New Hampshire — Contract for Deed / Bond for Deed
Legal information, not legal advice. Verify against the cited primary sources before acting. Statutes in this area are frequently amended. Last verified: 2026-06-08.
New Hampshire has no contract-for-deed-specific statute — no statutory forfeiture/cancellation chapter (contrast washington’s RCW ch. 61.30 or Minnesota’s ch. 559A) and no statutory mortgage-foreclosure mandate for installment land contracts. The instrument is governed by general real-property and contract common law, and its remedy regime is set by the leading case randall-v-riel-1983, 123 N.H. 757, 465 A.2d 505 (1983). There, the New Hampshire Supreme Court held that “contract for deed,” “bond for deed,” and “installment land contract” are synonymous descriptions of “the most commonly employed mortgage substitute,” and that a forfeiture clause cannot be automatically enforced — it is honored as liquidated damages only if it passes a three-part reasonableness test, and otherwise is struck as a penalty, with the defaulting vendee entitled to restitution of payments exceeding the vendor’s actual loss (measured as market value minus contract price plus special damages). That makes New Hampshire a hybrid / penalty-doctrine restitution state: not strict forfeiture, not a codified cancellation regime, and not a statutory treat-as-mortgage foreclosure mandate, but a common-law rule that defeats windfall forfeiture through the penalty doctrine. The mandatory seller disclosure statutes (RSA 477:4-a through 477:4-d) reach a contract for deed because they apply to “any contract for the purchase and sale of any interest in real property.”
0. Identity & Terminology
- In-state name(s): “bond for deed” is the historical New Hampshire term; “contract for deed” and “installment land contract” are treated as synonyms by the Supreme Court. The buyer is the vendee; the seller is the vendor, who retains legal title until final payment. — randall-v-riel-1983, 123 N.H. 757, 465 A.2d 505 (1983), https://law.justia.com/cases/new-hampshire/supreme-court/1983/82-401-0.html
- Recognition: Common law (no CFD-specific statute). General conveyancing and recording rules sit in RSA ch. 477 (Conveyances of Realty and Interests Therein); the remedy rule is judge-made (Randall v. Riel). — RSA ch. 477, https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/xlviii/477/477-mrg.htm
- Statutory home: None specific. Closest statutory touchpoints: RSA 477:15 (oral conveyance / statute of frauds), RSA 477:3-a (recording), RSA 477:4-a/:4-c/:4-d (mandatory pre-sale disclosures), RSA 336:1 (legal interest rate), RSA ch. 480 (homestead), RSA ch. 78-B (real estate transfer tax). — https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/xlviii/477/477-mrg.htm
- Remedy regime: hybrid. A forfeiture/retention clause is enforced only as liquidated damages meeting the three-part Randall test (uncertain damages + intent to liquidate + a reasonable, not-disproportionate amount); otherwise it is a penalty and the vendee recovers the excess over the vendor’s actual damages. No statutory cure period and no statutory foreclosure mandate exist. — randall-v-riel-1983, https://law.justia.com/cases/new-hampshire/supreme-court/1983/82-401-0.html
1. Formation & Mandatory Disclosures
- Statute of frauds: Writing required. “Every estate or interest in lands created or conveyed without an instrument in writing signed by the grantor or his attorney shall be deemed an estate at will only, and no estate or interest in lands shall be assigned, granted or surrendered except by writing signed as aforesaid or by operation of law.” — RSA 477:15, https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/xlviii/477/477-mrg.htm
- Mandatory disclosures: Yes — the general pre-sale disclosure statutes apply
(New Hampshire has no CFD-specific disclosure schedule, but these statutes are
triggered by “any contract for the purchase and sale of any interest in real
property,” which a contract for deed is):
- RSA 477:4-a — Radon, arsenic, lead, PFAS, and flood notification. “Prior to the execution of any contract for the purchase and sale of any interest in real property which includes a building, the seller, or seller’s agent, shall provide the following notification to the buyer,” who must acknowledge receipt by signing. — https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/xlviii/477/477-mrg.htm
- RSA 477:4-c — Water-supply and sewage-disposal disclosure (private water system details, sewage system, food-service seating capacity); if information is unknown, that fact must be conveyed in writing. — https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/xlviii/477/477-mrg.htm
- RSA 477:4-d — Notification for 1–4-family dwellings (private water, sewage disposal, insulation type/location, and federally designated flood-hazard-zone status), in writing, before or during preparation of the offer. — https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/xlviii/477/477-mrg.htm
- RSA 477:4-b (subsurface disposal systems), :4-e (history of property), :4-g (methamphetamine production) and :4-h (public-utility tariff) round out the chapter’s disclosure duties. — https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/xlviii/477/477-mrg.htm
- Form prescribed? No single combined statutory form; each section prescribes its own content and a signed buyer acknowledgment.
