Some argue that if the foreclosure process were altered, the markets would improve.

Several influential political figures in Florida, including the state’s governor, house speaker and senate president, are lobbying to change the state’s foreclosure laws, a process they deem too slow and meticulous for the backlog of foreclosures on the market.

Florida has the second highest foreclosure rate in the U.S., and, like 20 other states, its foreclosure laws require a judge to oversee every step of the foreclosure process. Although more thorough, the process can take awhile, and in Florida, foreclosures can take a long time.

How long? About 638 days. And for Rick Scott, Florida’s governor, that is not going to cut it.

“It’s not good for anybody in the process,” Scott said. “It costs money. Either the homeowners lose money or the lenders lose money, and the longer it takes, it slows down what actually happens in the real market.”

The Florida Bankers Association tried and failed to amend the state’s foreclosure laws in 2010, arguing that the process used in the 30 other states of the U.S., a process called “nonjudicial foreclosures,” would help Florida’s housing market by excluding the process from judicial review.

Anthony DiMarco, the executive vice president of government relations for the association, said the nonjudicial process would eliminate Florida’s backlog.

“If you can move more quickly, properties can get back on the market, and it will stimulate the economy,” DiMarco said. “You won’t have blight. Property taxes will get paid. Condo fees and homeowners association fees will be paid. People will buy paint and furniture.”

Not everyone is in support of the measure, though. Darren Soto, a state representative from Orlando, argued that the measure would amount to a bypass of citizen’s rights.

“I don’t think we need to be replacing people’s rights with expediency, particularly when we’re talking about property rights,” Soto said. “This is a homesteader’s right to access the courts. I can’t think of any property right more important.”

So while judicial proceedings may be prolonging the foreclosure process, they may be the one thing guaranteeing that foreclosed homeowners get a fair deal.