Lately, I’ve been receiving several calls a day from former Florida Homeowners who are seeking to file a claim for surplus funds after a Florida Homeowners’ Association (HOA) foreclosed on their Florida property and are not sure what to do next. Before we move on, I will explain what Florida foreclosure surplus funds are.
Surplus funds, as defined by Fla. Statute 45.032(1)(c), are “the funds remaining after payment of all disbursements required by the final judgment of foreclosure and shown on the certificate of disbursements.” For Example: If a final judgment of foreclosure is entered against a Florida property in an HOA foreclosure action in the amount of $30,000, and the subject property is sold at foreclosure auction for $100,000, then there will be a surplus of funds in the amount of $70,000 for the former Homeowner to claim! Per Florida Statute 45.032(2), “[t]here 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.” Meaning that you as the former Florida homeowner are considered the “owner of record” as you were the owner of the subject property when the foreclosure action was initiated. As such, you are entitled to a portion, or even the entirety, of the surplus funds that may be available, per Florida law.
Now, that you have a basic idea of what surplus funds are, what you should do if there are surplus funds available after the Florida HOA foreclosure of your Florida property is to contact an experienced Florida foreclosure surplus funds attorney. I say you should contact an attorney because it is likely that you’ve been notified of the surplus funds available by one of those pesky Third-Party Surplus Funds Recovery Companies. These companies will try every trick in the book to get you to hire them to assist with the recovery of your surplus funds. Calls received from these companies should be ignored and you should speak with an experienced Florida foreclosure surplus funds attorney right away. Most importantly, if you receive an “agreement” for you to sign to hire one of these companies, I strongly advise that you DO NOT sign said agreement until you have discussed it with an experienced Florida foreclosure surplus funds attorney first. The reason being that the “agreement” you received from the third-party company is likely what is known as an “Assignment of Interest.” This “Assignment of Interest” is used by these companies to have you assign away, or give up, your rights to the surplus funds to them so that they can appear, or intervene, in the case on your behalf to recover the surplus funds that are available. Moreover, once hired, these companies will then turnaround and hire their own attorney that will work to recover the surplus funds on their behalf instead of yours. Thus, why I always recommend speaking with an experienced Florida foreclosure surplus funds attorney before hiring, or signing anything that is received by, one of these companies. By speaking to an attorney, you can gain invaluable information as to your rights as they pertain to surplus funds. Additionally, should you hire an attorney directly to assist you with the recovery of your surplus funds, you can ensure that they are working to protect your interest as it pertains to said funds.
If your home has recently been sold at a Florida HOA foreclosure auction and you would like to know 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 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 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.