Guide · Reviewed October 2026

Why Are Companies Calling Me About My Foreclosure? What They Know, How They Found You, and What to Do

By Marc E. Marcus, Founder · Former IRS auditor · Serving Cook, Lake, Will & McHenry County, Illinois

Companies call after a foreclosure because the Report of Sale and the Order Approving Sale are public court records that show a surplus. Several calls usually mean the surplus is real; none of them means you must use that company.

Why is asset recovery calling me? The short answer

An asset recovery company is calling because a public court record says money was left over when your former home sold at the foreclosure auction. In Illinois that leftover amount, the surplus, belongs to the former owner or the heirs under 735 ILCS 5/15-1512, and it sits with the court until someone claims it. The caller read the sale record, saw the surplus, and wants to be paid a percentage to recover it for you. The house is gone; the call is about the money, and you can check whether it exists yourself before you answer anyone.

First, which kind of call is this?

Two very different kinds of companies call people connected to a foreclosure, and the advice for one is wrong for the other.

• Before the sale: “We can save your home.” Loan-modification promises, “forensic audits,” offers to buy the house and rent it back, or requests to sign over the deed. Illinois regulates these callers as “distressed property consultants” under the Mortgage Rescue Fraud Act (765 ILCS 940), which requires written contracts and restricts when they may be paid. If you are still in the foreclosure and your home has not been sold, do not pay anyone upfront; a HUD-approved housing counselor will help free at 800-569-4287. That is the “foreclosure rescue scam” most articles warn about, and it is not what this page is about.
• After the sale: “You may be owed money from the sale.” The house is already gone. The caller says the auction brought in more than the loan balance and offers to recover the difference for a percentage. This is surplus funds outreach. It is often legitimate, it is frequently copied by scammers, and it is the subject of this guide.

Where your name came from: the public paper trail after a judicial sale

Illinois foreclosures are lawsuits, so almost every step leaves a public record at the Clerk of the Circuit Court. Recovery firms simply read those records in order:

1. The complaint and the judgment. The case is public from the day it is filed, and the Judgment of Foreclosure states how much was owed.
2. The sale. The judicial sale is advertised in advance, and the selling officer (in Cook County, usually The Judicial Sales Corporation or the Sheriff) publishes the results.
3. The Report of Sale and Distribution. This is the document that matters. It states the sale price, how the money was applied to the judgment, costs, and fees, and whether anything was left over. When the sale price exceeds the total owed, the report shows a surplus.
4. The Order Approving Sale. Once the judge confirms the sale, the surplus amount is fixed on the record and the money is held by the court until the former owner (or heirs) petitions for it. Calls tend to cluster in the weeks after this order is entered.
5. The Special Notice of Surplus Funds. Since December 1, 2020, Illinois Supreme Court Rule 113(g) has required the foreclosing lender's attorney to mail the former owner a special notice that a surplus exists, with a form Petition for Turnover of Surplus Funds (Rule 113(h)) to claim it. That notice goes to the last address in the court file — frequently the house that was just sold — which is why so many people hear about their surplus from a company before they hear about it from the court.
6. The recorder. The new owner's deed is recorded with the county (in Cook County, the Clerk's Recordings division), confirming the transfer.

Your current phone number and address did not come from the court. They come from commercial people-search and skip-tracing databases, the same subscription services used by debt collectors, marketers, and process servers. A firm that can read a docket and pay for a data subscription can reach almost anyone.

What callers know — and what they cannot know without you

Knowing your case number is a low bar: anyone with a browser can clear it. Treat it as proof that the caller did homework, not as proof that the company deserves your signature. The six-check verification guide covers what to confirm before you sign anything.

Why several companies call at once — and what that tells you

Every recovery firm, attorney, and claim buyer that monitors the docket sees the same Report of Sale on the same day. When one company finds a surplus, five others usually do too. That is why calls arrive in clusters and why multiple calls about the same property generally confirm that the money is real, not that a ring of scammers has singled you out. Scammers, by contrast, tend to work from stolen contact lists and vague scripts; they often cannot produce a case number, describe a property you never owned, or demand a fee before anything happens.

