Surplus funds · Excess proceeds · Court registry claims
The county is holding money that belongs to you. Here's exactly what it costs to get it back.
When a property sells at foreclosure or tax sale for more than was owed, the difference — the surplus — belongs to the former owner or their heirs, not to the county.
Our fee — 30%* *Our fees include the legal support given by our law partners who represent our clients to claim their surplus. of what we recover
If we recover nothing — you pay nothing
You can also file this yourself, free →
Includes legal support
*Our fees include the legal support given by our law partners who represent our clients to claim their surplus.
Look it up yourself, right now
Enter a county and state. You get the office that holds the funds, the rule that governs the claim window, the statute it comes from, and the state's own unclaimed property office. No email, no phone number, no account.
Records lookup — public information
No account required
Public records. No account required. We do not store searches — this lookup runs in your browser and nothing is sent to us. Coverage: state-level rules for the twelve states we work in; county specifics are confirmed by phone during a case.
How it works
Five steps, in order, with honest time ranges. Step four is where these cases are actually won or lost.
01
We search the records
We pull the sale record, the case docket, and the surplus ledger for the county. This costs nothing and does not obligate you. You do not have to give us a phone number to start — the lookup on our home page returns the office and the rule for your state with no contact details at all.
Same day — 3 days
02
We confirm you're the rightful claimant
Deed, title history, and identification. Where the owner has died, this also means the will, the letters of administration, and an heirship record for every heir with an interest. This step is slow when a family is large or a probate was never opened, and we will tell you that before you spend time on it.
1 — 4 weeks
03
We prepare and file the claim
We assemble the petition, the affidavits, and the exhibits. The filing itself is made by contracted legal counsel admitted in that state, engaged and paid by Phoenix Equity Group. You are not billed for counsel and you do not sign a retainer with them.
2 — 6 weeks to filing
04
We handle competing claims
This is the step that decides whether you are paid, and it is the step the rest of this industry does not mention.
Surplus funds attract other filers. Junior lienholders, second mortgage servicers, HOAs with recorded assessments, judgment creditors, the IRS or a state tax authority, and sometimes the auction purchaser will each file against the same money. Some of those claims are valid and are paid ahead of you. Many are stale, unperfected, released years ago, or barred by limitations — and unless somebody appears and says so on the record, they get paid anyway.
We answer those claims, obtain releases, order title work to prove what actually survived the sale, and appear at the disbursement hearing. Where a claim is legitimately senior, we tell you the number you will actually see before you decide whether to continue.
1 — 9 months, case dependent
05
The county or court pays you
The clerk or court registry issues payment on the disbursement order. Our 30% fee is deducted at that point and never before. If the claim recovers nothing, you owe us nothing — no filing costs, no counsel fees, no administrative charge.
30 — 90 days after the order
*Our fees include the legal support given by our law partners who represent our clients to claim their surplus.
Pricing
30%* *Our fees include the legal support given by our law partners who represent our clients to claim their surplus. of what we recover. Nothing up front, ever.
No retainer, no administrative fee, no charge for filing costs, title work, or counsel. If the claim recovers nothing, you are not billed for anything.
See the worked example- Recovery
- $42,000.00
- Our fee (30%* *Our fees include the legal support given by our law partners who represent our clients to claim their surplus.)
- −$12,600.00
- You receive
- $29,400.00
*Our fees include the legal support given by our law partners who represent our clients to claim their surplus.
Where we work
Twelve states. Not fifty.
We file where we have counsel and county relationships. Everywhere else, we will tell you so and point you to that state's own office.
See the coverage detail →KY
Kentucky
TN
Tennessee
OH
Ohio
IN
Indiana
IL
Illinois
MN
Minnesota
WI
Wisconsin
MO
Missouri
VA
Virginia
WV
West Virginia
FL
Florida
NY
New York
Results
We have no verified case data published yet.
Rather than print a recovery total nobody can check, this section stays empty until we can tie each figure to a county, a case number, and a date. Any testimonial we publish will carry a full name, city, and county, with written consent on file. If you have seen a surplus recovery firm advertise "over $10M recovered," ask them for the case numbers.
Last reviewed — August 2026 · No published recoveries
If you got a letter or a text from us
Your name came from a public record.
Specifically: the recorded deed and the sheriff's or tax sale record for the parcel, both of which are open to anyone. We did not buy your information from a data broker, and we do not know anything about you that the county does not publish.
If you would rather never hear from us again, say so and it is done — no phone call, no retention effort.
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