Cook County Sits On $18M In Foreclosure Sale Surplus Funds Owing To Approx. 1,900 Ex-Homeowners; $460K In Unclaimed Cash Awaits One Former Owner

In Chicago, Illinois, the Chicago Sun Times reports:

• Call it a green lining on the cloud of the mortgage foreclosure crisis. Homeowners who handed the keys over to the bank may actually have some money coming their way, and in Cook County, a new online system may help nearly 2,000 property owners get their due. The Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court is holding approximately $18 million in mortgage foreclosure surplus funds -- profits generated when the bank sells a property for more than what the original owner owed the lending institution.

• The county has identified about 1,900 onetime owners who are owed money as a result of foreclosure sales in the last decade, and Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown has launched a campaign to get the word out. In one case, a property owner could collect $460,000, she said. So many people turn the keys over to the bank and don't look back -- and that's why the money has accumulated, Brown said.

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• Go to www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org and head to the mortgage surplus search engine, which will allow you to put in your name. If there's a match, begin the process of petitioning the court for your money. Cook County residents can also visit the clerk's accounting office for more information.

For more, see Homeowners who gave up might get foreclosure refund.