If your property in Polk County, Florida was sold at foreclosure or tax deed auction and the winning bid exceeded the debt, the difference is called a surplus. That money could belong to you.
Too often, residents in Lakeland, Winter Haven, and Bartow are contacted by for-profit surplus chasers who pressure owners into signing high-fee contracts. Surplus Advocates is different. We’re a nonprofit surplus recovery organization, dedicated to helping Central Florida families claim their funds ethically, securely, and at fair nonprofit-based fees.
Start Your Free Review
Call 407‑SURPLUS (407‑787‑7587) or begin online to request a confidential case review. No upfront costs. No out of pocket costs. No fee at all unless you recover.
Lakeland • Winter Haven • Bartow • Haines City • Auburndale • Lake Wales • Davenport
Mission-Driven: Our nonprofit purpose is protecting people, not profits.
Transparent Fees: No upfront charges; fair contingency only if we recover.
Local Knowledge: Experienced with Polk County’s courts and surplus deadlines.
No Hard Sales: Respectful outreach, not pressure tactics.
Privacy First: We safeguard your information.
Lakeland • Winter Haven • Bartow • Haines City • Auburndale • Lake Wales • Davenport • Mulberry • Frostproof • Fort Meade • and more.
✔ No upfront fees
✔ Nonprofit-based, transparent contingency agreements
✔ Respectful, ethical outreach — no pressure tactics
✔ Local focus and consumer-first mission
A surplus (also called excess proceeds or an overbid) is money left after a court‑ordered sale when the winning bid exceeds the amounts owed. Surplus Advocates helps eligible owners and heirs recover funds that may be owed to them.
Our nonprofit mission means client protection, lower nonprofit‑based fees, and no high‑pressure tactics. We focus on returning funds to the right people, not maximizing commissions.
No. There are no upfront costs. Our nonprofit‑based contingency fee applies only if we recover funds and are paid out of the court registry at the same time the rest of the surplus is disbursed.
Some cases wrap up quickly, but others depend on the court’s schedule and whether competing claims exist. We’ll guide you through the timeline.
Yes. We routinely assist Floridians who have moved or are out of state. We coordinate everything securely.
Most clients do not. We manage the process and advise you if any additional steps are needed.
We serve residents across Polk County, including:
Lakeland • Winter Haven • Bartow • Haines City • Auburndale • Lake Wales • Davenport • Mulberry • Frostproof • Fort Meade • and more.
Call 407‑SURPLUS (407‑787‑7587) or request a confidential review online. We’ll confirm eligibility and outline next steps—no obligation.
It’s common to be solicited by multiple for-profit “surplus chasers.” Before you sign anything, talk with us—your nonprofit alternative.
Yes—surplus claims made with the court must be made within certain timeframes. Acting quickly is essential not only to ensure the claim is timely filed before the money is turned over to the state, but also to make sure no one tries to abscond with the money.
Surplus Advocates is a collective of experienced agents and professionals who have identified problems in the ways surplus funds are overseen and administered.In the course of our collective professions, we have witnessed millions of dollars being stolen from homeowners, and millions more lost to exploitation and unlawful fees. Occasionally a crime ring will make the news, or an attorney will be sent to jail or disciplined, but the same loopholes and oversights have been exploited year after year.We formed Surplus Advocates as a non-profit to help foreclosed owners and to show that there is a way for a private organization to recover tax deed and foreclosure surplus funds for owners without any additional cost to the government, and without engaging in exploitative practices. Unlike for-profit surplus chasers, who frequently only try to track down owners they can get the largest fees from, our goal is to help anyone, whenever possible, without charging any out of pocket fees. We then use the fees and costs we receive from the court registry to further our mission, rather than line our pockets.
© 2025 Surplus Advocates, Inc.
A Delaware Non-Profit Organization
All Rights Reserved
