Recently, people have been coming to me with questions regarding the differences and similarities between Florida Tax Deed Sale Surplus Funds and Florida Foreclosure Sale Surplus Funds.
The first key difference between the two is that they are the result of two completely different sales. A Florida Tax Deed Sale typically occurs after a homeowner fails to pay a tax certificate holder, who paid the homeowner’s delinquent property tax, two (2) years after said certificate holder has paid the delinquent property tax; according to Fla. Statute 197.502 (1). A Florida Foreclosure Sale occurs after a homeowner becomes delinquent on their mortgage payment and the mortgage company initiates a foreclosure action that results in the entry of a final judgment with a sale date against the homeowner; according to Fla. Statute 45.031.
The second key difference between Florida Tax Deed Sale Surplus Funds and Florida Foreclosure Sale Surplus Funds is the time limit that a subordinate (or junior) lienholder, if any, must claim a portion of the surplus funds for an outstanding lien on the property. Fla. Statute 197.582 (7)(9) outlines this time limit as one hundred-twenty (120) days. After the 120-days, the Clerk will come to a “conclusive presumption that the legal titleholder of record is entitled to the surplus funds” as outlined in Fla. Statute 197.582 (9). However, a subordinate (or junior) lienholder, if any, that is a party to a foreclosure action has up to “one year after the sale” to file a claim for a portion of the surplus funds, that may satisfy an outstanding lien that they may have on the property, as stated in Fla. Statute 45.032 (3)(c).
As you can see Florida Tax Deed Sale Surplus Funds and Foreclosure Sale Surplus Funds have their differences. However, they also have a few similarities.
One way that Florida Tax Deed Sale Surplus Funds and Foreclosure Sale Surplus funds are similar is that they are both the result of an auction that has taken place, in which, there was a surplus (or overage) of funds retained by the Clerk of Court upon the completion of said auction, according to Fla. Statues 197.532 (2)(a) and 45.032 (c).
In addition, another way that Florida Tax Deed Sale Surplus Funds and Florida Foreclosure Sale Surplus funds are similar is that the record titleholder and/or original homeowner of the property (at the time the taxes became delinquent and/or a lis pendens was recorded in a foreclosure action), are entitled to filing a claim for these surplus funds. In reference to Tax Deed Sale Surplus Funds, Fla. Statute 197.502 (2) and (9) clearly state that the titleholder “is entitled to surplus funds” or filing a claim for said surplus funds especially after the 120-day time limit has passed and no other claims for the surplus funds have been made. Similarly, in reference to Florida Foreclosure Sale Surplus Funds, Fla. Statute 45.032 (2) clearly states that “There is established a rebuttable legal presumption that the owner of record on the date of the filing of a lis pendens is the person entitled to surplus funds after payment of subordinate lienholders who have timely filed a claim.”
If you are the record titleholder and/or original homeowner and would like to file a claim to Surplus Funds, due to a Florida Tax Deed Sale Auction or Florida Foreclosure Sale Auction, please give me a call and I will personally give you a free consultation. I always encourage people to hire a top surplus funds recovery Attorney to help them collect their funds. I represent Clients all over the state of Florida no matter which County they are located in and I will work tirelessly to ensure that you are in the best position to receive YOUR surplus funds fast, efficient, and in the greatest amount possible. Here at Haynes Law Group, P.A., I represent people on contingency, which means I don’t get paid unless you do!