Foreclosure and tax sale surplus funds
Surplus Funds Recovery for Former Homeowners and Heirs
When a home sells at a foreclosure or tax sale for more than was owed, the money left over belongs to the former owner or the owner's heirs. Our post foreclosure specialists find it, do the paperwork and advance every cost. You pay nothing out of pocket.
Check if you may be owed money
Three short steps, then a specialist calls you back. No out-of-pocket expense.
The process
From first call to released funds
Five stages, the same whether a trustee, a court or a county holds the money.
Tell us about the sale
The state, the county if you know it, and roughly when the property sold. It takes two minutes and costs nothing.
We check the record
The sale price, the debt, the liens recorded against the property, and which office holds any surplus.
You see the agreement first
The completion fee is written down before any work starts, so you decide with the number in front of you.
We prepare and file the claim
Every document, signature, notarization and filing, with all costs advanced by us.
The funds are released
The trustee, court or county pays the claim. Our completion fee comes out of that payment and nothing else.
Follow the funds
Where is the money now?
Surplus moves through up to four hands. Find yours, then read what to do at that stage.
With the trustee or the lender's attorney
After a non-judicial foreclosure sale
The person who conducted the auction holds the surplus, notifies the people on record and pays it out under the state's statute, or hands it to a court when claims conflict.
Surplus Funds RecoveryWith the court
After a court-supervised sale, or when priority is disputed
The money sits in the clerk's registry until a judge orders it released. A claim or motion has to be filed in that case.
Funds Held by the CourtWith the county
After a tax sale
The treasurer, tax collector or clerk holds excess proceeds. The claim goes to the county, and the window to file is set by state law.
Tax Sale Excess ProceedsWith an unclaimed property program
When nobody claims in time
Unclaimed surplus is often turned over to the state or the county. It can still be claimed, with more steps.
Unclaimed Property RecoveryOrder of payment
Who is paid first
Almost every state follows this order. The former owner is last in line, which is why liens matter so much.
Costs of the sale
The expenses of conducting the auction are paid first.
The debt that was foreclosed
The loan, or the unpaid taxes, that caused the sale.
Junior liens, in order of priority
Second mortgages, association and judgment liens, and some tax liens.
The former owner or the owner's heirs
Whatever remains belongs to you, your co-owners or your family.
Before you call or file
What to gather
Tick them off as you find them. Nothing you tick here is stored or sent anywhere.
0 of 6 documents gathered
What we handle
We do all the work
Everything a claim needs, prepared and paid for by us.
- AuthorizationsThe signed permissions that let us request records and speak to the trustee, clerk or county for you.
- Identity and ownership verificationsMatching you to the recorded title, the sale file and the surplus itself.
- AffidavitsSworn statements of ownership, heirship and entitlement in the form each office requires.
- NotarizationsArranged and paid for by us, including mobile notaries when you cannot travel.
- Will and trust verificationLocating and confirming the documents that say who inherits.
- Probate filings, when an estate needs oneCosts advanced by us. A licensed attorney handles the filing where your state requires one.
- Claim and court filingsPrepared, filed and tracked with the trustee, the court or the county that holds the money.
- Every required fee, advancedFiling fees, certified copies, recording and mailing costs are paid by us and never billed to you.
Our services
One page for each thing we do
Each page explains the situation, what the specialists do, and what you provide so we can qualify the claim.
- Surplus Funds RecoverySurplus from a mortgage or deed-of-trust foreclosure: who holds the money, who is paid ahead of you, and what it takes to get it released.
- Tax Sale Excess ProceedsTax deed and tax sale excess proceeds: who holds the money, why claim windows differ so much by state, and what a county claim has to prove.
- Estate and Heir RecoveryThe owner died and the home was sold. See which estate document usually unlocks the surplus, how several heirs claim, and what a missing heir changes.
- Probate AssistanceWhen a surplus claim needs a probate, see which route usually fits, who signs the claim at the end of it, and who pays the court costs.
- Unclaimed Property RecoveryForeclosure or tax-sale money that was transferred to a state unclaimed property program: the free search, the claim, and the fee limits on this kind of money.
- Claimant AdvocacyOne person to deal with the trustee, the clerk, the county and the lienholders, to say where your claim stands, and to read any offer before you sign it.
