Thousands of dollars in foreclosure surplus funds go unclaimed every year in Maricopa County. This guide explains how the court process works and how former homeowners recover the money that is legally theirs.
Maricopa County — home to Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, Tempe, Gilbert, Glendale, Peoria, and dozens of surrounding communities — is one of the most active real estate markets in the United States. It is also one of the highest-volume counties in the nation for foreclosure trustee sales, which means it consistently generates some of the largest amounts of unclaimed surplus funds anywhere in the country.
When a property in Maricopa County goes to a trustee sale and the winning bid exceeds the total amount owed on the mortgage, fees, and liens, the extra money is called excess proceeds or surplus funds. Under Arizona law (A.R.S. § 33-812), those funds belong to the former homeowner — not the lender and not the county.
The trustee holds the surplus and is required to notify entitled parties. But in practice, many former homeowners have moved, don't recognize the legal notice when it arrives, or simply assume there's nothing left for them after a foreclosure. As a result, millions of dollars sit unclaimed.
Our team searches surplus fund records for former homeowners throughout all of Maricopa County, including:
The majority of foreclosures in Maricopa County proceed as trustee sales — a non-judicial process governed by A.R.S. § 33-807 through § 33-812. After the sale, the trustee calculates total debts owed, pays them in priority order, and holds any remaining balance as surplus funds.
The former homeowner must submit a written demand to the trustee within the applicable time window. This is not automatic — you must actively claim the funds. Many homeowners miss this step entirely because they don't know it's required.
When a judicial foreclosure occurs in Maricopa County, any surplus funds are deposited with the Maricopa County Superior Court clerk. Claiming these funds requires filing a formal petition with the court. The court will then schedule a hearing and determine the order of distribution among any claimants.
Maricopa County also holds annual tax lien sales for properties with unpaid property taxes. When those properties are ultimately sold and the proceeds exceed the taxes owed, the former owner may be entitled to the difference. These funds are held by the Maricopa County Treasurer's office.
Arizona's claim window for trustee sale surplus funds can be as short as 30 to 90 days. Once the window closes, funds may be distributed to other claimants or interplead into court — making recovery much harder. If you had a foreclosure in Maricopa County, search now rather than later.
There are a few ways to search for excess proceeds in Maricopa County:
Rightful Returns Recovery searches court records, trustee records, and tax sale databases across all of Maricopa County at no cost to you — and handles the entire claim process if funds are found.
We search the county's records at no upfront cost. You only pay if we successfully recover funds for you.
Start Your Free Maricopa Search 📞 1 (800) 428-2022Maricopa County's Superior Court handles hundreds of surplus fund matters each year. Navigating the process — from identifying funds to filing the correct legal documents under the right deadlines — requires experience with the county's specific procedures. Our team has that experience.
We handle everything: the research, the demand letters, the court filings, and the follow-through. You do nothing until a check is on the way. And if we don't recover anything, you owe us nothing.