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Our process

Exactly what happens, from first call to the money arriving

No stage of this should be a mystery to you. Here is the whole thing, including the parts that take time and the parts where we need something from you.

The four stages

Most of the work happens without you having to do anything

Your involvement is concentrated in stages one and two. After that it is paperwork, follow-up and waiting on the county - which is our job, not yours.

Start with a free records check

  1. Free records check

    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 - some states give you years, others a matter of months.

    • Costs nothing and commits you to nothing
    • Usually done within one to two business days
    • We tell you if there is no surplus, or if it is too small to be worth pursuing

    What we need from you: the property address, and the name on the deed.

  2. Claim verification and the agreement

    Before anything is filed we establish that you are the rightful claimant and find out who else might have a stake - a second mortgage, a judgment lien, a co-owner, or an estate if the owner has died. This is the stage that decides whether a claim is straightforward or contested.

    • We trace the chain of ownership through public records
    • We identify competing lienholders before they surface at the county
    • You receive the written agreement, setting out what we are paid and when
    • You sign nothing until you have read it and asked whatever you want to ask

    What we need from you: identification, and any paperwork you still have from the sale.

  3. We prepare and file the claim

    Every county wants the claim in its own format, with its own supporting documents and its own deadlines. We assemble the filing, submit it, and then handle everything that comes back - which is usually where a self-filed claim stalls.

    • We recover missing documents from public records where we can
    • We respond to the county's requests for further evidence
    • We answer competing claims filed against the same funds
    • We attend the hearing where the county or court requires one

    What we need from you: usually nothing, beyond a signature if the county requires one.

  4. The county releases the funds

    The county approves the claim and pays out. The money goes to you. Our fee is taken from the recovery at that point - which is the first moment we are paid anything at all.

    • You see the full accounting of what was recovered and what was deducted
    • If the claim fails, you owe us nothing

Timing

Why it takes six to nine months, and what makes it longer

Faster than average

A single owner, clear title, no other lienholders, documents to hand, and a county that processes claims administratively rather than through a court.

About average

One additional lienholder to resolve, or a county that requires a court hearing and schedules it on its own calendar. Most claims sit here.

Slower than average

The owner has died and an estate must be established, ownership was held jointly and one party cannot be located, or another party files a competing claim.

We will give you a realistic estimate for your county on the first call. If we think your claim is likely to run long, you will hear that from us at the start rather than six months in.

Being honest about it

Doing it yourself, versus bringing us in

You are allowed to file this claim on your own, and for a simple case you probably should. Here is the difference, so you can decide.

Filing it yourself

  • Costs nothing but your time, and you keep the entire surplus
  • The county will explain its own process to you free of charge
  • Workable when you are the sole owner, hold the documents, and the deadline is not close
  • Gets difficult if a name has changed, an owner has died, or someone else files against the funds
  • A missed deadline usually cannot be undone

Bringing us in

  • You pay nothing unless the claim succeeds and the money reaches you
  • We identify the office holding the funds and the deadline that applies
  • We prove the chain of ownership when the paperwork is incomplete
  • We handle competing claims, document requests and hearings
  • Worth it when the case is complex, or when you simply do not want to run it

Start with the free records check

It costs nothing, commits you to nothing, and tells you whether there is anything worth pursuing at all.

Start a free claim check Call 877-797-1776