Skip to main content
How to avoidForeclosure
Get help

Arkansas · Get help now

How to claim foreclosure surplus funds in Arkansas

After an Arkansas statutory foreclosure sale, the trustee or lender must use the sale money in a set order: sale costs, the debt, then other recorded liens that came after the foreclosed loan. Anything left goes to the person who signed the deed of trust or that person's successor. The statute does not set a claim form or deadline, so you ask the trustee or attorney for it in writing.

Free HUD counselor: (800) 569-4287

Reviewed against Arkansas law and official sources on October 11, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Ask for help in Arkansas

Free. A person replies with the options and official help that fit. Messages about a scheduled sale are answered first.

For example: a sale date, what your servicer has told you, or what changed in your income. Please do not include your loan number, Social Security number or bank details.

Free, and there is nothing to buy. A person reads your message and replies by email, or by phone if you leave a number. We never ask for a fee and we do not sell your details. See the privacy policy.

How to claim surplus funds in Arkansas

  1. Who holds the money

    Right after the sale

    The trustee or mortgagee named in your notice of default and intention to sell conducts the sale and applies the money. Ask that person or the attorney on the notice who is holding the proceeds.

    Ark. Code § 18-50-109

  2. The order of payment

    The money pays the costs of the sale, then the debt, then recorded liens that came after the foreclosed loan. Any surplus goes to the person who signed the deed of trust or that person's successor in interest.

    Ark. Code § 18-50-109

  3. Ask for the surplus in writing

    As soon as possible after the sale

    Write to the trustee or attorney and ask for the sale price, the payoff, the amounts paid to other lienholders, and the amount left for you. Give a current mailing address and keep copies.

  4. Court-ordered foreclosure sales

    After the court confirms the sale

    If your home was sold in a court foreclosure case instead, ask the circuit clerk and the commissioner who held the sale what happened to any extra money. We did not confirm the claim rules for court sales, so get legal help.

  5. If the money goes unclaimed

    If you cannot be found

    Money a holder cannot pay to its owner can end up with the Arkansas Auditor of State's unclaimed property program, the Great Arkansas Treasure Hunt. The Auditor says it never charges to claim property.

  6. Be careful with paid recovery offers

    Before you sign anything

    We found no Arkansas fee cap for help recovering mortgage foreclosure surplus, so ask the trustee yourself before you sign any agreement. A 10 percent fee cap applies only to surplus from a Commissioner of State Lands tax sale.

    Ark. Code § 26-37-205

  7. Surplus after a tax sale

    Within 2 years of the escrow

    Money left over after the Commissioner of State Lands sells a parcel for unpaid taxes is claimed from the Commissioner on its own form. See our Arkansas property tax foreclosure page.

    Ark. Code § 26-37-205

What Arkansas law says about leftover sale money

Surplus after a mortgage foreclosure sale

After a statutory sale, the trustee or lender must apply the sale money in this order: the costs of the sale, the debt owed, then other recorded liens that came after the foreclosed loan. Any surplus goes to the person who signed the deed of trust or to that person's successor in interest. The statute we read does not set out a claim form or deadline, so contact the trustee or attorney named in your notice of default and intention to sell soon after the sale and ask in writing about any surplus. How surplus is handled after a court-ordered sale was not confirmed.

Ark. Code § 18-50-109

Common questions in Arkansas

Is there a deadline to claim surplus after an Arkansas statutory foreclosure?

The statute that sets the order of payment does not give a deadline or a claim form. Ask right after the sale anyway, because money that sits unclaimed is harder to trace and may be turned over as unclaimed property.

What if I sold or deeded my Arkansas home to someone before the foreclosure sale?

The surplus goes to the person who signed the deed of trust or that person's successor in interest. If you transferred the home, the new owner may be the one entitled to it, so check your paperwork with a lawyer or legal aid.

Where can I complain if an Arkansas trustee will not account for surplus?

You can file a complaint with the Arkansas Attorney General's Public Protection Department. If the lender or servicer is state licensed, you can also contact the Arkansas Securities Department, which regulates mortgage lenders. Legal aid can help you decide whether to go to court.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Arkansas

Understand the process

What is happening and how much time there is.

Weigh your options

What can stop it, and what happens if it goes ahead.

Get help now

Who to call, and what to do when a sale is scheduled.

Also in Arkansas

Property tax foreclosure Claim surplus funds (this page)

Back to the Arkansas overview

Free, official, nationwide

Free help anywhere in the country

Sources for this page

  1. Arkansas Act 172 of 2023 (HB 1191): amends Ark. Code § 26-37-205 and § 26-37-310
  2. Arkansas Act 259 of 2025 (HB 1400): redemption payment and disabled veteran penalty exemption, Ark. Code § 26-37-302
  3. Arkansas Legislature: Acts by Code Section, Title 26 (2023 Regular Session)
  4. Arkansas Legislature: Acts by Code Section, Title 26 (2025 Regular Session)
  5. Ark. Code § 26-36-201 Payment of taxes; delinquency penalty (FindLaw)
  6. Ark. Code § 26-37-101 Tax-delinquent land; certification (FindLaw)
  7. Ark. Code § 26-37-202 Sale by Commissioner of State Lands; redemption before sale (FindLaw)
  8. Ark. Code § 26-37-205 Distribution of funds; remaining funds to former owners (FindLaw)
  9. Ark. Code § 26-37-301 Notice to owner (FindLaw)
  10. Commissioner of State Lands: Available Excess Proceeds
  11. Arkansas Auditor of State: Search for Property
  12. Ark. Code § 18-50-103 (FindLaw copy, current as of March 28, 2024)
  13. Ark. Code § 18-50-104 (FindLaw copy)
  14. Ark. Code § 18-50-105 (FindLaw copy)
  15. Ark. Code § 18-50-107 (FindLaw copy)
  16. Ark. Code § 18-50-108 (FindLaw copy)
  17. Ark. Code § 18-50-109 (FindLaw copy)
  18. Ark. Code § 18-50-112 (FindLaw copy)
  19. Ark. Code § 18-50-114 (FindLaw copy)
  20. Ark. Code § 18-50-116 (FindLaw copy)
  21. Ark. Code § 18-50-117 (FindLaw copy)
  22. Ark. Code § 18-49-103 (FindLaw copy)
  23. Ark. Code § 18-49-105 (FindLaw copy)
  24. Ark. Code § 18-49-106 (FindLaw copy)
  25. Arkansas General Assembly: Act 306 of 2025 (HB1238), adding Ark. Code § 18-50-118
  26. Arkansas General Assembly: Code Sections Amended, Title 18, 2025 Regular Session
  27. Arkansas Law Help (Legal Aid of Arkansas): Foreclosure, last updated September 28, 2026
  28. Arkansas Attorney General: Foreclosure
  29. Arkansas Attorney General: Foreclosure Rescue and Loan Modification Scams
  30. Arkansas Homeowner Assistance Fund (program site, administered by ADFA)
  31. U.S. Department of the Treasury: Homeowner Assistance Fund
  32. Arkansas Securities Department: Mortgage Loans