Excess proceeds
Excess proceeds are what may be left after a tax sale pays the taxes, fees, and costs. A surplus is not guaranteed, and the claim process changes by county. If you still own the house, selling before the sale usually gives you more control than waiting on a surplus claim.
Excess proceeds, surplus, or overbid funds are what may be left after a tax sale pays the taxes, fees, and costs. The name and the claim process change by county. If you still own the house, selling before the sale usually gives you more control than waiting on a surplus claim.
Mon–Fri 8:00–17:00 CT (America/Chicago). Saturday and Sunday closed.
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In Kansas City
This page is for the question people ask after the auction, and for the reason not to wait for that auction if you still own the house. It is not a filing service.
Use the parcel, the court record, or the county sale list. You need to know if the property sold and whether any amount above the taxes and costs was reported. We cannot see that from a street address alone.
Jackson County delinquent land tax excess proceeds require an application and a court hearing in the 16th Circuit. The court’s own overview is the source. RSMo Chapter 141 is the statute family for that sale.
Clay County calls these overbid or surplus funds and says claims have a 90-day window after redemption expires. The collector’s tax-sale page tells owners where to ask for the paperwork.
Johnson County says excess proceeds are paid into court for a decision on who may claim them. Platte County has published a surplus-funds list. Check the current list. A list from an older sale is not your claim.
If the owner died, the court or the title company may ask for estate papers before anyone releases funds. That is probate, under RSMo Chapter 473 or K.S.A. Chapter 59. The probate guide is the place for that path.
Wyandotte’s claim steps should be confirmed with the county. Do not borrow Jackson County’s hearing rules and assume they apply in Kansas.
These timing notes are the ones already published for the five counties we serve. Confirm the current date with the county.
Your choices
If you still own the house, a surplus claim is a worse plan than a sale you control. If you no longer own it, a cash offer from us is the wrong tool.
More control
A sale before the auction lets you see the price, the payoff, and your net.
County or court
File where that county tells you to file. There may be a deadline.
Usually the weak option
Auctions are built to cover the taxes and costs, not to maximize your equity.
A number you can read
If the auction already took the deed, call the county or the court named on your paper. We will not pretend a cash offer fixes that.
What we actually do
People call us after they hear there might be money. Sometimes the honest answer is that we cannot buy anything, because the house is already gone.
The path is the same as any back-tax sale. We walk the house, write an offer, and let title pay the county at closing if the numbers work.
We can point you to the public page for that county. We do not prepare the application, appear at the hearing, or charge a fee to “recover” surplus. Anyone who asks for a cut of a claim you have not verified is a reason to slow down.
We will ask who has authority to sign. If the answer is nobody yet, the next call is the probate court or an estate attorney, not a cash offer.
We do not know what your parcel brought. We will not quote a leftover amount. The county or the court has that figure, if there is one.
The money and the stuff
“Might” is the correct word. A claim is not a check.
Excess proceeds are what remains after taxes, fees, and costs. If the bid covered only the debt, the leftover is zero.
A mortgage, a judgment, or another recorded lien can be paid from the surplus before a former owner is paid. The court or the county decides the order.
On a sale before the auction, you see the net on a settlement statement. You are not waiting on a hearing to learn whether anything was left.
A tax deed fight is about the real estate and the surplus. It does not decide who keeps the furniture. If you still own the house and sell to us, take what you want.
Ernest Dodson is a Missouri-licensed real estate salesperson with Platinum Realty LLC, license #2023026433. Saving KC Homebuyers LLC buys real estate as a principal. We may assign the purchase contract to another buyer, and we tell you when we do.
Questions
These answers are about this situation. They are not legal advice. The company list is on the FAQ page.
If the auction already took the deed, call the county or the court named on your paper. We will not pretend a cash offer fixes that.
Mon–Fri 8:00–17:00 CT (America/Chicago). Saturday and Sunday closed.