- Eviction DefenseAfter a foreclosure or tax sale the removal clock and your surplus claim run at once, and a rushed deal on one can quietly cost you the other.
- Unlawful Detainer FilingsThe eviction lawsuit has many state names. Whatever yours is called, the paper you file back has a date, and a wrong move can cost your surplus.
I need to
What do you need to do today?
- I got a letter about surplus fundsWho may contact you, what they may charge, and the red flags.
- The owner has passed awayHow an heir or an estate claims the money.
- The money is being held by a courtWhat a court deposit means and how the claim is made.
- It was a county tax saleExcess proceeds follow different rules in every state.
- Show me my state's rulesWho holds the money, the claim window and the rules for recovery companies.
Learn
Surplus funds explained
Who can claim, what happens when a court holds the money, and how liens are sorted out.
- Who Can Claim Surplus FundsFormer owners, heirs, co-owners, trustees and lienholders can each hold a right to surplus funds. See which one you are and the proof it usually takes.
- Funds Held by the CourtWhat it means when surplus funds sit with a clerk of court, how a deposit or interpleader happens, and what a judge wants to see before releasing money.
- Liens and Competing ClaimsWho is paid before the former owner, how priority is decided in general, and how a lien claim is tested when the payoff figure looks too large.
- Co-Owners and Former SpousesHow surplus funds are divided when title was shared: the vesting on the deed, divorce orders, an absent co-owner, and a lien against one share.
How it works with us
Four plain promises
Taken from how we actually work. No percentages hidden in fine print, and nothing owed unless money is recovered.
No out-of-pocket expense
We advance the filing fees, certified copies, notary costs and every other expense of the claim.
We do all the work
Authorizations, verifications, affidavits, notarizations, will and trust verification, probate filings when an estate needs one, and the claim itself.
A completion fee, from the surplus only
Our only payment is a completion fee taken from the surplus once it is recovered. It is written into your agreement before any work starts.
An attorney where your state requires one
Where a court or probate filing must be made by a licensed attorney, a licensed attorney handles it, and you still pay nothing out of pocket.
Why a specialist
What a specialist changes
Each line is a hurdle a claim has to clear. Here is how our specialists clear it and speed the money to you.
| With our specialists | Going it alone | |
|---|---|---|
| Finding out whether a surplus exists | We pull the recorded sale documents and do the arithmetic with you | The records have to be found and the sale figures read correctly, or money that is really there stays hidden |
| The claim window | Tracked from the day you call, against your state's statute | One missed date, often counted from a notice sent to the old address, ends the claim |
| Liens and competing claims | Each lien is checked against the record and challenged when it is paid, expired or wrong | Every competing claimant has to be answered with documents, or it is paid ahead of you |
| When a court or probate filing is needed | A licensed attorney handles it where your state requires one, at our cost | A court or probate step stalls the money until the right person is authorized to sign |
| Cost | No out-of-pocket expense. A completion fee from the surplus, only after it is recovered | The filing costs fall to you, and the deadline keeps running while documents are gathered |
All 50 states and D.C.
Find the rules for your state
Choose the state where the property is. You will see who holds surplus funds there and what we could verify about the claim rules.
Surplus Funds by State Each page lists only what we could check against a statute or an official source, with the citation.
A foreclosure or tax sale does not always end with nothing left. When the winning bid is higher than the debt and the costs of the sale, the difference is surplus funds, and the law in every state treats that money as belonging to someone other than the lender or the buyer. After the liens are paid, it belongs to the former owner, or to the owner’s heirs.
Why this money goes unclaimed
Nobody at the auction tells the former owner what the property sold for. The notice about surplus, when there is one, is mailed to the last address on record, which is usually the home that was just sold. People who have already moved never see it. Others assume the lender kept everything. Meanwhile a claim window set by state law opens and closes, and the money moves on to a court file, a county fund or an unclaimed property program.
The first contact many people get is a letter from a stranger offering to recover the money for a large share. Some of those offers are fair and some are not. Our page on avoiding surplus funds scams explains how to check any recovery company, this one included.
Deadline: your state sets the claim window, and some are only a few weeks long. If the property sold in the last few months, check the record now instead of waiting for mail that may never reach you.
