The county may be holding money that's yours, and most people never find out before the deadline passes.
Star Thing LLC · St. Petersburg · All 67 Florida counties
Your money, back in your hands. You stay the legal claimant. We just do the filing.
A service agreement under F.S. §197.582, not an assignment of your claim.
You can file it yourself, free
The Clerk accepts owner-filed claims at no cost. Self-filing and engaging an operator are both valid paths. The choice belongs to the owner.
Confirm it's real first
Surplus is public record. The Clerk confirms existence and amount by phone or in person to any caller with the tax deed file number.
You pay nothing until you're paid
No recovery, no fee. The percentage only applies once the Clerk releases your money. Plus a three-business-day cancellation right, any reason.
| Amount Recovered | Our Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Under $5,000 | 35% | Small claims require proportionally more work |
| $5,000 – $25,000 | 30% | Standard recovery |
| $25,000 – $50,000 | 25% | Mid-range claims |
| Over $50,000 | 20% | Large claims, reduced rate |
| Complex cases | +5% | Probate, competing liens, or multiple heirs |
What this means for you, step by step
Your surplus doesn't sit in one place forever. Here's what each stage means for your money, and exactly where we can help. Star Thing works the county (Clerk) stage only. Tap any step to see how it works.
When your property sold at the tax deed auction for more than the unpaid taxes, the extra didn't go to the county to keep, the overage is your surplus, and by law it belongs to you as the former owner under F.S. §197.582. Most people never find out it exists.
The county Clerk of Court holds the surplus and notifies the people who may be owed. Money is paid out in a set order: any lienholders first by priority, then you as the former owner. The good news is it's sitting there waiting; the catch is the clock is running.
A documented claim goes to the Clerk, and for tax deed surplus it's generally due within 120 days of the Clerk's notice, miss it and the right can be lost. This is the stage we handle for you. You stay the legal claimant and the named payee on the check; we prepare and file everything, track the deadline, and only get paid if you do.
If the window closes unclaimed, the Clerk reports your money to the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Unclaimed Property under Chapter 717. It's still yours, but it's now a slower, separate process, which is why acting at stage 3 matters.
You can always claim State-held funds yourself for free. If you want paid help at that point, the law requires a Florida-licensed attorney, CPA, or registered private investigator (F.S. §717.1400). We don't work State-held funds and charge no fee on them, we'll tell you that you can claim free, or point you to a licensed rep.
Steps 1–3, while the surplus is still with the county Clerk. We do the filing, you stay the claimant and the payee, and you owe nothing unless the Clerk pays you.
Steps 4–5, after the money escheats to the State. That's a different law and a different kind of licensed representative, so we take no fee, and simply point you the right way.
All 67 Florida counties
Highest-volume counties for tax deed surplus: Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Orange, Duval, Pinellas, Lee, Polk, Volusia. The grid below links each county Clerk's website so you can verify your surplus directly.
Your privacy, in plain language
Privacy & compliance · Florida + federal · tap to readWe recover Florida tax-deed surplus on your behalf under a written agreement. Here’s exactly how your money, your data, and our contact with you are handled, and the laws behind each.
Yes. You remain the legal claimant the entire time, the county pays the surplus to you, not to us. We prepare and file the paperwork on your behalf under a written recovery agreement; we never take title to your claim or your funds.
Our fee is a percentage of what we recover, fixed and disclosed in writing before you sign, taken only out of the recovered funds. You owe nothing if we recover nothing. To be straight about the law: the tax-deed surplus statute (F.S. §197.582) sets the claim process and the 120-day deadline but does not itself cap a recovery agent’s fee while the money is held by the county clerk. A statutory fee cap (generally 20%) applies under the Florida Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act (F.S. §717.135) only once funds have escheated to the State’s Division of Unclaimed Property. Either way, you always have the option to file the claim yourself for free.
Under F.S. §197.582, the clerk holds tax-deed surplus and mails a notice; claims generally must be filed within 120 days of that notice, or the right can be lost. We track those deadlines and file a complete, documented claim so it isn’t denied on a technicality.
No, you keep every exit. You can cancel within 3 business days for any reason, file the claim yourself for free at any time, or hire your own attorney. The one thing the agreement asks: for 12 months after we file, don’t hand the same claim to a competing recovery firm to ride on the work we already did. That’s an ordinary contract term to prevent someone from diverting our fee after we’ve done the filing, it is not a non-compete, it doesn’t stop you from doing anything in your own life, and it never blocks your right to self-file or use your own lawyer. If you self-file in good faith without using our work, you owe us nothing.
Only what we need to confirm a surplus exists and file your claim: your name and contact details, the property, and the documents the clerk requires to prove you’re the rightful claimant. We use public county and court records to identify surpluses. We do not sell your personal information.
Only the parties needed to recover your money, the county clerk or comptroller handling the claim, and our own document/hosting providers under contract. We share when the law requires it, and never hand your data to unrelated marketers.
Florida’s comprehensive privacy law (the Digital Bill of Rights) only applies to companies above $1 billion in revenue, so it doesn’t bind a small firm like ours, but we honor the spirit of it anyway. Email [email protected] and you can ask us to show you what we hold, correct it, or delete it once your claim is resolved. Federally, the FTC Act prohibits unfair or deceptive practices, and California residents are covered by the CCPA/CPRA if they reach us.
Only as long as needed to recover your funds and keep the records the law requires for a closed claim, then we delete or de-identify it. We protect it with reasonable administrative and technical safeguards and follow Florida’s data-breach notification law if a breach ever requires it.
When public records show a surplus may be owed, we may reach out by phone, text, or mail. We follow the stricter of the federal TCPA and Florida’s Telephone Solicitation Act (F.S. §501.059, §501.616): calls only 8 AM–8 PM local time, no more than 3 in 24 hours on the same subject, and no autodialed or pre-recorded calls or texts without your prior express written consent.
Text STOP to any text, reply UNSUBSCRIBE to any email, or just tell us on a call, we honor every opt-out right away and add you to our internal do-not-contact list. We also respect the National Do Not Call Registry.
Commercial emails follow the federal CAN-SPAM Act: honest subject and sender, our real mailing address, and a working opt-out we honor within 10 business days. We never sell or rent your email address.
Star Thing Wind is the surplus-recovery service of Star Thing LLC, a Delaware limited liability company operating in Florida. Mailing address: 7901 4th St N #30711, St. Petersburg, FL 33702. We are a recovery agent acting under a written agreement with you, not a law firm, and not the government.
No. We are a private company. The county clerk and the Florida Department of Financial Services hold and disburse surplus and unclaimed funds, and you can always file a claim yourself directly with them at no cost. We offer to do the work for you under a disclosed, contingent fee, your choice.
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This summary explains our practices in plain language; it isn’t legal advice, and you always have the right to pursue a surplus claim yourself directly with the county clerk or the Florida Department of Financial Services at no cost. Questions or requests: [email protected]. Last reviewed June 1, 2026.
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