In today’s blog, we will be discussing which Liens survive the Florida foreclosure sale of a Florida property by the Primary Mortgage Holder and the 1-Year rule that Subordinate Lienholders have to file their claim for Florida foreclosure surplus funds. 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,” according to Fla. Statute 45.032(1)(c). To answer the first part of this question, all liens survive the Florida Foreclosure Sale of a Florida Property.
As for the Subordinate Lienholder fling their Claim for Foreclosure Surplus Funds it is important to note that they “only have one year after the sale” to file their claim for said surplus funds, according to Fla. Statute 45.032(9)(c). In Bank of New York Mellon v. Glenville, 215 So. 3d 1284, 1285 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017), the Court ruled that the 1-Year deadline “begins upon the clerk's issuance of the certificate of disbursements.” If the Subordinate Lienholder’s claim is not timely filed within the 1-Year deadline, then they will have forfeited their right to said surplus funds and the Surplus Funds will go solely to the former Florida Homeowner should they have filed, or file, a claim.
Furthermore, it is important to note that a former Florida Homeowner may not have to necessarily wait the entirety of the 1-Year deadline, for a Subordinate Lienholder to file their claim, prior to filing their own Homeowner’s claim for the foreclosure surplus funds. In fact, this is why I always suggest that former Florida Homeowners consult with an experienced Florida Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery Attorney prior to filing a Homeowners’ claim to the surplus funds. An experienced Florida Foreclosure Surplus Funds Recovery Attorney can often circumvent the 1-Year deadline allowed for Subordinate Lienholders to file a claim for their portion of the surplus funds and they may also be able to get the former Homeowner’s Claim for their portion of the surplus funds processed by the Court quicker. However, it should be noted that if there are not enough surplus funds to cover the outstanding lien owed to the Subordinate Lienholder, and said Lienholder has filed a timely claim, then there will not be any surplus funds remaining to go to the former Homeowner.
If, you are a former Florida Homeowner whose property has been sold at a Florida foreclosure auction and would like assistance with the filing of your Florida Foreclosure Surplus Funds Claim, 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. I will also provide you with a personalized strategy as to how we will go about the claim filing process for YOUR Florida foreclosure surplus funds.
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!