There is an interesting twist to the saga of record numbers of home foreclosures. In some states, like Colorado, for instance, if a home is foreclosed upon and sold and if there happens to be any money left after all the obligations on the foreclosed property have been paid, then those funds are the property of the original home owner who lost the home due to foreclosure.
Apparently this is not the case very often. Most of the time when foreclosed homes are sold there is enough owed on loans and other bank charges that nothing is left. But in the state of Colorado, for example, the state Treasurer's office has a fund of over $600,000 that is owed to former home owners who have lost their homes to foreclosure after the home was sold to some other buyer.
It is rare that people who are owed these funds ever learn about it. The state Treasurer's office is only required to mail a notice to the evicted owner's last known address. In most cases this is the home they no longer live in, and usually they have not left a valid forwarding address. The state Treasurer is also required to put a notice in a local newspaper for a week. Usually they pick a small local publication that few people have ever heard of. So it is not surprising that the people who are owed money by the state never are aware of this.
The fate of a 63 year old man was cited as an example. He went through a series of bad-luck events that caused him to lose his home. He was injured and missed a lot of work time, and then his wife became very ill and he needed to nurse her essentially full-time. She eventually died. All this caused him to lose his employment, and eventually his home was foreclosed upon and was later sold to someone else. There was a surplus of about $50,000 due to him after the sale, but he never knew about it. He lived out of his car for over two years because he had no money, and he could have avoided a lot of pain if he knew the state owed him $50,000.
The state Treasurer's office might seem to be at fault in these cases, but they do what is required of them. They do not have a budget to search for people who are owed money in this way. It is a little hard to believe, however, that someone in the office couldn't volunteer to put in a little effort beyond the minimum required to try and locate people who are in desperate need of the money their department is holding for them.
Certainly each state has its own laws with respect to this kind of eventuality, but if you find yourself in this situation, it is wise to know if you might be owed money. Anyone who has lost a home to foreclosure is most likely in need of additional funds, and there is no use letting it sit in some fund of the state government.
Apparently this is not the case very often. Most of the time when foreclosed homes are sold there is enough owed on loans and other bank charges that nothing is left. But in the state of Colorado, for example, the state Treasurer's office has a fund of over $600,000 that is owed to former home owners who have lost their homes to foreclosure after the home was sold to some other buyer.
It is rare that people who are owed these funds ever learn about it. The state Treasurer's office is only required to mail a notice to the evicted owner's last known address. In most cases this is the home they no longer live in, and usually they have not left a valid forwarding address. The state Treasurer is also required to put a notice in a local newspaper for a week. Usually they pick a small local publication that few people have ever heard of. So it is not surprising that the people who are owed money by the state never are aware of this.
The fate of a 63 year old man was cited as an example. He went through a series of bad-luck events that caused him to lose his home. He was injured and missed a lot of work time, and then his wife became very ill and he needed to nurse her essentially full-time. She eventually died. All this caused him to lose his employment, and eventually his home was foreclosed upon and was later sold to someone else. There was a surplus of about $50,000 due to him after the sale, but he never knew about it. He lived out of his car for over two years because he had no money, and he could have avoided a lot of pain if he knew the state owed him $50,000.
The state Treasurer's office might seem to be at fault in these cases, but they do what is required of them. They do not have a budget to search for people who are owed money in this way. It is a little hard to believe, however, that someone in the office couldn't volunteer to put in a little effort beyond the minimum required to try and locate people who are in desperate need of the money their department is holding for them.
Certainly each state has its own laws with respect to this kind of eventuality, but if you find yourself in this situation, it is wise to know if you might be owed money. Anyone who has lost a home to foreclosure is most likely in need of additional funds, and there is no use letting it sit in some fund of the state government.
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