- Penalty for omission: Not a per-section damages/rescission penalty. RSA 477:4-a expressly states that nothing in the section creates liability for a seller or agent for failure to provide the notification; the disclosure duties instead operate alongside common-law misrepresentation and the Consumer Protection Act (RSA ch. 358-A). Exact remedy for omission of each section is flagged under needs_verification. — https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/xlviii/477/477-mrg.htm
- Recording requirement: No CFD-specific deadline. General rule: “Every deed or other conveyance of real estate and every court order or other instrument which affects title to any interest in real estate … shall be recorded at length in the registry of deeds … and shall not be effective as against bona fide purchasers for value until so recorded.” A contract for deed (or a memorandum/notice of it) is thus recordable, and recording protects the vendee’s priority; there is no statutory recording deadline and no statute making recording a precondition to any remedy (contrast Washington). Who records: the buyer records to protect priority. — RSA 477:3-a, https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/xlviii/477/477-mrg.htm
- Annual accounting statement: No statutory annual-accounting mandate for contracts for deed (no CFD-specific statute exists). Accounting is contract-governed.
- Prepayment: No CFD-specific prepayment statute located. Terms govern; see needs_verification.
- Usury / interest cap: RSA 336:1 sets the default legal rate at 10% per year “in all business transactions in which interest is paid or secured, unless otherwise agreed upon in writing” — i.e., parties may agree in writing to a different rate, so there is no hard usury ceiling for an arm’s-length written contract. Consumer credit transactions (as defined in RSA 358-K:1, V) are excluded from RSA 336:1. Whether a particular seller-carry contract for deed is a “consumer credit transaction” (and thus subject to RSA ch. 358-K rather than 336:1) is fact-specific. — RSA 336:1, https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXXI/336/336-1.htm
2. Buyer’s Equitable Interest
- Equitable title passes / equitable conversion recognized: Yes (functionally). Randall v. Riel characterizes the bond for deed as a “mortgage substitute” in which the vendee takes possession and the vendor “retains legal title until the final payment is made” as security — the hallmark of equitable conversion, with the vendee holding the beneficial/equitable interest. — randall-v-riel-1983, https://law.justia.com/cases/new-hampshire/supreme-court/1983/82-401-0.html; see equitable-conversion.
- Buyer’s interest recordable: Yes — the contract or a memorandum is an “instrument which affects title to any interest in real estate” and is recordable under RSA 477:3-a; recording protects the vendee against subsequent bona fide purchasers. — https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/xlviii/477/477-mrg.htm
- Buyer’s interest insurable: Generally yes through New Hampshire title insurers (vendee’s-interest coverage); specific NH insurer practice flagged under needs_verification.
- Risk of loss: Contract-governed. No CFD-specific statute; under equitable conversion the vendee in possession ordinarily bears risk of loss absent a contrary clause. (No controlling NH CFD risk-of-loss holding located — needs_verification.)
- Improvements and waste: The vendee in possession may improve the property; on a Randall-compliant resolution the vendor’s recovery is capped at actual damages (market value − contract price + special damages), and special damages can include waste that reduced value. — randall-v-riel-1983.
