If, you are reading this it is likely that you are a former Florida Homeowner who has been notified that you have Florida Surplus Funds available to you after the recent foreclosure sale of your home. You may be wondering if the call you received is “Legit”? or if it is too good to be true? Well allow me to be the first to say that if you received one of these calls and are now reading this you have made the right decision in doing more research as to your current situation. The call you received was most likely from a pesky Third-Party Surplus Funds Recovery Company. However, before we get into what these companies are and what they do it is important for you to understand what Florida Foreclosure Surplus Funds are.
First and foremost, Fla. Statute 45.032(2) states: “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.” The “Owner of Record”, as defined by Fla. Statute 45.032(1)(a), “means 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.”
Florida Foreclosure Surplus Funds are usually the direct result of a “bidding war” that occurs between bidders during a Florida foreclosure auction. During said auction potential investors, or bidders, will line up ready to outbid each other in an attempt to purchase a property for cheaper than what it would actually sale for on the open market so that they can “flip” said property and make a profit. However, when there are multiple bidders for a specific property they can actually end up paying more for the property than what was actually owed to the Mortgage Company, or Senior Lienholder. Thus, resulting in a surplus of funds.
For example: If there is a final judgment of foreclosure entered against a Florida property in the amount of $50,000 and the Florida property is sold at a Florida foreclosure auction in the amount of $150,000, then there will be a surplus of funds in the amount of $100,000!
Now that you know what Florida Foreclosure Surplus Funds are allow me to delve into the reason as to why you are here: Surplus Funds Recovery Companies.. As you may know by now, Surplus Funds Recovery Companies are relentless and will stop at nothing to get a former Florida Homeowner to enlist their services to recover the surplus funds that are available. However, in order for these companies to actually recover the surplus funds, once they are hired, they must have the former Homeowner sign what is commonly known as an “Assignment of Interest”. This is usually where the mistake is made. I say mistake because by signing an “Assignment of Interest” the former Florida Homeowner will be assigning away their right to the Surplus Funds to the Third-Party Surplus Funds Recovery Company. Once, the Surplus Funds Recovery Company receives the former Homeowner’s signed “Assignment of Interest” they will then forward the file to their on-staff Attorney to recover the surplus funds. After the surplus funds have been recovered, the sad truth is that the Surplus Funds Recovery Company will more often than not “disappear”, or “dissolve”, leaving the former Florida Homeowner with nothing.
This is why I always recommend that former Florida Homeowners always do their research and consult with a Florida Surplus Funds Recovery Attorney after they have been contacted by one of these Third-Party Surplus Funds Recovery Companies. You may be asking what the difference between hiring a Florida Surplus Funds Recovery Attorney and a Third-Party Surplus Funds Recovery Company is? Well the biggest difference is that Florida Attorneys are bound by a Code of Ethics set by the Florida Bar. Should a Florida Attorney deter from, or break, these Codes of Ethics they can be monetarily sanctioned by the Florida Bar or can even lose their right to practice law in the state of Florida. Thus, by hiring a Florida Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery Attorney you are ensuring that your best interests and rights to the Florida Surplus Funds are protected.
If you are a former Florida Homeowner and have been contacted by a Third-Party Surplus Funds Recovery Company regarding your Florida Foreclosure Surplus Funds, please give me a call and I will personally give you a free consultation. During our Consultation, I will confirm whether or not there are surplus funds available to be claimed and what the claim filing process will be like for your specific case as each case is different and requires the utmost planning and care.
At Haynes Law Group, P.A., we have experienced Attorneys who are well versed in the Florida Statutes governing former Florida Homeowners claims to Florida Foreclosure Surplus Funds and have helped to claim hundreds of thousands of dollars for former Florida Homeowners. We represent former Homeowners all over the state of Florida, no matter what county they are in, and will work tirelessly to ensure that you receive the Gold Standard of Legal Service. Best of all, we represent our Clients on contingency which means we don’t get paid unless you do!