Read this page before you rely on anything else on SurplusFundsRecovery.org. It says who publishes these pages, how the work is paid for, and the limits of what a general explanation of state law can do for one person’s claim.
Who operates this website
The organization that operates this website is a private organization of post foreclosure specialists and advocates. It helps former homeowners and their heirs recover money left over after a foreclosure sale or a tax sale, in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It is a business, it is paid for the work it does, and these pages exist partly to bring in claimants. Read them with that in mind.
The about page describes the organization, how a matter is handled and what it costs a claimant.
General information, not legal advice
The pages here are general information about how surplus funds and state law work. They are written to be true in any state, which means the specifics of your own claim come from your own papers rather than from this website. The people described on this site as post foreclosure specialists and advocates prepare claim paperwork, gather and verify proof, and deal with the offices that hold money.
If your situation involves a genuine legal dispute, for example a fight over title, an attack on the validity of the sale, or competing claims to the same surplus, speak with a licensed attorney or a legal aid office in the state where the property sold.
Why public offices are named here
Public offices are named on these pages for one reason: they hold the records, or they hold the money, and a claimant needs to know which office does which. Finding out whether a surplus exists costs nothing, because no trustee, clerk, county office or state program charges for that answer. Anyone demanding payment to locate or release your money is not acting for a public office, and the guide to testing an offer shows how to check any company against that standard.
How the completion fee works
There is no out-of-pocket expense paid by claimants. The organization advances the filing fees, certified-copy charges, recording costs and notary costs. It is paid a completion fee out of the surplus, and only once the funds are recovered. The amount is written into an agreement signed before any work begins, and nothing is owed if nothing is recovered. No page on this site states a percentage, because the agreement is where that number belongs.
Where a licensed attorney is required
Some of this work is reserved to lawyers, and that line is not blurred here. 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.
A few states reserve more than the filing. 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). States also differ on what a recovery company may charge, particularly for money already sitting in a state program: some states limit what a recovery company may charge or require specific contract terms, and the by-state pages list what we found for each state.
No guarantee of results
Nothing on this site promises an outcome or predicts one. What a claimant recovers, if anything, depends on the price the property brought, the debt that was foreclosed, the liens recorded ahead of the owner, the proof the claimant can produce, the deadline in that state and, where a court is involved, the judge. There are no testimonials, reviews, success rates, recovery totals or client counts anywhere on this website, and a claim review can end with the honest answer that there is nothing to claim.
These pages summarize general rules and were accurate when written. Legislatures amend statutes and offices change their forms. Your deadline comes from the dates on the papers you were served, never from a number on a web page.