Have you ever heard of unclaimed or abandoned property? It is money or assets that are held by a government agency, owned by a business, or owned by an ordinary citizen like you. You may have seen state abandoned property websites, where you can type in your name and see if you have a forgotten bank account or an old utility deposit that was turned over to the government. That’s unclaimed abandoned property, but unclaimed abandoned property can also be (and often is) amounts of money in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Unfortunately for their rightful recipients, if unclaimed for a long time, these funds are permanently lost to the agency holding them or to the state government. That’s where you come in: locate these funds, locate their owners, and charge a hefty finder’s fee for your service.
“As?” You may be asking, “Are there no limits on the percentage a money finder can charge to help locate unclaimed state funds?” The answer is yes. Most states impose a 5-15% cap on finder fees. Nearly all of these laws have come into effect in recent years, causing many money seekers to abandon the countryside and move to greener (read: more lucrative) pastures. It is very bad; there’s a ton of money to be made from finder’s fees… you just have to look for funds that don’t fall under those money finder’s laws.
It’s a little-known loophole that allows money seekers in the real estate industry to make money hand over fist. Sales tax surpluses, foreclosure surpluses, and many other funds held outside of the state division of unclaimed funds are not subject to these search fee caps. In fact, they are not governed by limits at all, which means that legally and ethically you can charge anywhere from 30% to 50%, or more, depending on the complexity of the case.
With these surpluses being created at an almost alarming rate with the skyrocketing foreclosure rate in today’s economy, money seekers are needed more than ever. With no money seekers, these funds will likely lie unclaimed until they are repaid to the government, usually just five years from now. The legitimate owners of surplus money need money finders to locate them and alert them to the presence of their funds, and they are willing to part with 30-50% for their services.