Is it illegal to charge a finders fee on excess real estate? The answer: no, not if you are familiar with the law and use loopholes to work with the right funds.

Most states now place limits on what anyone who wants to charge a search fee can legally charge. However, these laws exist in state code…and that generally means those laws apply only to state agencies.

What funds does this include? Well, unclaimed funds held in the state agency are usually things like bank accounts, stock dividends, utility deposits, and other small amounts that people easily lose sight of. A finder can usually only charge a 5-15% finder’s fee for locating the owner in these funds. In funds ranging from $10-$500, these are not worth wasting time on.

So, is surplus real estate held at the state level? Bingo! You are now on the right track. Real estate surpluses are NOT withheld at the state level, and this is a loophole that allows you to collect up to 50% of these funds in most places. (Some places won’t let you charge more than a 5% search fee, no matter where the funds are held; do yourself a favor and train and educate yourself before attempting this.)

And we’re talking big bucks, not the $100 savings account someone forgot about. Real estate surpluses regularly reach the tens of thousands of dollars. With a $10,000 surplus, and you’ll find that size surplus almost everywhere you look, you can collect a search fee of up to $5,000, on a single claim!

As sad as it is that foreclosures are so rampant, it’s even sadder when someone loses their home and doesn’t realize they can collect the extra money the government owes them. The people who are owed this money are often people who can actually use it. And to top it off, the government can and will sixteen this money if the owners don’t collect it on time.

If you make sure to educate yourself on the laws regarding money finders and surpluses, you or anyone else can collect 50% of the finder’s fees on these claims. Find records, find owners, and connect the two, and you can easily generate a five-figure income per month for yourself, and that’s all from your home office. You can work every part of the business without leaving home.

So even if you live in a state where can not legally collect finder’s fees, you can only work in another state. And this also means that you can work surplus from a foreign country. In fact, if you get involved in the surplus community as you learn, you’ll find that some of the most successful people who work with surplus live in England, France, and Australia.

The bottom line is: get informed and get to work. Homeowners need you to connect them with their lost money.