3. Default & Remedies → see forfeiture-vs-foreclosure
- Primary remedy: Vendor’s contract/equitable remedies, constrained by the penalty doctrine. There is no statutory forfeiture-by-notice procedure and no statutory foreclosure mandate. On the vendee’s default the vendor may sue for the remedy the contract provides and equity allows — but a forfeiture/retained- payments clause is enforced only as liquidated damages if it satisfies the Randall three-part test, and otherwise is reduced to the vendor’s actual damages, with the excess restored to the vendee. — randall-v-riel-1983, https://law.justia.com/cases/new-hampshire/supreme-court/1983/82-401-0.html
- Forfeiture available? Conditionally. A clause letting the vendor keep
payments and the property on default is not automatically enforceable. It is
honored as liquidated damages only when three conditions coexist: (1) the
damages from the breach are uncertain in amount or difficult to prove; (2) the
parties intended to liquidate damages in advance; and (3) the stipulated amount is
reasonable, not greatly disproportionate to the presumable loss. If those fail,
the clause is an unenforceable penalty. — randall-v-riel-1983,
https://law.justia.com/cases/new-hampshire/supreme-court/1983/82-401-0.html
- Substantial-equity bar: New Hampshire has no numeric statutory substantial-equity threshold like washington’s RCW 61.30.120. The functional equivalent is Randall’s penalty-doctrine restitution: a vendee who has paid in (built equity) recovers any payments exceeding the vendor’s actual damages, so a strict forfeiture against an equity-rich vendee is defeated not by an equity threshold but by the reasonableness test. Result-consistent with skendzel-v-marshall-1973. — randall-v-riel-1983.
- Statutory cancellation: None exists. New Hampshire has no statutory cancellation/cure-period regime for contracts for deed — no prescribed notice form, no statutory cure days, no statutory reinstatement right. Any cure/notice rights are contract-governed. (RSA ch. 479-B’s pre-foreclosure-conveyance cancellation rights address foreclosure-rescue transactions, not ordinary installment sales — see §9.) — https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/xlviii/477/477-mrg.htm
- Judicial foreclosure required when: Not statutorily required. A vendor is not compelled by statute to foreclose a contract for deed as a mortgage; however, because Randall treats the instrument as a mortgage substitute and bars windfall forfeiture, a vendor seeking to clear the vendee’s equitable interest typically must obtain a judicial determination (with the Randall damages accounting) or proceed by agreement. — randall-v-riel-1983.
- Acceleration enforceable? Conditional / unresolved by CFD-specific authority. General contract-acceleration principles apply; no controlling NH CFD acceleration holding located. — needs_verification.
- Restitution offset on forfeiture? Yes — required by Randall. Where the retained-payment clause is a penalty, the vendor may keep only actual damages = (market value − contract price) + special damages, and must restore the excess to the defaulting vendee. — randall-v-riel-1983, https://law.justia.com/cases/new-hampshire/supreme-court/1983/82-401-0.html
- Seller’s other remedies: action for damages (capped by Randall measure), specific performance / action for the price, rescission, and recovery of possession (subject to the vendee’s equitable interest and restitution claim).
▸ For Sellers / Operators — New Hampshire is not a strict-forfeiture state and gives you no statutory forfeiture-by-notice shortcut. The controlling rule is randall-v-riel-1983: a clause letting you keep all payments plus the property is enforced only if it reads as reasonable liquidated damages (uncertain damages + intent to liquidate + an amount not greatly disproportionate to loss). If it doesn’t, a court will treat it as a penalty and make you refund payments exceeding your actual damages, where actual damages are (market value − contract price) + special damages. Practical compliance: (1) size any retained-payment clause to a realistic loss estimate and document the rationale; (2) deliver the mandatory pre-sale disclosures (RSA 477:4-a/:4-c/:4-d) and get the buyer’s signed acknowledgment; (3) confirm your federal threshold exposure (§4) — NH has no state SAFE carve-out; (4) note there is no statutory cure period, so build the cure/notice mechanics into the contract; (5) check wrap/due-on-sale consent on any underlying loan (§5). Expect to need a judicial accounting to clear an equity-rich buyer’s interest.
▸ For Buyers — Your strongest protection is Randall: even after default you can recover payments that exceed the seller’s actual loss, so a “you forfeit everything” clause is not self-executing. Record your contract or a memorandum (RSA 477:3-a) to protect priority, and insist the mandatory disclosures (RSA 477:4-a/:4-c/:4-d) are delivered.
3b. Remedies — Advanced
- Election of remedies: No CFD-specific NH election rule located; general contract election principles apply (a vendor cannot both rescind and enforce). — needs_verification.
- Deficiency after forfeiture/foreclosure: Because the vendor’s recovery is capped at actual damages ((market value − contract price) + special damages) under Randall, a vendor whose damages exceed retained payments may in principle pursue the shortfall as damages; conversely an excess is restored to the vendee. No separate statutory deficiency regime applies (no statutory foreclosure). — randall-v-riel-1983.
