 30, then every 10 years. The local building official may require it at 25 years where conditions such as proximity to salt water warrant. If phase one finds substantial structural deterioration, a more detailed phase two inspection follows. The association must send each owner the inspector's summary within 45 days of receiving the report. Before you buy a unit, ask for that summary and compare it with the association's reserves and any planned assessments.

Evictions at the Lee County Justice Center

Lee County evictions are county civil cases. The Clerk's civil division is on the second floor of the Lee County Justice Center, 2075 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Fort Myers, and the Clerk also has a Cape Coral location at the Lee Government Center. The Clerk lists the tenant eviction filing fee at $185 plus $10 for each summons, with sheriff service fees paid to the Lee County Sheriff. The usual sequence:

1. Serve a three day notice to pay rent or vacate. The three days exclude Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays (section 83.56(3)).
2. File the complaint for possession with a copy of the notice attached, as the Clerk requires.
3. Have the sheriff serve each tenant. The tenant generally has five days, excluding weekends and legal holidays, to respond and deposit rent into the court registry.
4. After judgment, the Clerk issues the writ of possession, and the sheriff serves it for a separate fee.

Section 83.425 now preempts local regulation of residential tenancies, so Fort Myers and Cape Coral landlords follow chapter 83 rather than city rules on deposits, screening and notices. Our Florida eviction and landlord and tenant pages explain the statutes in more depth.

Commercial leasing and investment property

Lee County's commercial market includes strip retail along major corridors, medical and professional offices, and warehouse space. A commercial lease controls rent increases, common area charges, repairs, insurance and what happens after a storm closes the space, so those clauses deserve close reading. According to the Department of Revenue, Florida's state sales tax on commercial rent was repealed for rental periods beginning on or after October 1, 2025. Our commercial real estate page covers leasing, purchases and land use.

How we work with Lee County clients

We do not have an office in Lee County. Fort Myers and Cape Coral clients work with us by phone or video, and real estate matters are handled remotely from contract review through recording; you are also welcome at any of our offices. Your first consultation is free, and because the firm limits its caseload, you work directly with an attorney. If the property is part of a family plan, see our Fort Myers estate planning, Lee County probate and Lee County elder law pages. Contact us to get started.