New Hampshire Foreclosure Prevention Resources

For 2009, New Hampshire ranked 26th among all states in foreclosure rate, an increase of 8.65% from the year before. Nationally, 2009 was the worse year for foreclosures in US history, with 2.8 million property owners receiving a foreclosure notice.

Almost all foreclosures in New Hampshire are non-judicial due to a clause in mortgages that gives the lender the right to sell a home once a borrower default.

The lender is usually required to send a default notice to a homeowner detailing the amount due and offering a 30 grace period to catch up with the warning that failure to do so will result in a foreclosure.

If the borrower does not catch up in this time frame the lender can schedule a foreclosure sale. News of the sale must be published in a local paper for at least once a weeks for three weeks at least 21 days prior to the sale date.

A borrower may save the property prior to the foreclosure sale by paying the default amount, damages, and costs.

The auction is conducted at the property itself with the seller Deficiency judgments are allowed, but there is no right of redemption. Within 60 days of the sale, the winning bidder must pay the balance of the full bid amount and the lender must file the necessary recorded documents to transfer ownership to the winning bidder.

Two recent changes should be noted:

• As of April 1st of 2009, New Hampshire required the licensing of all loan orginators in the state.
• On February 27, 2009 Gov. John Lynch announced a new online resource aimed at helping consumers address potential mortgage problems. Help for New Hampshire Homeowners

New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority’s is a tax exempt public benefit corporation established by the state legislature to finance and support affordable housing opportunities and related services for New Hampshire families “We have found that the best way to help prevent foreclosures is early intervention and education,” said Dean Christon,  the executive director. He strongly urges that distresed homeowners visit the Help for New Hampshire Homeowners site.  Here is where to begin if you are facing foreclosure.

The state encourages distress borrowers to contact the state’s Banking Department Hotline at 1(800)437-5991 between 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM  M-F  to contact trained staff members available to answer foreclosure questions  The banking department can also be reached in person at:

53 Regional Drive, Suite 200,
Concord, NH 03301.

The Don’t Borrow Trouble New Hampshire Campaign is a public education initiative aimed at preventing predatory lending practices in New Hampshire. It’s toll free help line is 1 (866)-623-1302

The state recommends legal assistance through these organizations:

New Hampshire Legal Assistance*
117 North State Street
Concord, NH 03301
Phone: (603) 224-4107
Web: www.nhla.org

* Administrative office only. NH Legal Assistance operates seven offices around the state. Please visit its web site for local/regional office contact information.

New Hampshire Bar Association
(including NH Pro Bono Referral Program)
2 Pillsbury Street, Suite 300
Concord NH 03301
Phone: (603) 224-6942
Web: www.nhbar.org

Legal Advice and Referral Center (LARC)
48 S. Main Street
Concord, NH 03301
Phone: 1-800-639-5290 or (603) 224-3333
Web: www.larcnh.org

Click here to contact a US Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD approved housing counselor in New Hampshire