Foreclosure of Power of Sale Mortgage, or Sale Under the Power
Section 479:25
479:25 Sale Under the Power. –
Instead of such suit and decree of sale, the mortgagee or his assignee may, upon breach of the condition, give such notices and do all such acts as are authorized or required by the power, including the giving of a foreclosure deed upon the completion of said foreclosure; but no sale under and by virtue of such power shall be valid and effectual to foreclose such mortgage unless the following conditions are complied with:
I. Notice of such sale shall be published once a week for 3 successive weeks in some newspaper of general circulation within the town or county in which the property is situated. In the event that the mortgaged premises are situated in more than one county, publication in a newspaper of statewide circulation shall be sufficient. The first publication shall be not less than 20 days before the date of sale, calculated by excluding the date of publication of the first notice and the date of sale.
II. (a) A copy of said notice shall be served upon the mortgagor or sent by registered or certified mail to his or her last known address or to such person as may be agreed upon in the mortgage at least 25 days before the sale, or in the case of a residential mortgage, at least 45 days before the sale. The term "mortgagor" shall include the mortgagor and any grantee, assignee, devisee or heir of the mortgagor holding a recorded interest in the mortgaged premises subordinate to the lien of the mortgage, provided that such interest is recorded at least 30 days, or in the case of a residential mortgage, at least 50 days, before the date of the sale, in the registry of deeds for the county in which the mortgaged premises are situated. In this paragraph, the term "residential mortgage" means a mortgage on a dwelling, as defined in RSA 397-A:1, VI-c. Like notice shall be sent to any person having a lien of record on the mortgaged premises not less than 21 days before the sale, provided that the lien is recorded at least 30 days, or in the case of a residential mortgage, at least 50 days, before the date of the sale in the registry of deeds. Such notice of sale shall be sufficient if it fully sets forth the date, time, and place of sale; the town, county, street or highway and street number, if any, of the mortgaged premises; the date of the mortgage; the volume and page of the recording of the mortgage; and the terms of the sale. Any mortgagor or record lienholder who refuses to accept or claim mailed or served notice or who frustrates attempts by the mortgagee to give notice of the sale by failing to give or leave a forwarding address or by other act or omission shall be deemed to be notified of the sale, provided that such mortgagee shall have made a good faith effort to provide such notice.
(b) Notice of the sale as served on or mailed to the mortgagor shall include, for owner-occupied dwellings of 4 or fewer dwelling units:
(1) The address of the mortgagee for service of process and the name of the mortgagee's agent for service of process; and
(2) Contact information for the New Hampshire banking department, along with the statement: "For information on getting help with housing and foreclosure issues, please call the foreclosure information hotline at _____________ (insert toll-free telephone number). The hotline is a service of the New Hampshire banking department. There is no charge for this call." The banking department shall maintain a toll-free telephone number for this purpose, which shall be disseminated and kept up-to-date through a bulletin on the department's website.
(c) Notice of the sale as served on or mailed to the mortgagor shall also in all cases include the following language:
"You are hereby notified that you have a right to petition the superior court for the county in which the mortgaged premises are situated, with service upon the mortgagee, and upon such bond as the court may require, to enjoin the scheduled foreclosure sale." Failure to institute such petition and complete service upon the foreclosing party, or his or her agent, conducting the sale prior to sale shall thereafter bar any action or right of action of the mortgagor based on the validity of the foreclosure.
II-a. No claim challenging the form of notice, manner of giving notice, or the conduct of the foreclosure sale shall be brought by the mortgagor or any record lienholder after one year and one day from the date of the recording of the foreclosure deed for such sale.
III. The sale shall be held upon the premises except where a different place of sale is agreed upon in the mortgage. In the event that the mortgage shall contain more than one parcel of land, the sale may be held on either parcel as may be specified in the notice of sale.
IV. No foreclosure sale shall be invalid or ineffectual to foreclose a mortgage pursuant to this section if any party entitled to be sent notice and not sent such notice shall, either before or after such foreclosure sale, waive its right to have been sent such notice, or if the lien or interest of such party in the mortgaged premises shall at any time be released or discharged. A waiver of notice authorized or validated under this section shall be recorded in the registry of deeds in the county where the property is situated.