Arizona Surplus Funds Laws
How mortgage foreclosure surplus, tax sale surplus and unclaimed funds work in Arizona.
Mortgage foreclosure surplus
A.R.S. § 33-812 is the controlling trustee-sale surplus statute. It directs payment of sale costs, the secured debt, qualifying association liens, junior liens in priority order, then the trustor or the owner of record at the sale. Sections 33-807 and 33-811 govern the sale and deed; § 33-813 is not a surplus-distribution rule. The trustee must notify the trustor of excess proceeds within 15 days and distribute or deposit the balance with the county treasurer within 90 days after sale (A.R.S. § 33-812(B), (K)). If deposited, an interested person applies for distribution in the trustee’s superior-court action under § 33-812(G). The 90 days is the trustee’s duty, not an owner claim cutoff. A trustee’s deed conveys without redemption under § 33-811(E).
Tax sale surplus
A.R.S. §§ 42-18204(B) and 42-18231–42-18236 govern a court-ordered excess-proceeds sale after tax-lien foreclosure; § 42-18236 governs distribution. Sections 42-18151–42-18152 and 42-18201–42-18208 govern redemption and foreclosure mechanics, not the distribution of a later sale’s excess proceeds. A property owner may request an excess-proceeds sale before the tax-foreclosure judgment becomes effective (A.R.S. § 42-18204(B)). The three-year period is the earliest time a certificate holder may sue to foreclose, not an owner surplus-claim deadline. If the court orders an excess-proceeds sale, the qualified entity distributes proceeds within 90 days; unclaimed money then passes to the state’s unclaimed-property process (§ 42-18236(B)).
Unclaimed funds
Arizona Unclaimed Property Act, A.R.S. Title 44, Chapter 3, including § 44-317 for an owner’s claim to property delivered to the Department of Revenue. An initial owner claim under A.R.S. § 44-317 may be filed within 35 years after the final day of the fiscal year in which the department received the property. The department must allow or deny a filed claim within 90 days and pay an allowed claim within 30 days.
Fee and practice notes
Finder fee on tax lien and mortgage foreclosure surplus is reported as capped at $2,500 (A.R.S. 33-812).
Statute text
Links to the statutes referenced in our research. These may be third-party copies of older code editions, so check the current official code before relying on them.
