A Interesting Warning

[Jeremy Tillotson]

I have heard of people who go after tax surpluses. These are surplus dollars , that are above the taxes owed when A property is sold at tax sale. Indiana has a company that specializes in selling a product teaching this. Basically you go find a owner that property sold at tax sale and offer them some money for a quit claim deed, and then try to redeem those funds, usually making a large profit. I will leave my comments aside, but say it may be a bad idea. 

http://www.in.gov/activecalendar/EventList.aspx?view=EventDetails&eventidn=242041&information_id=237052&type=&syndicate=syndicate

[Don Konipol]

Many states regulate how much the "finder" can keep and how much the former owner gets. When done properly this represents a legitimate service to those property owners who were foreclosed at a tax sale and do not know there is an overage due them. Otherwise the overage stays in the coffers of the county for a number of years before it reverts back to the county.  I don't think the "bad guy" here is the finder providing a service and getting paid.  Yes, there are bad apples who will use every trick to grab a larger share of the overage than justified; however condemning the entire industry is like condemning all landlords because some are slumlords.  The real "bad guy" in this may be the governmental authorities who make no effort to contact the property owner since it is in the government's interest that the overage revert to the state.