I recently purchased a foreclosure property in Palm Beach County at auction. Before the Certificate of Title was issued, one of the lien holders filed an objection claiming they were never properly notified of the sale. The court agreed — vacated the sale entirely and issued an order for a full refund to me.
Here's where it gets interesting. The county clerk refunded my bid amount minus nearly $2,000 in auction fees — essentially charging me for a sale the court just declared void. The court order said "full refund" but the clerk treated their administrative fees as non-refundable regardless.
After asking around, it sounds like this is fairly common in Florida — clerks treat auction processing fees as earned the moment the gavel drops, independent of what happens afterward in court.
A few questions for anyone who's been through this:
Did you recover the full amount including clerk fees, and if so how?
Did you pursue it through a motion to the court or just accept the deduction?
Is there a specific argument that works in Florida to get the clerk fees back?
Happy to share more details on the case if it helps. Just want to know if anyone has actually gotten made whole on this.
@George Marshall That is frustrating but not uncommon in Florida. If the court order explicitly says full refund, you may have grounds to challenge the clerk’s deduction. Most investors I have seen either file a motion to enforce the court order or request clarification from the judge that full refund includes all fees. That said, many just absorb the loss because the time and legal cost can outweigh the $2K. If you do pursue it, the strongest argument is that the sale was void ab initio, so no fees should be retained. It may be worth a quick consult with a local real estate attorney to see if it is worth pushing further.