The 3-step surplus deal analyzer

Before you dial, run the numbers. A surplus lead that fails the analyzer wastes your time and the homeowner's. Three checks, in order, tell you whether a file is worth working.

This is the same math ReVesta runs on every file automatically - value in, debt out, lien stack cleared, threshold checked. Here it is by hand so you know exactly what a real number looks like.

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Step 1 - Estimate the Surplus (pick the right value input)

Surplus is simple: what the property is worth, minus everything owed against it. The only question is which value you use, and that depends on where the case is.

If it already sold at auction - use the actual sale price. This is the real number, not an estimate.

Surplus = Sale Price − Total Debt

If it has not sold yet (pre-foreclosure) - use the county Assessed Value. The assessed value is the county's own number and it is conservative, which is exactly what you want for a pre-auction estimate.

Estimated Surplus = Assessed Value − Total Debt

If there is no assessed value, or it is unreliable - use retail value at 70%. Some properties have no usable assessed value (data gaps, condos, or the AV is wildly off from reality). In that case, take the retail/market value and haircut it to 70%, because a forced sale almost never brings full retail.

Estimated Surplus = (70% × Retail Value) − Total Debt

Pull the retail value from more than one source and take the middle number. Never trust a single site. Check Zillow, Redfin, and Realtor.com, then use the median - the middle of the three. One source can be skewed high by a single nearby comp that sold for an outlier price, which pushes the estimate up when the property is not really worth that. The middle number throws out the extremes and lands you on the honest figure.

Example: Zillow says $100,000, Redfin says $150,000, Realtor says $190,000 - you use $150,000 (the middle), then take 70% of that.

Why 70%: it is the conservative working number for what a property actually realizes at a quick or forced sale. Better to under-promise the surplus and be right than over-promise and lose credibility on the call.

This is exactly how ReVesta's valuation works under the hood - it pulls Zillow, Redfin, and Realtor, drops the outliers, and takes the median automatically, so the number on your file is already the honest middle.

Where to get the numbers: assessed value from the county property appraiser; retail value from Zillow, Redfin, and Realtor (take the median); total debt from the final judgment plus the recorded lien stack (next step).

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Step 2 - Subtract the Full Lien Stack

"Total debt" is not just the foreclosing mortgage. It is everything recorded against the owner and the property:

Total Debt = Final Judgment + every junior lien

That means: second mortgages, IRS liens, state tax liens, HOA balances, mechanics liens, and judgment liens from prior lawsuits. Each one gets paid out of the surplus before the former owner sees a dollar.

This is where most deals die. The gross number looks great - then the $45,000 judgment lien surfaces, or the IRS lien, and the net collapses. Run the full lien stack before you count a file as viable. Do not skip it, because you will find out on the call - and by then you have already gotten the homeowner's hopes up.

(This is exactly the lien-stack check ReVesta clears on every file before it reaches you - so the number you see is already net of surviving debt.)

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Step 3 - Does It Clear the Minimum? (threshold depends on who owns it)

After the lien stack you have the net surplus - what is actually available. Now the question is whether it is worth working, and the floor is different depending on whether the owner is living or deceased.

Living owner (non-estate): $10,000 minimum. No probate, no estate to open. The path from contract to payout is clean, so a $10,000 net surplus is worth working - a 15-25% fee is a real payday and the homeowner still nets most of it.

Deceased owner (estate / probate): $30,000 minimum. When the owner has passed, the claim runs through the estate. That means probate work, heir tracing, and more time and cost. You need a bigger spread to make it worth it for both sides - so the floor moves up to $30,000.

These floors are business decisions, not legal ones. Some operators go lower on easy files; some go higher. But $10K living / $30K deceased is the practical line that keeps your time worth it.

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Always Say "Preliminary" on the First Call

Everything above is based on public records and value estimates, not a formal title search. You have not confirmed every lien, whether one was recorded in another county, or whether the stack changed since your last search. You have run a preliminary analysis.

When you tell the homeowner a number, use that word:

"Based on the court record and the county numbers, this looks like a preliminary surplus of around $X - but I want to be straight with you, that is my estimate before a full title search, which is part of the process."

This sets an honest expectation that protects you if the number moves, and it signals you have a real process - which is exactly what a scammer does not have.

The confirmed surplus comes out of the title search and the court's calculation. The preliminary surplus is what gets you on the phone.

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Quick Reference

If all three pass, you have a file worth working. If it fails - especially the threshold - move to the next lead. Time is the real cost in this business.

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Numbers and thresholds here reflect operator practice; they are business rules, not legal ones. Lien priorities, redemption periods, and disbursement rules vary by state and county. Verify with a licensed attorney before filing a claim.