(1) There is established a rebuttable presumption that the owner of record of real property on the date of the filing of a lis pendens is the person entitled to surplus funds after payment of subordinate lienholders who have timely filed a claim. A person claiming a legal right to the surplus as an assignee of the rights of the owner of record must prove entitlement to the surplus funds pursuant to this section. It is the intent of the Legislature to abrogate the common law rule that surplus proceeds in a foreclosure case are the property of the owner of the property on the date of the foreclosure sale.

(2) The presumption may be rebutted only by:

(a) The grantee or assignee of a voluntary transfer or assignment establishing a right to collect the surplus funds or any portion or percentage of the surplus funds by proving that the transfer or assignment qualifies as a voluntary transfer or assignment as provided in subsection (3); or

(b) The grantee or assignee proving that the grantee or assignee is a grantee or assignee by virtue of an involuntary transfer or assignment of the right to collect the surplus. An involuntary transfer or assignment may be as a result of inheritance or as a result of the appointment of a guardian.

(3) A voluntary transfer or assignment shall be a transfer or assignment qualified under this subsection, thereby entitling the transferee or assignee to the surplus funds or a portion or percentage of the surplus funds, if:

(a) The transfer or assignment is in writing and the instrument:

1. If executed prior to the foreclosure sale, includes a financial disclosure that specifies the assessed value of the property, a statement that the assessed value may be lower than the actual value of the property, the approximate amount of any debt encumbering the property, and the approximate amount of any equity in the property. If the instrument was executed after the foreclosure sale, the instrument must also specify the foreclosure sale price and the amount of the surplus.

2. Includes a statement that the owner does not need an attorney or other representative to recover surplus funds in a foreclosure.

3. Specifies all forms of consideration paid for the rights to the property or the assignment of the rights to any surplus funds.

(b) The transfer or assignment is filed with the court on or before 60 days after the filing of the certificate of disbursements.

(c) There are funds available to pay the transfer or assignment after payment of timely filed claims of subordinate lienholders.

1(d) The transferor or assignee is qualified as a surplus trustee, or could qualify as a surplus trustee, pursuant to s. 45.034.

(e) The total compensation paid or payable, or earned or expected to be earned, by the transferee or assignee does not exceed 12 percent of the surplus.

(4) The court shall honor a transfer or assignment that complies with the requirements of subsection (3), in which case the court shall order the clerk to pay the transferor or assignee from the surplus.

(5) If the court finds that a voluntary transfer or assignment does not qualify under subsection (3) but that the transfer or assignment was procured in good faith and with no intent to defraud the transferor or assignor, the court may order the clerk to pay the claim of the transferee or assignee after payment of timely filed claims of subordinate lienholders.

(6) If a voluntary transfer or assignment of the surplus is set aside, the owner of record shall be entitled to payment of the surplus after payment of timely filed claims of subordinate lienholders, but the transferee or assignee may seek in a separate proceeding repayment of any consideration paid for the transfer or assignment.

(7) This section does not apply to a deed, mortgage, or deed in lieu of foreclosure unless a person other than the owner of record is claiming that a deed or mortgage entitles the person to surplus funds. Nothing in this section affects the title or marketability of the real property that is the subject of the deed or other instrument. Nothing in this section affects the validity of a lien evidenced by a mortgage.

History.—s. 3, ch. 2006-175; s. 4, ch. 2018-71.

1Note.—Section 4, ch. 2018-71, deleted paragraph (3)(d), effective July 1, 2019.