| If you have no idea what money finders are or do, | | | | money sits in the government's hands until enough time |
| you're in the majority. Most people have never met a | | | | passes that the government can legally claim the |
| professional money finder, and it's certainly not a | | | | money as its own. After that time, the original owner |
| mainstream job. What this means for you is, if you can | | | | can never request the money again, in most cases. |
| learn the ins and outs of money finding, you can make | | | | Professional money finders find records of overages |
| a killing for yourself - while at the same time, helping | | | | like these (which in the current economy, are being |
| people who might otherwise lose their funds, keep their | | | | created at an almost alarming rate), and then goes |
| money out of the government's hands. | | | | about locating the lost owners. Once located, they |
| First of all, what are money finders? Money finders are | | | | make a deal with the owner to collect the money - |
| professionals who audit government agencies and | | | | which again, they usually are totally unaware of - for a |
| sometimes other large companies to locate funds | | | | finder's fee, which can run into the 30-50% range. (Due |
| belonging to ordinary citizens, that somehow never | | | | to a little-known loophole, finder's fee caps on these |
| made it into those citizens' hands. A prime example is | | | | funds are usually ungoverned.) The information about |
| tax sale overages. If a person loses their property for | | | | the source of the money is kept confidential until after |
| not paying the taxes, the property is often sold at | | | | the claimant signs a finder's fee agreement. |
| auction. The amount that's bid over the amount of | | | | In the end, everyone's happy - the claimants get what |
| back taxes owed is called an overage, and that | | | | is often a huge amount of money they would have |
| overage is due back to the original tax delinquent | | | | otherwise lost to the government, and the money |
| owner in most cases. | | | | finders get a well-earned and well-deserved cut of |
| Example: If you owed the government $5,000 in back | | | | that money for their work. |
| taxes and they sold your property to the highest | | | | Even before the housing market took a dive, money |
| bidder who bid $30,000, then your overage would be | | | | finders were in demand - but now, they are needed |
| $25,000 - essentially, the equity you had in your | | | | more than ever. If you're looking to break into a new |
| property over the amount of taxes owed. | | | | lucrative field that you can operate yourself, without |
| Unfortunately for many owners, they don't realize that | | | | having to be employed, this is one of few routes that |
| they are owed this money. So they move from the | | | | are wide open despite (truly, because of) the |
| property when it's foreclosed on, and that overage | | | | recession. |