- Anti-forfeiture / equitable relief from forfeiture: Yes — New Hampshire’s anti-forfeiture protection is the penalty doctrine itself: equity refuses to enforce a disproportionate forfeiture and substitutes the actual-damages measure. — randall-v-riel-1983, https://law.justia.com/cases/new-hampshire/supreme-court/1983/82-401-0.html
- Ejectment vs. eviction path: A defaulting contract-for-deed vendee is an equitable owner in possession, not a tenant, so the vendor’s path to recover possession is not ordinary landlord-tenant eviction but a real-property action that must reckon with the vendee’s equitable interest and Randall restitution. (No controlling NH case squarely classifying the possession path located — needs_verification.)
- Quiet title after cancellation: Because the vendee holds a recorded equitable interest, a vendor typically needs a judicial determination to clear title after default; no statutory quiet-title-after-cancellation shortcut exists. — needs_verification.
- Forfeited payments treatment: Penalty doctrine governs. Retained payments are enforceable only as reasonable liquidated damages; otherwise the excess over actual damages is restored to the vendee. — randall-v-riel-1983.
- Intervening seller-lien risk to buyer: The vendor holds record legal title during the contract, so a judgment or lien against the vendor can attach to the vendor’s interest and cloud the vendee’s path to title; the vendee’s chief defense is to record the contract/memorandum (RSA 477:3-a). — https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/xlviii/477/477-mrg.htm
4. Federal Overlay (as applied in-state) → see dodd-frank-seller-financing, safe-act-mlo, garn-st-germain-due-on-sale
- Dodd-Frank exposure: Federal seller-financing rules apply in New Hampshire with no special state carve-out. A natural-person seller financing one dwelling in 12 months may use the ≤1-property exclusion (no balloon limit, no ATR test); the ≤3-property exclusion (with ATR, no negative amortization) is the next tier — per the “mortgage originator” definition and seller-financer exclusions at 15 U.S.C. § 1602(dd)(2) and 12 C.F.R. § 1026.36(a)(4)–(5) / § 1026.43. — see dodd-frank-seller-financing.
- SAFE Act MLO licensing: A seller exceeding the federal seller-financer thresholds may trigger loan-originator licensing. New Hampshire administers SAFE-Act mortgage-loan-originator licensing through the New Hampshire Banking Department under RSA ch. 397-A (Licensing of Nondepository Mortgage Bankers, Brokers, and Servicers). — NH Banking Department, https://www.banking.nh.gov/; exact RSA 397-A originator-definition cite under needs_verification; see safe-act-mlo.
- State consumer-protection overlay / CFPB enforcement notes: New Hampshire has no CFD-specific predatory-sales statute (no Texas/Minnesota-style reform). The generally applicable overlay is the Consumer Protection Act, RSA ch. 358-A (unfair/deceptive acts in trade or commerce). Post-2016 CFPB/state-AG scrutiny of predatory contract-for-deed selling (e.g. Harbour Portfolio) is the national compliance backdrop. — RSA ch. 358-A (referenced); see dodd-frank-seller-financing.
5. Title, Recording & Wraps → see garn-st-germain-due-on-sale
- Memorandum recording: Permitted. The contract or a memorandum is an instrument affecting title, recordable at the county registry of deeds, and ineffective against bona fide purchasers for value until recorded (RSA 477:3-a). No prescribed memorandum form and no recording deadline. — https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/xlviii/477/477-mrg.htm
- Garn-St. Germain due-on-sale: A contract for deed is a transfer that can trigger a due-on-sale clause in an underlying loan; Garn-St. Germain (12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3) preempts state restrictions and makes due-on-sale clauses generally enforceable, subject to the enumerated residential exemptions (which generally do not cover an installment sale where the borrower parts with occupancy). See garn-st-germain-due-on-sale.
- Underlying-mortgage / wrap: Wrap-around contracts for deed over an existing mortgage are permitted in New Hampshire but carry the standard risk: the senior lender may call or foreclose the underlying loan on a due-on-sale trigger even if the buyer pays the seller on time, and a senior foreclosure can wipe the buyer’s junior equitable interest. No NH statute conditions a wrap on lender consent, so disclosure and payment escrow are contractual best practice. — see garn-st-germain-due-on-sale.
