Notarial Register Parcel

Assignments Generally:

Lenders, or holders of mortgages or deeds of trust, often assign mortgages or deeds of trust to other lenders, or third parties. When this is done the assignee (person who received the assignment) steps into the place of the original lender or assignor. To effectuate an assignment, the general rules is that the assignment must be in proper written format and recorded to provide notice of the assignment.

Satisfactions Generally:

Once a mortgage or deed of trust is paid, the holder of the mortgage is required to satisfy the mortgage or deed of trust of record to show that the mortgage or deed of trust is no longer a lien on the property. The general rule is that the satisfaction must be in proper written format and recorded to provide notice of the satisfaction. If the lender fails to record a satisfaction within set time limits, the lender may be responsible for damages set by statute for failure to timely cancel the lien. Depending on your state, a satisfaction may be called a Satisfaction, Cancellation, or Reconveyance. Some states still recognize marginal satisfaction but this is slowly being phased out. A marginal satisfaction is where the holder of the mortgage physically goes to the recording office and enters a satisfaction on the face of the the recorded mortgage, which is attested by the clerk.

New Hampshire Law

Execution of Assignment or Satisfaction:

Must be signed by the mortgagee.

Assignment:

It is recommended that an assignment be in writing and recorded in order to avoid complications.

Demand to Satisfy:

None required.

Recording Satisfaction:

When a mortgage upon real estate is satisfied, the mortgagee shall give the mortgagor a discharge thereof. Said discharge shall be in the form of a written document and shall be signed by the mortgagee. In addition, the mortgagee, within 60 days after said mortgage is satisfied and having reasonable charges tendered to the mortgagee, shall cause the discharge of the mortgage to be recorded in the registry of deeds where the land lies. The recording fees associated with the discharge of mortgage may be charged to the mortgagor, if the mortgagor received written disclosure that such fees would be so charged. The mortgagee shall provide written confirmation of the discharge within the 60-day period to the payor of the final payment in satisfaction of the mortgage.

Penalty:

Any mortgagee who after the satisfaction of his mortgage refuses to give a sufficient discharge of such mortgage, shall be "guilty of a violation."

Acknowledgment:

An assignment or satisfaction must contain a proper New Hampshire acknowledgment, or other acknowledgment approved by Statute.

New Hampshire Statutes

CHAPTER 479 MORTGAGES OF REALTY

Performance of Conditions and Redemption

Section 479:7

479:7 Discharge; Record. -

I. When a mortgage upon real estate is satisfied, the mortgagee shall give the mortgagor a discharge thereof. Said discharge shall be in the form of a written document and shall be signed by the mortgagee, his executor, administrator, successor, or assign whose signature shall be witnessed or acknowledged...

II. The mortgagee, within 60 days after said mortgage is satisfied and having reasonable charges tendered to the mortgagee, shall cause the discharge of the mortgage to be recorded in the registry of deeds where the land lies. The recording fees associated with the discharge of mortgage may be charged to the mortgagor, if the mortgagor received written disclosure that such fees would be so charged. The mortgagee shall provide written confirmation of the discharge within the 60-day period to the payor of the final payment in satisfaction of the mortgage.

Section 479:7-a

479:7-a Discharge by Affidavit.

I. Notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 479:10, if such mortgagee fails to make such discharge of the mortgage within 60 days from receipt of payment of the mortgage in accordance with the payoff statement furnished to the mortgagor by the mortgagee, an attorney-at-law licensed to practice in the state of New Hampshire may, on behalf of the mortgagor; the mortgagor's executor, administrator, assignee, transferee, or other successor in title; or the mortgagee of the mortgagor's transferee or other successor in title; execute and cause to be recorded in the registry of deeds in which the mortgage is recorded, an affidavit which states that:

(a) The affiant is an attorney-at-law in good standing and licensed to practice in the state of New Hampshire.

(b) The affidavit is made on behalf of, and at the request of, the mortgagor; the mortgagor's executor, administrator, assignee, transferee, or other successor in title; or the mortgagee of the mortgagor's transferee or other successor in title.

(c) The mortgagee has provided a payoff statement with respect to the loan secured by the mortgage.

(d) The affiant has ascertained that the mortgagee has received payment of the loan secured by the mortgage in accordance with the payoff statement, as evidenced by a bank check, certified check or attorney's clients' funds account check which has been negotiated by the mortgagee and bears no indication of a stop payment order or return for insufficient funds, or by other equivalent documentary evidence of such receipt of payment by the mortgagee.

(e) More than 60 days have elapsed since such payment was received by the mortgagee.

(f) The affiant has given the mortgagee at least 15 days' notice in writing by certified mail, sent to the mortgagee's last known address, of intention to execute and cause to be recorded an affidavit in accordance with this section, together with a copy of the proposed affidavit; and the mortgagee has not delivered a discharge in response to such notification and the mortgagor has complied with any request made by the mortgagee for additional payment at least 15 days prior to the date of the affidavit.

II. The affidavit shall include the names and addresses of both the mortgagor and the mortgagee, the date of the mortgage, and the title reference. Similar information shall be included with respect to any recorded assignment of the mortgage.

III. The affiant shall attach to the affidavit the following, certifying that each copy is a true copy of the original document:

(a) Photostatic copies of the documentary evidence that payment has been received by the mortgagee, including the mortgagee's endorsement of any bank check, certified check, or attorney's clients' funds account check; and

(b) A photostatic copy of the payoff statement.

IV. The affidavit, when recorded, shall constitute a discharge of the mortgage and a release of the lien created by the mortgage on the mortgaged premises.

V. Any person who causes an affidavit to be recorded in accordance with this section, knowing the information and statements contained in the affidavit to be false, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000.

VI. In this section, the term "payoff statement" means a written statement of the amount of the unpaid balance on the mortgage including principal, interest, and other charges properly assessed pursuant to the loan documentation of such mortgage and a statement of the interest on a per diem basis with respect to the unpaid principal balance on the mortgage. For the purposes of this section, a regular periodic account statement is not considered a payoff statement unless the mortgagee expressly states thereon that the statement represents a final payoff statement and it also contains a per diem rate or amount for calculating the final mortgage payoff amount.

Section 479:8

479:8 Penalty.

Any mortgagee violating the provisions of RSA 479:7, or any mortgagee who after the satisfaction of his mortgage refuses to give a sufficient discharge of such mortgage, shall be guilty of a violation.