What our specialists do
We are post foreclosure specialists and advocates. We find out whether a surplus exists, who holds it and who stands ahead of you in line. Then we do the work: authorizations, identity and ownership verifications, affidavits, notarizations, will and trust verification, probate filings when an estate needs one, and the claim itself. We advance every required fee. Our only payment is a completion fee taken from the surplus after it is recovered. The full process is on how our specialists help, and each service has its own page under our services.
Where a specialist makes the difference
A single owner, no junior liens and a notice received in time is a straightforward claim. Most are not that clean. When the owner has died, when another lienholder wants the same money, when a court is holding the funds, or when nobody knows where the money went, our specialists clear those hurdles and move the claim faster than it would move alone. See what it takes to qualify.
The rules depend on the state
Some states run foreclosures through the courts and hold surplus in the clerk’s registry. Others use a trustee who pays it out under a statute. Tax sales follow a third set of rules, and after the Supreme Court’s decision in Tyler v. Hennepin County a government may not keep more from a tax sale than it was owed. Deadlines, fee limits for recovery companies and the office that holds the money all change at the state line. Start with surplus funds rules in your state.
Who runs this site
SurplusFundsRecovery.org is run by a private organization of post foreclosure specialists and advocates. Our advocates find the money, prove who it belongs to, and deal with the trustee, clerk, county or state program so a claimant does not have to. Where your state requires a licensed attorney for a court or probate filing, a licensed attorney handles it. We wrote these pages the way a good public help desk would explain things, because people who have just lost a home deserve clear answers before they decide anything.
Plain words
Terms you will see in the paperwork
- Surplus funds
- Money left after a foreclosure or tax sale pays the costs of the sale and the debt. Also called excess proceeds, overage or overbid.
- Trustee
- In a non-judicial foreclosure, the neutral party that conducts the auction and first holds the surplus. It is not the lender and not the buyer.
- Clerk's registry
- The court account where surplus is held after a court-supervised sale, or when the people claiming it disagree.
- Junior lien
- A recorded claim that ranks behind the foreclosed debt, such as a second mortgage or a judgment lien. It is paid before the former owner.
- Successor in interest
- Someone who stands in the former owner's place, such as an heir, an estate's personal representative or the trustee of a living trust.
- Completion fee
- Our only payment. It comes out of the surplus after the funds are recovered, in the amount written into your agreement beforehand.
Questions
Surplus funds questions, answered plainly
How do I know if surplus funds exist from my sale?
Compare the price the property sold for with what was owed at the time. Both numbers are public, in the deed recorded after the sale, the court file or the county's tax sale results. If the price was higher, a surplus may exist. We can pull the record and check it with you.
What does it cost me?
Nothing out of pocket. We advance every filing fee and expense, and our only payment is a completion fee taken from the surplus once it is recovered. If nothing is recovered, you owe nothing.
What makes a claim complicated enough to need you?
Heirs and probate, a court holding the funds, another lienholder claiming the same money, or a deadline counted from a notice you never received. Our specialists clear those hurdles and move the payment along faster. No court, county or trustee charges a fee to tell you whether money exists.
How long do I have?
It depends on the state and on the kind of sale. Some claim windows are only a few weeks long and others run for years. Check your state's page, and do not wait for a letter that may have gone to your old address.
Who will handle my claim?
A private organization of post foreclosure specialists and advocates. Our advocates deal with the trustee, clerk, county or state program for you, and where your state requires a licensed attorney for a court or probate filing, a licensed attorney handles it.
Do you work in my state?
We help former homeowners and heirs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The rules differ in each one, which is why every state has its own page here.
Who is behind this site
A private organization, and what that means
A private organization of post foreclosure specialists and advocates. Here is who we are and how we are paid.
Who we are
SurplusFundsRecovery.org is run by a private organization of post foreclosure specialists and advocates.
How we are paid
No out-of-pocket expense. Our only payment is a completion fee taken from the surplus once it is recovered.
Court and probate filings
Where your state requires a licensed attorney for a court or probate filing, a licensed attorney handles it, and you still pay nothing out of pocket.
Think money was left over from the sale? Find out before your state's window closes.
Tell us the state and roughly when the property sold. A specialist checks the record, tells you what we find and explains how we would recover it for you.
No out-of-pocket expense. The completion fee is written into your agreement before any work starts and is paid only from the recovered surplus.