- An up-front fee, before any work is done, is the clearest sign of a bad deal
- A processing fee to release the money is a demand, not a normal step
- A packet that assigns your proceeds to the buyer moves your whole claim away
- A firm that ducks heirship and eviction law does not know this work
The steps at a glance
A company that is not a registered investigator or a law firm
It will only 'release the details' after you sign its documents. A group that hides the amount and the office holding it until you are committed is selling you facts that already sit in the public record. Ask what licenses or registrations it holds in your state before anything is signed.
A processing fee to 'release the money'
A real recovery is paid out of the surplus after the money is released, never through a fee you send in first. Treat a 'processing fee to release the money,' a deposit, a card number, a gift card, or a wire before you are paid as a stop sign.
A demand that you assign all proceeds to the new owner
Watch for paperwork that signs all of your proceeds over to the new owner or the purchaser, sold to you as a way to 'clear the title' or to 'let you live in the property longer.' That trade hands away your surplus and your bargaining power at once, and it is never a requirement of a money claim.
An up-front fee before any work is done
A fee charged before anyone has pulled a record, filed a claim, or recovered a dollar puts all of the risk on you. A fair arrangement is paid only after the money comes in. If you are asked to pay to get started, you are the product.
A promise that 'they can get your house back'
A sale that has closed and recorded is very hard to undo, and only a licensed attorney in your state can even try, in the narrow cases where it is possible at all. Anyone who leads with 'they can get your house back' is selling hope to a person who just lost a home. Judge the offer by what the paperwork actually does.
A business that calls itself an 'Asset Recovery Firm'
The name is a tell. A firm that leans on a label like 'Asset Recovery Firm' usually does not know the law that decides who gets paid: proper heirship of an estate and of surplus funds, how long an occupant may stay in the property, and how to keep a sheriff eviction off the record. Ask a specific question about any of those and listen for whether the answer is real.
A letter arrives, or the phone rings, and a stranger says money is waiting for you from a foreclosure sale. Often the money is real. The company wrapped around it is what you have to read. This page shows what a foreclosure surplus funds scam looks like, the exact lines these pitches use, and how a real recovery company answers the same questions.
The short answer
Surplus funds are the money left after a foreclosure sale pays off the sale costs, the foreclosed debt, and the liens behind it. Different states call the same money excess proceeds, overage, or overbid, and it is held by a trustee, a clerk of court, a county treasurer, or a state unclaimed property program until someone claims it. People who work these scams know that money is sitting there, and they know most former owners never saw the notice. Almost every warning sign below comes down to one question: who is asking you for money, and when?
Why a stranger already knows your name
A foreclosure leaves a public trail. The deed given to the buyer is recorded at the county, a judicial court file shows the winning bid and the order confirming the sale, and counties publish what a tax-sale property brought. Anyone can set the price paid against the debt that was foreclosed, and the difference is the surplus. Businesses read those records every week and mail the names they find. The official notice, meanwhile, goes to the last known address, which is often the house that was just sold. That is why a finder’s letter reaches you when the real notice does not, and why a pitch can sound like it knows something you do not.
The scams to watch for
Here are the pitches that should stop you, the words they tend to use, and the tell in each one. The numbered points explain each in full.
| What the pitch says | What it usually means | The tell |
|---|---|---|
| “We found funds in your name. Sign and we release the details.” | The amount and the holder are the whole product. | It is not a registered investigator or a law firm, and it hides public facts until you commit. |
| “A processing fee will release the money.” | The fee is the business. | Real recovery is paid from the surplus after it is released, never through a fee sent in first. |
| “Sign this to clear the title and stay in the home longer.” | Your proceeds are being signed over to the new owner. | A money claim never requires you to hand your surplus to the buyer. |
| “Pay the retainer up front and we start today.” | The risk is shifted onto you before any work. | A fair arrangement is paid only after money is recovered. |
| “They can get your house back.” | False hope aimed at a fresh loss. | A closed, recorded sale is rarely reversible, and only a licensed attorney can try. |
| “We are an Asset Recovery Firm.” | A label standing in for knowledge. | It cannot answer plain questions about heirship, liens, or how long you may stay in the home. |
That third pitch deserves its own warning. Signing all of your proceeds over to the new owner or the purchaser, dressed up as a way to “clear the title” or to “let you live in the property longer,” trades away the one thing you have. If staying in the home is the real pressure, treat it as its own problem with its own paperwork. Our unlawful detainer filings and eviction defense specialists handle removal directly, and your surplus claim stays separate and intact.