- Deed delivery: The vendor retains legal title and conveys by deed at payoff (commonly a warranty deed; escrow of the executed deed is a common mechanism) — consistent with the Randall description of the instrument. — randall-v-riel-1983.
- Marketable title at payoff: The vendor must convey marketable title at payoff; the recorded contract plus the fulfillment deed clears the chain.
- Title insurance: Available to buyers through New Hampshire title insurers (vendee’s-interest and, at payoff, owner’s policies); specific insurer practice under needs_verification.
- Seller death / bankruptcy effect: The vendor’s interest (legal title + payment stream) passes to the estate or bankruptcy estate subject to the vendee’s recorded equitable interest and right to the deed at payoff. — needs_verification for NH- specific authority.
6. Tax Treatment
- IRC § 453 installment reporting: A contract for deed is an installment sale; a non-dealer seller may report gain under IRC § 453 as principal is collected (dealer-property and other exceptions apply). — 26 U.S.C. § 453, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/453; see irc-453-installment-sale. (New Hampshire has no broad-based personal income or capital-gains tax, so the installment question is primarily federal.)
- Property-tax responsibility: Contract-governed; vendee in possession pays in practice. New Hampshire recognizes equitable title for tax-status purposes: the Department of Revenue Administration Form PA-33 lets a person “holding equitable title or the beneficial interest for life” claim owner-based property-tax treatment under RSA 72:28 and related sections. — NH DRA Form PA-33, https://www.revenue.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt736/files/documents/pa-33-statement-qualification-form.pdf
- Homestead exemption for equitable owner: Eligible (by interest/occupancy). RSA 480:1 grants “every person … $400,000 worth of his or her homestead, or of his or her interest therein” (amount effective Jan. 1, 2026), and the homestead right turns on occupancy of the residence as a primary dwelling rather than on holding bare legal title — so a vendee in possession’s equitable interest supports a homestead right. — RSA 480:1, https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XLIX/480/480-1.htm
- Transfer / documentary-stamp tax: New Hampshire imposes the Real Estate Transfer Tax (RSA ch. 78-B) at 100 of price on each of buyer and seller (combined 100, i.e. 1,000), collected when the deed or transfer instrument is recorded (tax stamps affixed). The tax is keyed to the transfer of title (the deed), so it is generally paid at the fulfillment deed/payoff, not on the unrecorded installment contract; whether recording a contract for deed itself triggers RSA 78-B is fact-specific and flagged under needs_verification. — RSA ch. 78-B; NH DRA Real Estate Transfer Tax, https://www.revenue.nh.gov/resource-center/frequently-asked-questions/real-estate-transfer-tax
- Mortgage registration tax: None — New Hampshire imposes no mortgage recording/registration tax; recording is a flat per-document registry fee.
7. Bankruptcy & Death / Divorce
- Buyer bankruptcy: Whether a New Hampshire contract for deed is an executory contract (11 U.S.C. § 365) or a secured debt in the buyer’s bankruptcy is subject to the national split. New Hampshire’s “mortgage substitute” view of the instrument (randall-v-riel-1983) supports secured-debt-style treatment, but the federal characterization is fact- and court-specific. — needs_verification.
- Seller bankruptcy: The vendor’s interest enters the estate subject to the vendee’s recorded equitable interest and right to the deed at payoff. — needs_verification for NH-specific authority.
- Assignability by buyer: The vendee’s equitable interest is real property and is generally assignable subject to contract terms; anti-assignment and due-on-sale clauses are enforced per their terms (and the Garn-St. Germain overlay for underlying loans). — needs_verification for NH-specific authority.
- Survivorship / divorce treatment: The vendee’s interest is real property that passes by will/intestacy and is divisible marital property on divorce under New Hampshire’s equitable-distribution statute (RSA 458:16-a). — needs_verification for precise NH CFD application.
