A plain-language guide to what you may be owed.

A foreclosure or tax sale is meant to satisfy a debt, not to profit from it. When the winning bid at auction exceeds the mortgage balance, unpaid taxes, and permitted fees, whatever remains is surplus.

That balance is deposited with the court or the county treasurer and held there. It is not applied to anything else. It waits for a rightful claimant to come forward.

In most states, the former owner of record has the first right to surplus proceeds. If that person has passed away, the right generally passes to their heirs or estate.

Junior lienholders may also file claims, and priority is decided by statute. This is one of the main reasons claims are contested and why timing matters so much.

Counties mail notices to the last known address, which is usually the property that was just sold. The letter is never read.

The claim itself requires affidavits, proof of identity, chain-of-title documentation, and in many jurisdictions a motion filed with the court. Each county formats these differently, and a missing signature or notary stamp restarts the clock.

After a statutory window — often one to five years — unclaimed balances escheat to the state.

We begin with a records search to confirm a surplus exists and that your name is attached to it. That search costs you nothing.

If there is money to claim, we prepare a claim package specific to your county, walk you through each page, and file it on your behalf. We track the docket and follow up with the clerk so you don't have to.

You are updated at every stage, including when nothing has changed. When the funds are released, they are disbursed to you and our agreed fee is deducted from the recovery — never billed to you upfront.