Lately, I’ve been receiving calls from former Florida Homeowners who have had their home sold at a Florida Homeowners’ Association (HOA) foreclosure auction. The most common question I am asked is whether there is a possibility for surplus funds to be available after said foreclosure action and, if so, whether there are any available in regards to their case. The answer this question is yes. In fact, it is far more likely for foreclosure surplus funds to be available after it is sold at a Florida HOA foreclosure auction. The main cause of this is due to the relatively low final judgment amounts that are entered in HOA foreclosure auctions and the overbidding from Third-Party Purchasers who end up paying more for the property than is owed to the HOA.
For example: If a final judgment of foreclosure is entered against a Florida property in a HOA foreclosure action in the amount of $30,000 and the Florida property is sold at a Florida HOA foreclosure auction in the amount of $100,000, then there will be a surplus of funds in the amount of $70,000 for the former Homeowner to claim!
For those of you reading this who do not know what Florida foreclosure auctions are please allow me to explain. Foreclosure surplus funds, according to 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.” Florida Statute 45.032(2) also 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 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 according to Florida law.
Therefore, if you’re home has recently been sold at a Florida 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 Florida foreclosure 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.