Florida Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery
If your Florida home sold at foreclosure for more than the judgment, that difference may belong to you. When there is a surplus, the clerk of court holds it.
What a surplus is
A foreclosure sale is an auction. When the bidding goes past what the lender was owed, the extra money does not stay with the lender. After the liens ahead of you are paid, what is left belongs to the former owner.
Timing matters. One year after the sale, any surplus the clerk still holds is treated as unclaimed and sent to the Florida Department of Financial Services as unclaimed property. The money is not lost at that point, but the process changes, so it is worth finding out where you stand sooner rather than later.
We handle claims at both stages: with the clerk of court while the surplus is still in the court registry, and with the Department of Financial Services after it has been sent to the state.
How it works in Florida
The court orders the sale
Florida is a judicial foreclosure state. The lender files a lawsuit, the court enters a final judgment of foreclosure, and the clerk of the circuit court sells the property at a public auction. Many clerks hold these auctions online.
The property sells for more than the judgment
When bidding pushes the price above what the final judgment says is owed, the extra money is the surplus. It does not go to the lender.
The clerk of court holds the money
The clerk keeps the surplus in the court registry and reports it on a document called the certificate of disbursements. It is paid out on a court order, in the same foreclosure case.
It is paid out in a set order
First come subordinate lienholders who filed a timely claim, such as a second mortgage, an association lien, or a judgment. What is left goes to the owner of record as of the date the lis pendens was filed, which is usually the former owner.
Who can claim
Florida law presumes the surplus belongs to the owner of record on the date the lis pendens was filed. Heirs of an owner who has died can also have a claim, and so can subordinate lienholders whose liens were wiped out by the sale. When more than one person claims the money, the court holds a hearing to decide.
Tax-deed surplus is a separate process, with a different deadline. This page does not cover it. See Florida tax deed surplus.
Recovery companies, asset locators and trustees who bring us a claimant: see how we work with recovery companies.
Do you need a lawyer?
No. Florida law lets a former owner claim a surplus directly from the clerk of court, without a lawyer and without signing their rights over to anyone. A lawyer is most useful when other claims are competing for the money, when the owner has died, or when a hearing has been set.
What this costs
Fee arrangements depend on the posture of the matter and are set out in a written agreement before any work begins. We are glad to explain how fees would work in your situation when we speak — ask, and you will get a straight answer.
Find out where you stand
Tell us the county and roughly when the sale happened, and we will look at the court file.
By county
- Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery in Brevard County, FL
- Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery in Broward County, FL
- Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery in Duval County, FL
- Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery in Hillsborough County, FL
- Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery in Lee County, FL
- Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery in Miami-Dade County, FL
- Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery in Orange County, FL
- Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery in Palm Beach County, FL
- Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery in Pinellas County, FL
- Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery in Polk County, FL
Common questions
- Do You Owe Taxes on Florida Foreclosure Surplus Funds You Recover?
- What Happens at a Florida Foreclosure Surplus Hearing
- What Is a Certificate of Disbursements in Florida Foreclosure Surplus Cases?
- How Second Mortgages, Association Liens, and Judgments Affect Your Florida Foreclosure Surplus
- What Documents You Need to Prove a Florida Foreclosure Surplus Claim
- How Florida Foreclosure Auctions Work and Where the Surplus Comes From
- Florida Foreclosure Surplus: Should You Use a Surplus Recovery Company, Claim It Yourself, or Hire an Attorney?
- Claiming a Deceased Parent or Relative’s Foreclosure Surplus in Florida
- What "Owner of Record on the Date of the Lis Pendens" Means for a Florida Foreclosure Surplus Claim
Important information
Attorney advertising. Responsible attorney: Christian Cruz, Esq. Office: CRUZ LAW FIRM, 160 W Camino Real, 589, Boca Raton, FL, 33432.
Florida law does not require you to hire a lawyer or anyone else to claim foreclosure surplus funds. A former owner may file a claim with the clerk of court directly, and does not have to assign their rights to anyone to do so.
This page is general information about Florida law, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship, and no such relationship is formed until we have a signed written agreement.