You can claim it yourself, no finder needed

Checklist: North Carolina, money left over after a foreclosure sale

Who holds it: The trustee pays you directly if it knows you are entitled. Otherwise it pays the surplus to the clerk of superior court in the county of sale

How long: Money held by the clerk is presumed abandoned 1 year after it becomes payable and goes to the State Treasurer (NCCash), where there is no deadline

How you claim: If the trustee paid the surplus to the clerk, file a special proceeding before the clerk of superior court to decide who is entitled to it.

Your deadline: ____________ (confirm it with the clerk)

Steps

1. Ask the trustee who ran the sale whether there was surplus and where it went
2. If it was paid to the clerk, contact the clerk of superior court in the county of sale
3. File a special proceeding before the clerk and name anyone else who has filed a claim
4. If an answer raises disputed facts, the case moves to superior court for trial

Documents

Not researched yet — ask the clerk

What it costs you

Court costs for a special proceeding. If the case is contested, a $200 cost bond may be required

If someone offers to do it for you

• A finder who charges you may need to be a licensed private investigator and a registered property finder: ask the clerk.
• There may be a fee limit: ask the clerk.
• Any deal must be in writing and notarised.
• You never need to pay anyone to file.

Official links

• G.S. 45-21.31 (disposition of proceeds; surplus to clerk): https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_45/GS_45-21.31.html
• G.S. 45-21.32 (special proceeding to determine ownership of surplus): https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_45/GS_45-21.32.html
• G.S. 116B-53 (court-held property abandoned after 1 year): https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_116B/GS_116B-53.html