Lately, I’ve been receiving a lot of calls from former homeowners who have recently had their Florida property sold at a Florida foreclosure auction. Most of these calls begin with the former Homeowner(s) stating that they’ve been notified of surplus funds, or overages, remaining after the foreclosure auction of their Florida property. When I ask the former Homeowner(s) how they’ve been notified of the surplus funds the answer is generally the same — they’ve been contacted by a Third-Party Surplus Funds Recovery Company. The best thing you can do if you’ve been contacted by one of these companies is to contact an experienced Florida Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery Attorney right away. By speaking with an experienced Florida Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery Attorney, you can be sure that you are receiving correct and invaluable information regarding what surplus funds are and what your rights, as the former Homeowner, are to said surplus funds. In fact, here’s a quick explanation of your rights as a former Florida Homeowner to surplus funds should they be available after the Florida foreclosure auction of your property.
According to Fla. Statute 45.032(1)(c), Florida foreclosure surplus funds are “the funds remaining after payment of all disbursements required by the final judgment of foreclosure and shown on the certificate of disbursements.” Florida Statute 45.032(2) also 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.” An “owner of record” is defined by Fla. Statute 45.032(1)(a) as “the person or persons who appear to be owners of the property that is the subject of the foreclosure proceeding on the date of the filing of the lis pendens.” Thus, meaning that you as the former Homeowner are entitled to a portion, or the entirety, of the surplus funds that may be available.
For example: If a final judgment of foreclosure is entered against a Florida property in a Florida foreclosure action in the amount of $100,000 and the property is sold at foreclosure auction in the amount of $200,000, then there will be a surplus of funds in the amount of $100,000 for the former Homeowner to claim!
Now that you have a better understanding of what Florida foreclosure surplus funds are and understand your rights to said surplus funds, my next piece of advice is to NOT SIGN ANYTHING that you may receive from a Third-Party Surplus Funds Recovery Company until you’ve discussed the documents with an experienced Florida Surplus Funds Recovery Attorney. The reason you should not sign anything from a Third-Party Surplus Funds Recovery Company is due to the fact that you will be assigning away your rights to the surplus funds to said Third-Party Company. By assigning away your rights to the Third-Party Company, you are voluntarily giving up your rights to the surplus funds and giving them to someone else. Lastly, most of these companies charge high percentages (along with hidden costs) to recover the surplus funds on your behalf.
If you’re reading this as a former Florida Homeowner whose home has recently been sold at a Florida foreclosure auction or have been contacted by a Third-Party Surplus Funds Recovery Company, and would like to confirm whether there are surplus funds available for you to recover; then please give me a call and I will personally give you a free consultation. During our consultation, I will confirm whether there are surplus funds available to be recovered as well as answer any questions that you may have. If there are surplus funds available to be recovered, then I will also provide you with a personalized strategy as to how we can assist you with the recovery of YOUR Florida foreclosure surplus funds.
At Haynes Law Group, P.A., we have experienced Attorneys who are well-versed in the Florida statutes governing Florida homeowners’ claims to Florida foreclosure surplus funds and have helped to recover millions of dollars for former Florida homeowners. We represent former homeowners all over the state of Florida no matter which county they are in and will work tirelessly to ensure that you receive the Gold Standard of Legal Service.