What a real recovery company looks like
You can check a company before you trust it. A real one has a detailed website that explains the work step by step, not a single splash page and not only a Facebook page. It has registered service reviews you can read, a legal business name, and a person who will answer questions in writing. It tells you the amount and the office holding the money, it names every cost in the agreement, and it is paid out of the recovered surplus rather than through anything up front. A company that will not put those things on paper is telling you what it is.
Deadline: Claims become inherently harder as time ticks away. Everything from the eviction filing that is filed by the new owners to the release of liens against the property. The clock is usually 30-45 days from the actual sale date (this includes weekends and holidays as well) and to keep that window open and clean you will want to take action now instead of waiting.
How we work
This site is run by a private organization of post foreclosure specialists and advocates. When a claim review turns up money, we tell you the amount and where it is held, then we do the work: the authorizations, the identity and ownership checks, the affidavits and notarizations, locating and verifying any will or trust, the probate paperwork when an estate needs one, and the filings with the trustee, county, or court. 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. Our only payment is a completion fee that comes out of the surplus, and only once the funds are recovered. The figure is written into the agreement before any work starts. The about page lays out how the organization works and who it helps.
State rules are not the same everywhere
Some states limit what a recovery company may charge or require specific contract terms. The by-state pages list what we found for each state. States also set waiting periods before anyone may solicit a former owner, and a few license the activity outright. California goes further than most. In California, claims by a former owner-occupant of a home sold at a trustee’s sale are handled by a licensed California attorney, because California law reserves that work for the owner’s attorney (Cal. Civ. Code §2945.4). Read the surplus funds rules in your state before you judge any offer, then hold the agreement up against them.
Before you answer that letter
- Keep the letter and its envelope, and note the date it arrived.
- Sign nothing while someone is in front of you or holding the line.
- Give no Social Security number, bank number, or ID image to a company you have not checked.
- Ask, in writing, how much money there is and which office is holding it.
- Ask what licenses or registrations the company holds in your state.
- Read the last page of any agreement first, because signatures and assignments live at the back.
- If you already signed something, stop paying, ask for a full copy, and have a licensed attorney or legal aid in your state read it before you treat yourself as bound.
Questions about foreclosure surplus funds scams
Often the money is real and the offer is the problem. The sender found your sale in public records. Judge the company by three things: whether it names the amount and the office holding it before you sign, whether it wants any money before you are paid, and whether the paperwork transfers anything besides permission to file one claim.
A narrow authorization that lets someone request records and file one named claim is ordinary. A power of attorney with no limits is not, because it can be used to endorse your check or act for you on the property. If a document does not name the exact sale and the single claim, do not sign it.
The label can be a warning in itself. A business that hides behind a title like asset recovery firm often does not handle the parts that decide a claim: heirship of an estate, competing liens, or how long an occupant may stay in a home. Ask about your exact situation and see whether the answer shows real knowledge of your state's rules.
A real one has a detailed website that explains the work, not a single splash page and not only a Facebook page, and it has registered service reviews you can read. It answers questions in writing, names the people involved, and is paid out of the recovered surplus rather than through a fee up front.
Stop signing and stop paying. Ask for a full copy of everything you signed, and write down who you dealt with and on what dates. Have a licensed attorney or legal aid in your state read it before you treat yourself as bound, and find out where the money is, because the claim period keeps running.