This practice was and is very common in good real estate markets and where the state hasn’t passed legislation to stop this practice. It is not illegal in many states and even in the ones where it is illegal, the states allow some form of "commission" or fee to be paid to a person who brings in the seller to reclaim his overage. At one courthouse I frequent for auctions, there is a group of 4 - 6 individuals gathering the data from the clerk’s sales to use for later sending out letters to sellers to claim their overage. The usual fee is 10% of the total amount and can be very lucrative because the average overage is about $21,800.

What does this mean to a homeowner in foreclosure? It means that despite what you may think your home is worth, it could be sold at auction for more than is owed to his former lender and he is entitled to whatever money is remaining - the overage. So don’t sell what you think is a worthless deed because on average it could be worth over $20,000.

Occasionally, the lender will get a final judgment against a homeowner by appraisal and not by sale because this is allowed in some states. The homeowner should always challenge this appraisal and have the judgment reduced if the property sells for more than the final judgment amount later. The moral to this story is that even in the worst of foreclosure situations, the loss of your home, the homeowner still has a chance to make money.

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