The callers are not all offering the same deal. A contingency-fee recovery firm is paid a percentage only if the court releases the money. An attorney may charge hourly or on contingency. A claim buyer offers a lump sum now in exchange for an assignment of your entire claim, usually for far less than the surplus on record. All three are lawful business models; all three should be compared against filing yourself. Our guide to telling a legitimate call from a scam explains the “legitimate company, bad deal” middle ground.

Why you may be getting calls about a relative's house

Adult children are often the ones answering these calls. A surplus does not disappear when the former owner dies; it becomes an asset of the estate and passes to the heirs. Firms find heirs through probate filings, obituaries, and the same people-search databases. If the house belonged to a parent or another relative, the money may still be claimable — usually with proof of death and heirship, and sometimes through a small-estate affidavit or a probate case. Our heirs' guide to foreclosure surplus funds walks through it.

If the call was about a tax sale, not a mortgage

Illinois' new surplus equity fund (HB 4537, Public Act 104-0553, effective July 10, 2026; 35 ILCS 200/21-302) lets former owners who lost a property to a tax deed petition the court for the equity above their tax debt. Tax deed orders and recorded deeds are public, so firms are reading those too, and calls about “tax sale surplus” will become more common. A call is plausible only if a tax deed was actually issued on your former property. The remedy is a court petition: no county office calls to “register” you, there is no county claim form as of September 2026, and nobody needs to pay to join the Kidd v. Pappas class action. Start with Am I owed money from a Cook County tax sale?

Your options once you know why they are calling

1. Verify the call. Look the case up yourself at the Clerk of the Circuit Court, confirm the sale price exceeded the judgment, and check the company at the Illinois Secretary of State. The six free checks take about 15 minutes.
2. File on your own. The surplus is claimed by motion or petition in the same foreclosure case; in Cook County the Clerk publishes form CCCH 0317 for it, and Rule 113(h) provides a form Petition for Turnover of Surplus Funds statewide. Illinois Legal Aid Online explains the process for free, and our step-by-step claiming guide covers what to expect.
3. Compare offers. If you would rather have it handled, get each firm's fee in writing before any work, confirm the court (not the company) disburses the money, and make sure you are told you can file yourself. Decline any deed, blanket power of attorney, or undisclosed buyout. Our guide to choosing a surplus funds recovery company in Illinois lists the ten questions to ask and the fee-agreement checklist.
4. Ask for a free record check. Use the form below. We look up the case, tell you whether a surplus appears to exist and where the money sits, and explain your options — including filing yourself. No cost, no obligation, and no pressure to use us.

How to make the calls stop

• Tell each company to stop. Ask to be placed on its internal do-not-call list; lawful firms honor that request. Register your number at donotcall.gov as well.
• Report the ones that cross the line. Anyone demanding an upfront fee, asking for your Social Security number or bank login on first contact, texting links, or claiming to be the court, the Clerk, the Sheriff, or the Treasurer: report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and the Illinois Attorney General's Consumer Fraud Hotline, 1-800-386-5438. The Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County warned residents in September 2026 about fraudulent texts demanding payment in the court's name, and the FTC's March 30, 2026 alert covers unexpected calls about unclaimed funds.
• Resolve the surplus. The calls are driven by an open entry in a public file. Once the money is claimed — by you, an heir, or a firm you chose — the reason for the calls goes away.

Sources: 735 ILCS 5/15-1512 (Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law, application of sale proceeds); Illinois Supreme Court Rule 113(g)–(h), Special Notice of Surplus Funds and form motion (effective December 1, 2020); 765 ILCS 940 (Mortgage Rescue Fraud Act); 765 ILCS 1026 (Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act); 35 ILCS 200/21-302 as amended by Public Act 104-0553 (effective July 10, 2026); Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court form CCCH 0317; FTC consumer alert, March 30, 2026; Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County public warnings on fraudulent court texts, September 2026; Illinois Legal Aid Online, “Collecting a surplus after a foreclosure sale”.