How Do eBay Auctions For Unclaimed Property Work?

October 12th, 2012 |

A recent EBay auction for unclaimed property turned out to be a great success for the State of Nebraska. State Treasurer Don Stenberg reported that the recent unclaimed property auction sold 102 of the 117 lots that were put up for sale. It ended up being more lots sold then anyone expected.

One of the biggest sellers in the Nebraska State unclaimed property auction was a collection of Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars. Any coin collector would have loved to get there hands on this rare lot as it ended up being a steal. For only $800, a lucky Nebraskan walked away with this really nice coin collection that is sure to rise in value. It could either be used as a great investment for the future, retirement, school tuition or even a nice addition to any family heirlooms you already have or are maybe planning on leaving behind.

After long consideration Stenberg said that the decision to move from physical auctions to unclaimed property auctions via EBay was an easy one. He even stated, “If you have a physical auction in Lincoln or Omaha or, for that matter, in Scottsbluff or wherever, only a limited number of people as a practical matter are able to come to those and so, you have a much smaller group of people bidding.” Obviously by making this change it led to a much larger turn out and final figure of sales then they could have ever expected from an actual physical location for this unclaimed property auction.

Stenberg finished by saying, “So, we think the EBay [auction] works really well for the type of merchandise that we have.”

The unclaimed property auction on EBay netted the State Treasurer’s office $14,913. With much of the property sold actually managing to sell more than the initially appraised value.

What types of items were available for the unclaimed property auction? According to Stenberg, the State offered jewelry, coin collections, sports trading cards, antiques, collectors pieces, art and much much more. All of the merchandise, believe it or not, came from the contents of abandoned safe deposit boxes and storage units.

State law requires that the State Treasurer’s office hold an unclaimed property auction at least once every five years. You can imagine how much money this brings in annually.

Are you the rightful owner of any of the items sold in the unclaimed property auction on EBay? Conduct an online search today using the Find Unclaimed Money database to find out.

Now, you may think that the unclaimed property money goes to the State, but that’s where you would be wrong. In fact, the money is held by the State Treasurer’s office until the rightful owner comes forward. That’s right, the EBay auctions are strictly to make it easier for the money to go the person the property belongs to.

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Tulsa State Fair Jumps On The Unclaimed Money In Oklahoma Band Wagon

October 8th, 2012 |

Did you know that the state of Oklahoma is holding onto $100,000s in unclaimed money? Not just one, one-hundred thousand, but multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars – and this money could be yours if you are the rightful owner. To find out, all you have to do is attend the Tulsa State Fair this year. Yes, it seems that even Oklahoma is getting in on the unclaimed money bandwagon. There will be a booth set up this year where any resident can search to see if they are indeed the rightful owner of some of these funds.

In previous years Oklahoma has tried several different ways to get the word out about this growing unclaimed money problem and how to actually search for unclaimed money as well as claim it. They seem to have tried everything from issuing ways and lists of the unclaimed funds for all of their state residents as well as held booths at several smaller state fairs in hopes to draw more possible owners. By doing this Oklahoma seems to be drawing a larger crowd every year but this year they are combining their efforts to get the word out by holding a booth at their largest state fair as well as announcing it all over with newspapers as well as their local news channels.

 

How Does It Work?

Searching for unclaimed money used to be a painstaking process. Today it’s much easier. If you plan to go to the fair this year, look for the booth with the big sign that reads unclaimed money. This is where you will find Oklahoma state workers who are there to help you. Simply give them your first and last name and they’ll help you search the databases of the Oklahoma State Treasury, as well as the Treasury accounts in all 50 states and even a few federal government accounts. You’ll find out almost immediately if you are indeed the rightful owner of some of this cash.

If you can’t attend the Tulsa State Fair and you still think you might be the rightful owner of some of this unclaimed money, you can use your home or office computer or your mobile handset. Simply use your first and last name, just as if you were standing in front of the unclaimed money booth at the fair with your funnel cake, hot dog and soft drink in hand. So even though state fairs obviously have more perks then just the unclaimed money booth you don’t have to stress or worry about waiting around for the next fair to pop up.

If you do find money available using the find unclaimed money search, whether you’re at the home or office or at the fair, you’ll be able to arrange to have that money mailed to you or even forwarded directly into your bank account. This is how easy it is to find unclaimed money, which is why the state is taking matters into their own hands by setting up an unclaimed money booth at the Tulsa State Fair. Show up, try your hand at a search and hopefully you’ll help to ease the State’s burden by collecting the unclaimed money that’s rightfully yours.

