- Step 1 — Confirm the money exists, in writing. Write (email counts) the office on your state page: parcel number, sale date, former owner name. Ask: 'Is a surplus held for this parcel, in what amount, and what is the claim deadline?' Keep the reply — it is your baseline against every recovery company's letter.
- Step 2 — Get the claim path for your state. A form (most treasurer/clerk states), a verified claim, or a petition to the court that ran the sale (Texas: file BEFORE the sale's 2nd anniversary). Your state page names the path and the trigger the clock runs from — the sale, the deed, a clerk's notice, a confirmation. The trigger matters more than the length.
- Step 3 — Build the proof chain. The deed record showing ownership at the sale date; your government ID; proof tying you to the property address (utility bills, tax mail, voter record); for heirs: death certificate, relationship proof, heirship affidavit or probate papers. Order certified copies early — records offices are the slow step.
- Step 4 — File before the deadline, with a receipt. File in person or by tracked mail; keep the stamped copy or the tracking record. A claim filed on time with imperfect proof beats a perfect claim filed late in almost every state.
- Step 5 — Follow the money after filing. Calendar the office's stated processing time; call on that date; get the payment or the denial IN WRITING. A written denial starts appeal and court clocks in several states — a phone 'no' starts nothing.
When the county says 'no record of your money'
It happens constantly, and it is usually a records problem, not an answer. Work the variants: your name as it appeared on the deed (maiden names, initials, misspellings); the parcel under its prior APN; the sale under the case or book/page number; the money moved — to a court registry, a suspense fund, or the state unclaimed-property program. Ask the office to search by parcel, not by name. If the trail says the money was paid out, ask to whom and when — payouts to the wrong claimant happen, and that written answer is what a lawyer needs. The kit's claim pack carries this playbook in full.
Included in the $49 TaxSaleDecoded Kit
- The surplus claim pack: how to prove the house was yours (deed records, address history, ID), the claim-form path in your state, and what to do when the county says it has no record of your money
- The redemption playbook: your state's window and cost formula worked step by step, who to pay, how to prove you paid, and the traps in the payoff figure (added fees and interest)
- The heirs page: the house was a parent's — what changes, which papers prove you are an heir, and the point where it stops being simple
- The scam shield: how surplus-recovery companies work, the fee caps your state sets for them, and the assignment papers you should never sign
- The lookback module: what Tyler won, what Pung limited (the extra money is the sale price minus the debt — not your home's value), and the dated state lookbacks, including Illinois claims that die in July 2028
Get the TaxSaleDecoded Kit — $49
One payment of $49. No subscription. The kit is a web page you can return to and print — the claim pack, the redemption playbook, the heirs page, and the scam shield.
The surplus, explained · The scam shield · Next guide: talk to the county