Surplus funds are simply the money left over after a property is auctioned off to pay a debt. This can be from a bank’s mortgage, property taxes, or even a judgment that you owe money to someone. With regard to foreclosures, surplus funds are the amount remaining after payment of all disbursements. If the amount paid on the home is more than the amount owed on the mortgage, the remaining money is considered surplus.

Yes, this is most definitely real. Understandably, you might be surprised to learn that the government likely owes you a significant amount of money from your foreclosure. Currently, there are billions of dollars sitting in accounts and accruing interest for the state while waiting to be claimed. This money accrues from foreclosure surplus, insurance policies, music royalties, unclaimed paychecks, rent security deposits, and much more.

Because it isn't there yet.  This money is being held at the Superior Court Clerk's Office.  That office holds it for ten years before turning it over to the Unclaimed Funds office.

You can certainly try.  You do not need us to do it.  But we do it every day, so we know what to submit and how to submit it so you won't have to spend time and money filing your application over and over before you get it right or just give up.  But if you try to do it on your own, we genuinely wish you the best of luck and hope that you get it out, because it is nowhere near as easy as the government seems to think it is.

Sure. Everybody loves lawyers, right?

The money will stay in the Superior Court Clerk's Trust Fund until it has been there for 10 years.  Then it gets transferred to the NJ State Treasury Department's General Fund.  It is tracked by the Office of Unclaimed Funds.  There it will sit forever until someone claims it.

A percentage of what you get at the end.  The final amount might be less than what is in the account now because any liens that are attached to the property might be taken off the top.  That percentage also depends on how much is there to begin with, how much might come off the top, like other mortgages, condo association fees, federal income tax liens, etc. But we pay all of the costs: every filing fee, every judgment search, every title search, every birth certificate, every piece of mail, etc.

You pay a percentage of the funds we recover for you after it is received from the State. This is a contingency-based option, meaning we do not get paid unless you get paid. If we do not recover anything for you, then you do not pay us anything. Either way, we absorb any costs associated.

Usually about 6 months, but it always depends. The specifics of your case, how quickly you can get us documents, and the responsiveness of the government offices involved are what can change the time for recovery. For example, recovering surplus money from a foreclosure sale of a property owned by single person will take less time than from a foreclosure sale that was owned by a deceased relative owned with unpaid condo association fees.

We have a title search done. If you are the person on the deed, then the money should go to you. If you owned the property with someone else, you should receive an amount based on the percentage of the share you owned, and the other owner(s) should receive their share. If a deceased spouse owned the property, then you should receive the entire amount. Sometimes, divorce results in property distribution settlements that grant one partner all the equity in the marital home. In this situation, if you owned the property then you should receive the entire surplus amount.

No, you can either leave voluntarily or be evicted by the sheriff’s department after an order from a judge. It can take some time for an eviction to take place. Additionally, you can opt for a “cash-for-keys” deal, where the new owner pays you to move out prior to eviction. Until you choose to leave or are formally evicted, no one can come into your home – not the buyer or anyone working for the buyer.  If they try to come in, call the police, or even better, the county sheriff’s office (that is who handles foreclosures of properties).

Watch out for people calling you or showing up at your door and offering to buy out your interests for pennies on the dollar. Unfortunately, we have met homeowners that unknowingly sold or signed away their rights to all of the surplus money with a ‘quit claim deed.’  This means they effectively gave up their rights to any excess money for a fraction of what they would have received. We know of companies that collect more than what they are allowed by law to recover, or not telling the homeowner how much money they should expect to recover or telling the homeowner that the money will be gone in a short period of time if nothing is done.

Second, this money is also not going anywhere, so don’t let anyone tell you that if you don’t act now you will lose it forever. At least in New Jersey.

Finally, New Jersey law caps any recovery for this type of money before it is transferred to the Unclaimed Funds Office at 35%, which cannot include fees and costs or any liens that come off the top.