It is possible to lose your house but still wind up getting some money when it’s sold at auction. But many former homeowners miss out, totally unaware of the potential windfall.
Here’s how former owners whose houses have been foreclosed upon are eligible for payment, according to the Denver Post, which last week published a list of residents who could collect at least $10,000:
Known as “overbid funds,” the money comes from auction bids that exceeded the amount owed on the house at the time of the foreclosure. Counties are required by law to pay the homeowners after all eligible liens have been paid — but are not required to search for the homeowners, instead sending notices to their last known address, typically the foreclosed house they were forced to leave.
Other times, the homeowners have died, and county officials have no next of kin listed in foreclosure papers. Counties get to keep the money if it remains unclaimed for five years from the date of the foreclosure sale.
Hmmm … something tells me a lot of those notices never get to the homeowners, alive or dead. If this doesn’t make you fill out one of those postal service forwarding/change of address forms, I don’t know what will.