Surplus funds recovery · Nationwide
The sale cleared your debt.What happened to the rest?
When a property sells at foreclosure or tax auction for more than was owed on it, that leftover money usually still belongs to the former owner, not the county. We find out whether any of it is yours, and we handle the claim from start to finish.
- Free records check
- No upfront fees
- You pay only from the recovery
Watch
How surplus funds work, in about a minute
The whole thing explained plainly, including the part most people never hear about.
The basics
What surplus funds actually are
A property is sold at a foreclosure or tax auction to settle a debt. The county takes what it is owed, the lender takes what it is owed, and whatever is left over sits in a county account.
That leftover money is called surplus funds, or excess proceeds. In most states it belongs to the former owner or their heirs. But counties are not in the business of tracking people down. They post a notice, wait out a deadline, and if nobody comes forward the money can be absorbed by the state.
So it goes unclaimed for a simple reason: the person it belongs to never found out it existed.
Free tool
Work out what may be sitting there
Put in roughly what the property sold for and roughly what was owed on it. It is an estimate rather than a promise, but it shows you the shape of the thing in about thirty seconds.
Surplus statement
Illustrative- Balance owed to the former owner
- $60,000
An estimate only. The county deducts its own costs and any other lienholder is paid before you. Have us check the real figures, free.
Who can claim
It is not only the person whose name was on the deed
Surplus funds follow ownership, and ownership is often shared, inherited or held by a company. If any of these describe you, it is worth a check.
The former owner
You held the deed when the property was sold at foreclosure or tax auction.
The most straightforward claim.
Heirs and estates
The owner has died. Surplus funds usually pass to the estate, so an heir or the estate's representative can claim them.
Needs more paperwork, and sometimes an attorney.
Co-owners and ex-spouses
The property was held jointly. Each owner may be entitled to a share, even where only one name appears on the county's notice.
We work out the split before anything is filed.
Companies and trusts
The property was held by an LLC, a partnership or a trust that may since have been dissolved.
Recoverable, with the right authority documents.
The part nobody tells you
Every state puts a clock on this
Surplus funds are not held indefinitely. Each state sets its own window from the date of sale, and when it closes the money is usually escheated to the state and the claim is gone for good.
We will tell you the deadline that applies to your county on the first call, before you have committed to anything. If it has already passed, we will say so rather than take the case.
- Shortest
- Some states allow only a few months from the sale date.
- Common
- One to two years is the most usual window.
- Longest
- A handful of states allow several years, or set no hard limit at all.
Our process
From the first phone call to the money in your account
Four stages. Most of the work happens without you having to do anything.
Stage one
A conversation, not a sales call
You tell us the property address and the name it was held in. We search the county's records for a surplus tied to that sale, confirm the amount, and find out what the deadline is.
Stage two
We establish that the money is yours
Before anything is filed we confirm you are the rightful claimant and work out who else may have a stake: a second mortgage, a judgment lien, a co-owner, or an estate. This decides whether the claim is straightforward or contested.
Stage three
We prepare, file and chase the claim
Every county wants the claim in its own format, with its own documents and deadlines. We assemble the filing, submit it, and handle everything that comes back: requests for further evidence, competing claims, and a hearing where one is required.
Stage four
The county releases the funds
The claim is approved and the money is paid out to you. Our fee comes out of the recovery at that point, which is the first moment we are paid anything at all.
Being straight with you
You can do this yourself. Here is the honest comparison.
No law requires you to use anyone. For a simple claim you may well be better off filing it alone and keeping the whole amount.
Filing it yourself
Free, and entirely possible
- You keep every dollar of the surplus
- The county explains its own process at no charge
- You identify which office holds the funds and which deadline applies
- You prove the ownership chain if a name changed or an owner died
- You answer document requests and any competing claim
- A missed deadline usually cannot be undone
Bringing us in
Paid only from the recovery
- Nothing to pay unless the money reaches you
- We locate the funds and confirm the deadline first
- We reconstruct ownership from public records
- We handle filings, evidence requests and hearings
- We answer anyone else who claims the same funds
- Our fee comes out of what is recovered
Why people work with us
You do not pay us to try. You pay us when it works.
You speak to a person
A real phone number, answered by the same small team that handles your file. Not a call centre and not a chatbot.
Everything in writing, first
You see the full agreement, including exactly what we are paid and when, before you sign. Read it, take it to a lawyer, sleep on it.
We tell you when there is nothing
Plenty of searches come back empty. We would rather tell you that in a five-minute call than keep you hoping.
You can walk away at any point
You may pursue the claim yourself, or through your own attorney, and call the county directly at no cost. We will tell you that ourselves.
Protect yourself
Six things a dishonest recovery firm will do
This industry has a scam problem. These are the signs, whoever you end up using.
Asks for money up front
A search fee, a filing fee, a deposit, a wire transfer or a gift card. No legitimate firm needs any of it before your funds are released.
Will not put the fee in writing
If you cannot see the exact fee and when it is taken, before you sign, walk away.
Pressures you to sign today
Deadlines are real, but they are months away, not hours. Urgency is a sales tactic here.
Discourages you from calling the county
The county will confirm a surplus free of charge. Anyone steering you away from that is not on your side.
Guarantees an amount
Nobody can promise a payout. Competing liens and county costs are outside anyone's control.
Has no real phone number
A form, an app and no person. You should be able to call and speak to whoever is handling your file.
Before you trust anyone
Got a letter or a call from us? Good, check it.
Do not take our word for anything, including this page. Here is exactly how to verify us.
How to check that it is really us
Keep thisCall the number yourself
Do not use a number printed on a letter, ours included. Type 877-797-1776 in yourself, or email claims@claimsurplusrefund.com, and ask whether the person who contacted you actually works here.
Ask the county directly
The county holding the funds will confirm a surplus exists and tell you the deadline, free of charge.
Never pay a fee up front
We will never ask you to wire money, buy a gift card, or pay anything before your funds are released. If someone using our name asks you to, it is not us, and we would like to know.
Read before you sign
Every legitimate agreement states what the fee is and when it is taken. Take it away and read it.
Questions
What people ask first
It is a fair question and you should keep asking it, of us and of anyone else who contacts you. An honest operation charges nothing before your money is released, puts the agreement in writing, answers a real phone, and has no objection to you calling the county yourself. You can verify every one of those about us today.
Nothing up front, and nothing at all unless you are paid. The records check is free. We work on contingency, so our fee comes out of the recovery once the county releases it. If the claim does not succeed, you owe us nothing.
Usually six to nine months, depending on the complexity of the case and your state's rules. An estate, a competing lienholder or a missing document will add time. We give you a realistic estimate for your county rather than a best case.
A phone call costs you nothing, and it might be worth a great deal
If your property sold for more than you owed, there may be a balance sitting in a county account with your name on it. Let's find out.