Arapahoe foreclosure overbid funds start with the Public Trustee

Now and then a foreclosure sale brings in more than the debt it was meant to settle. That surplus, called the overbid, follows a fixed order of who gets paid before anyone pockets the leftover.

The overbid proceeds go first where the law requires, covering any deficiency and the junior lienholders who properly filed an intent to redeem. Whatever remains after those claims are satisfied is owed back to the original grantor on the foreclosed deed of trust, the very person who lost the home. So a family that walked away assuming they got nothing may in fact have money waiting in their name.

Claiming it costs them nothing. Anyone who believes they may be owed funds can call the Public Trustee directly, and grantors are not charged for that help. There is a clock on it, though: unclaimed money eventually moves to the State Treasurer’s unclaimed property program, where it sits until someone comes looking.

This is where the scam finds its opening. If a letter or a phone call arrives offering to recover your foreclosure money for a cut, stop before you sign anything. The same money is yours to claim for free through the Public Trustee’s overbid page. A finder’s fee buys you nothing the county was not already obligated to do at no cost.