The answer to this question is: it depends on what unclaimed property you are recovering. Some funds are great to work with; others can be difficult for various reasons and offer little profit to the money seeker.
The most difficult funds to work with are almost any funds held by the state (in the Unclaimed Funds Division/Department). These funds are usually things like a forgotten bank account, uncashed refund checks, unpaid stock dividends, etc. They are generally for small amounts (less than $1000). They are regulated by state law, which caps maximum finder fee limits at 5-15%, and worst of all, they are very audience. Most states have a website where anyone can type in their name and see if the state has funds for them.
While this makes it easier for you to find funds, it’s also easier for your competition to find them. Worse yet, when you alert the owner that you are short of money, all he has to do is go to that website and find out where it is for himself, and pay you nothing. Obviously, to be profitable, you have to find a way that you can keep your sources secret.
Forget those funds. The best funds for an unclaimed property recovery specialist to work with are surpluses created by real estate. These are funds that arise from the tax sale and sheriff’s sale, as well as some probate cases. They are not carried out at the state level, so through this legal loophole between 30 and 50% can be charged. And these are great funds. $10,000, $50,000, even more, sometimes. You do the calculations.
These funds urgently need to be worked on, because unlike most state funds, surplus real estate is retracted, that is, if no one claims it, after a short period of time, the government keeps it. So not only do you get the benefit of a good income for yourself, but you can also save these homeowners, most of whom are in dire need of the money, from losing money they didn’t even know they had in the first place.
With more and more foreclosures occurring on a monthly basis, there has never been a more profitable time to become an unclaimed property recovery specialist. The government literally has billions of dollars in funds that will be permanently lost without the intervention of a money seeker.
