Free, honest help for Sarasota County property owners facing tax or mortgage foreclosure — plus how to claim surplus funds you may be owed after a sale. House or land, keep it or sell it. No pressure, no fees.
Call or text — free, no pressure1-833-2-OPTIONS6 7 8 4 6 6 7Tell us a little about your situation. We'll send a clear, no-pressure breakdown of every option available to you in Sarasota County.
There's rarely just one answer. Here are the real options Sarasota County property owners have — including the ones that don't involve us at all.
House, land, or commercial — the process differs, and so does the surplus. We cover all three here, in Sarasota County and across Florida.
Mortgage foreclosure on a home in Sarasota or nearby — your rights, the Circuit Court timeline, and how to keep it or sell before the sale.
Vacant lot or acreage behind on taxes? Tax-deed foreclosure on Sarasota land works differently — and surplus funds are common here.
Storefront, office, or multi-unit in trouble? Your options for commercial property in Sarasota County, including a fast, clearly-disclosed cash sale.
When a property in Sarasota County sells at a mortgage-foreclosure or tax-deed auction for more than the debt owed, the leftover — called surplus funds — is held by the Sarasota County Clerk of Courts and often belongs to you, the former owner.
But there's a catch: the clock is ticking — generally 60 days from the clerk's notice under Fla. Stat. §45.032 — and others comb these records to claim it first. Most owners never even know it exists.
Check if you're owed money in Sarasota County
Photo: State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)Foreclosure cases in Sarasota County are decided in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court, and the Sarasota Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller manages the court file and the eventual sale. When a judgment is entered, the property is auctioned online through sarasota.realforeclose.com to the highest bidder. Because the sale date is set by the court, acting before that date is usually the difference between losing the home and keeping your choices open.
The Historic Sarasota County Courthouse, designed by architect Dwight James Baum in the Mediterranean Revival style and built in the late 1920s, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (source: Wikipedia).
Official Sarasota County resources: Clerk of Court · foreclosure auction portal
Yes. Florida is a judicial foreclosure state, so a Sarasota County mortgage foreclosure goes through the Circuit Court and the sale is conducted by the Sarasota County Clerk of Courts.
If a Sarasota County property sells for more than was owed, the surplus is held by the Clerk of Courts. Under Fla. Stat. §45.032 the former owner has priority to claim it — generally within 60 days of the clerk's notice. You file a claim with the Sarasota County Clerk with proof of prior ownership.
In most cases yes — you can sell any time before the foreclosure auction, and a sale that pays off the debt stops the foreclosure. We'll help you understand the Sarasota County timeline.
It costs nothing and commits you to nothing. A real person reviews your situation and lays out every option available to you in Sarasota County — made for your exact situation.
💡 Free official help: Reach a HUD-approved housing counselor near Sarasota at no cost — 1-800-569-4287 or the CFPB counselor finder. Sarasota County foreclosure & tax-deed sales are administered by the Sarasota County Clerk of Courts. We always point you to these — even though they aren't us.