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How To Track Down Unclaimed Money From Deceased Relatives

October 4th, 2012 |

In a perfect world, our relatives would go on to live to be two, three or four hundred years old. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world and that means we need to deal some of our relatives passing away. The truth is most of us don’t even know all of their relatives that have passed away.Sometimes they are extended family members or ones who married into the family. They might even just be loved ones who drifted out of touch with their busy travel life or simply living in another country. How could you possibly keep track of your growing family if you’re not even in touch with them to know where exactly it is growing.

Of course you don’t know five generations ago or anything like that, but do you know all of your relatives within two or three generations? How do you know that one of your relatives that you didn’t really know wasn’t rich and left you a bunch of money? Sound far fetched? It’s not. It happens all the time and sometimes this unclaimed inheritance money is never claimed at all by the rightful owner.

 

Unclaimed Inheritance Money

The above sounds like something you would have seen in a movie or read in a fairytale. An old rich aunt or uncle that you didn’t even really know passed away and her or his will is read, naming you the rightful heir. All of a sudden, you have become rich beyond your wildest dreams. Well, it might not be as glamorous as that specific depiction of unclaimed inheritance money, but it is not far from the truth.

Usually this unclaimed money comes from lost or forgotten about accounts. Unclaimed money from lost accounts is usually from the money that was left behind when someones relative passes away. That being said, technically you do not have to be named in any will to receive unclaimed inheritance money. You might only have to be a relative of the person if the unclaimed money from lost accounts was never accounted for in the will. Even if no will exists the money will be rightfully placed with the proper heir.

Luckily, it is easy to find out if you have any of this unclaimed inheritance money available in your own or anyone else you knows name. You simply go to an unclaimed money website like www.FindUnclaimedMoney.com and use their database. You simply use your first and last name and the unclaimed money search will search the databases of all 50 state treasury accounts and even a few federal accounts in order to uncover any unclaimed inheritance money that may be owed to you.

You never know how much is out there until you conduct a search. You may find that you have hundreds or even thousands waiting for you. What a great gift from a long lost relative.

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$350 Million Of Unclaimed Property In Oklahoma Is Being Brought To The State Fair By Ken Miller

September 11th, 2012 |

If you haven’t heard of Ken Miller and you ever were or are currently an Oklahoma resident then this is a name you don’t want to forget. Ken Miller is the current Oklahoma State Treasurer and is keeping a tradition that started 12 years ago at the state fair. Oklahoma’s state treasury decided to put together and host a booth at their local state fairs in order to try and alert Oklahoma residents of over 5 million dollars in unclaimed property and money. Oklahoma took the initiative to start running these booths over a decade ago to try and counteract their continuously growing unclaimed property issue with their “Pot of Gold” booth.

 

With Oklahoma’s State Fair starting this Thursday, September 13th, 2012, Ken Miller has decided to keep this tradition running by not only hosting a booth this year but by bringing a list of over 600,000 Oklahoma residents that are owed unclaimed money and property. Over the last 12 years the “Pot of Gold” booth has helped over 11,000 individuals claim and receive over 5 million bucks in Oklahoma unclaimed property and money. This has proven to be a huge accomplishment felt not only by Oklahoma state residents and the State Treasury but also by Ken Miller himself, stating, “”Oklahoma’s economy would get a big shot in the arm if we were able to reunite 600,000 state residents with $350 million. If you go to the fair this year, you need to stop by our booth to see if we have any of your money. Remember, too, that our service is free.”

 

Ken Miller realizes that by placing these unclaimed funds with the original owners he will not only help solve Oklahoma’s unclaimed property and money problem but in turn it will help give their economy a little boost. State fairs across the country have been hosting booths at their own fairs as well but with 570 Oklahoma residents claiming back almost $400,000 you can clearly see that the Oklahoma State Treasury’s efforts are really “paying” off.

 

People are always surprised when they find out they are entitled to unclaimed property and money. Most of them don’t even realize why they are owed these funds in the first place. It is actually very interesting how many people leave behind old bank accounts or forget about things like security or utility deposits from their last rental. Sometimes individuals even forget they have taxes due to them or might have money coming back to them from an escrow account on their new home. Other things may occur that will lead to unclaimed property and money like changing life insurance or even auto insurance policies. With so many reasons unclaimed property and money exists it seems strange that more people are not aware of all the different ways to track down and claim the money that is rightfully theirs.

 

The best part about learning how to find unclaimed property and money is that you don’t have to wait around for your annual state fair to host their own “Pot of Gold” type booth. You can simply check out a site like www.FindUnclaimedMoney.com and use their free search engine to cross reference state treasury databases across the country and see if any unclaimed property and money is due to you today.

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