Data Methodology

Collection

Records are collected from official public sources including county sheriff's offices, courts, treasurers, tax collectors, clerks, and municipal governments. Collection methods include automated monitoring of public websites, manual research, and user-submitted research requests.

Processing

Each record is normalized into a standard format: property address, case number, sale date, sale amount, surplus amount, source, and deadline. We preserve the original source data alongside the normalized record.

We distinguish between different types of amounts (judgment amount, upset amount, sale price, surplus amount) and never merge or assume values that were not explicitly stated in the source.

Verification

Before publication, each record is reviewed against the official source. Verification confirms that the public record exists and matches the source. It does not confirm entitlement to funds.

Records that have not been verified are marked as unverified and are not published to the public registry.

Publication

Only records that meet our publication standards are made searchable on the public registry. Publication requires: a verified official source, complete property and case information, and review by our team. Internal, research-only, and unverified records are never published.