Today, we will be discussing why former Florida Homeowners are entitled to filing a claim for Florida foreclosure surplus funds after the recent foreclosure sale of their Florida property. The reason why former Florida Homeowners are entitled to filing a claim for Florida foreclosure surplus funds is because Fla. Statute 45.032(2) 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.” The same statute defines “Owner of Record” 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, why Former Florida Homeowners are entitled to filing a claim for Florida foreclosure surplus funds.
However, just because Fla. Statute 45.032(2) states that a former Florida Homeowner, as the “Owner of Record,” is entitled to filing a claim doesn’t mean that they will automatically receive a disbursement of the entirety of the Surplus Funds that are available. For example, in the event that there is a Subordinate Lienholder, who is also entitled to filing a claim for the surplus funds, the former Homeowner will have to wait for said Lienholder to file their own claim for the surplus funds and receive their disbursement before they receive a disbursement from the Court for their Homeowners’ claim for surplus funds. Furthermore, in certain cases, the former Homeowner may also have to wait for a certain time period, often 1-year, to receive their surplus funds disbursement from the Clerk of Court in order to allow sufficient time for the Subordinate Lienholder(s), if any, to file a “timely claim,” per Fla. Statute 45.032(2)(c).
Moreover, it is important to note that a Subordinate Lienholder is able to file a claim for the entirety of the surplus funds that are available if the past due amount that is owed to them, by the former Florida Homeowner, is greater than or equal to the surplus funds that are available to be claimed. In this case, should the Subordinate Lienholder receive a disbursement for the entirety of the surplus funds, then the former Florida Homeowner will receive none as there will not be any surplus funds remaining. As such, this is why I always recommend that a former Florida Homeowner consult with an experienced Florida Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery Attorney. An experienced Florida Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery Attorney can often circumvent claims filed by a Subordinate Lienholder and can even assist in expediting the claim filing process for the former Florida Homeowner, so that they do not need to wait the entirety of the 1-year period to receive a disbursement for their Homeowners’ claim for surplus funds.
If you are reading this as a former Florida Homeowner and are seeking assistance in the filing of your claim for 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 as well as answer any questions that you may have. If there are surplus funds available to be claimed, then I will also provide you with a personalized strategy as to how we will go about the claim filing process.
At Haynes Law Group, P.A., we have experienced Attorneys who are well versed in the Florida statutes governing former Florida Homeowners claims to 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 which 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!