Maryland surplus funds list

Before I show you the dashboard, here's what surplus funds are, and why people make a living from them.

When someone falls behind on property taxes, the county can sell the property at auction.

Say the owner owed eight thousand dollars, and the home sold for ninety-five thousand.

The county keeps what it's owed. The other eighty-seven thousand is surplus, and by law, it belongs to the former owner.

Most owners never find out. They've moved, or they don't know the money exists. And if nobody claims it in time, it can go to the state.

That's where you come in. You find the owner, check that no one is owed ahead of them, and help them file the claim. They get their money, and you earn an agreed fee.

Owners can always claim for free on their own, and many states limit your fee. So the work is finding them, and making it easy.

TaxLienSimple tracks over one hundred and ninety million dollars of it across eighteen states, updated every day. Here's how to find a record, and work it all the way to payout.

This is TaxLienSimple. In the next few minutes, I'll find a surplus fund, check that it's worth working, and track it all the way to payout.

Start in County Data, on the Surplus funds tab. Every number here comes from the county's own list, and you can see how much is still open.

Open a state to see each county: the total, what's still open, the largest record, and the nearest deadline.

Search records takes you straight to those records.

Here in Research, you can narrow it down. I'll keep the open records, set a deadline within ninety days, and sort by the largest amount.

Open a record to see the detail.

Here's the amount, the claim deadline, and the former owner. Below that is everyone on the case. Lienholders and government claims can be paid before the owner, so check them first.

Every record shows the state's rules: how long the claim window is, any limit on your fee, and what you must tell the owner.

If it's worth working, add it to My claims.

Your claims live on one board, by stage. The top shows what you're working, your expected fees, and what's due this week.

Open the claim. The deadline countdown sits at the top.

From here you can search for the former owner by name and mailing address. Anyone matching the auction buyer is left out, because that's the wrong person.

Note who you're working with, and set a follow-up date. You'll get a reminder email that morning.

Every call, email, and letter goes in the contact log, so you never lose track.

Enter the fee you agreed. TaxLienSimple holds it to the state's limit, and shows what you'll earn.

Print a first letter in one click. Every letter tells the owner they can claim from the county for free.

The recovery agreement prints the state's fee limit and the required disclosure, and it won't print a fee above that limit.

Keep the paperwork here: photo ID, death certificates, the signed agreement. Only you can see it.

Move the claim along as it progresses. When the county pays, record the amount and your fee.

That's the whole workflow, from finding the money to getting paid, in one place.