8. Case Law (real, verified)
| Case | Year | Topic | Holding (plain English) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| randall-v-riel-1983 | 1983 | forfeiture / restitution | ”Bond for deed,” “contract for deed,” and “installment land contract” are synonymous mortgage substitutes; a forfeiture clause is enforced only as reasonable liquidated damages (3-part test) and otherwise is an unenforceable penalty — the defaulting vendee recovers payments exceeding the vendor’s actual damages (market value − contract price + special damages). | https://law.justia.com/cases/new-hampshire/supreme-court/1983/82-401-0.html |
9. Edge Cases (state-specific notes)
- Penalty-doctrine forfeiture (Randall v. Riel) — New Hampshire’s anti-windfall rule: a retained-payments/forfeiture clause survives only if it is reasonable liquidated damages; otherwise the vendee is made whole for the excess. This is the functional analogue to the Skendzel substantial-equity protection, applied through contract law rather than a statute.
- RSA ch. 479-B (Foreclosure Consultants and Pre-Foreclosure Conveyances) — a distinct regime: if a “pre-foreclosure conveyance” (e.g., a sale-leaseback or reconveyance arrangement with a homeowner facing foreclosure) is structured, RSA ch. 479-B imposes a 72-hour “notice of loss of ownership,” a 5-business-day right to cancel, and notarized contracts. It governs foreclosure-rescue deals, not ordinary installment sales — but an operator buying from a distressed owner on terms should confirm it does not apply. — RSA ch. 479-B, https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XLVIII/479-B/479-B-mrg.htm
- garn-st-germain-due-on-sale — a contract-for-deed sale can trigger a due-on-sale clause on an underlying loan; no NH statute conditions a wrap on lender consent.
- (Add: manufactured/mobile-home installment sales; SCRA servicemember protections; whether recording a contract for deed itself triggers RSA 78-B transfer tax.)
10. Operations
- Where records live: County Registry of Deeds where the land lies; contracts for deed, memoranda, and deeds are recorded there (RSA 477:3-a). New Hampshire registries are listed by the state. — NH County Registries of Deeds, https://www.nh.gov/government/county-registry-deeds
- Recorder / agency portals: County registries of deeds (e.g., Rockingham, Hillsborough, Merrimack); Real Estate Transfer Tax administered by the NH Department of Revenue Administration. — NH DRA, https://www.revenue.nh.gov/resource-center/frequently-asked-questions/real-estate-transfer-tax
- Who may draft (UPL notes): Conveyancing and installment-contract drafting that affects legal rights is law practice; because New Hampshire has no standardized CFD statutory form and the Randall penalty rule makes the remedies clause consequential, non-attorney drafting for others risks UPL exposure. Use licensed counsel for the forfeiture/liquidated-damages clause.
- Typical costs: Registry per-document recording fees; Real Estate Transfer Tax 100 each side at the deed (RSA ch. 78-B); no mortgage registration tax.
- Typical timelines: No statutory cure period — cure/notice is contract- governed; clearing a defaulting vendee’s equitable interest typically requires a judicial accounting under Randall.
- Key agencies: County Registry of Deeds; NH Department of Revenue Administration (transfer tax); NH Banking Department (SAFE/MLO licensing); NH Department of Justice / Consumer Protection Bureau (RSA ch. 358-A).
- Useful forms: Recorded contract for deed or memorandum of contract; warranty/fulfillment deed at payoff; RSA 477:4-a/:4-c/:4-d disclosure acknowledgments; NH DRA Form PA-33 (equitable-title property-tax statement); Real Estate Transfer Tax declaration (CD-57/PA-34 series).
11. Meta
- sources:
- {type: statute, url: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/xlviii/477/477-mrg.htm, retrieved: 2026-06-08}
- {type: statute, url: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXXI/336/336-1.htm, retrieved: 2026-06-08}
- {type: statute, url: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XLIX/480/480-1.htm, retrieved: 2026-06-08}
- {type: statute, url: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XLVIII/479-B/479-B-mrg.htm, retrieved: 2026-06-08}
- {type: case, url: https://law.justia.com/cases/new-hampshire/supreme-court/1983/82-401-0.html, retrieved: 2026-06-08}
- {type: agency, url: https://www.revenue.nh.gov/resource-center/frequently-asked-questions/real-estate-transfer-tax, retrieved: 2026-06-08}
- {type: agency, url: https://www.revenue.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt736/files/documents/pa-33-statement-qualification-form.pdf, retrieved: 2026-06-08}
- {type: agency, url: https://www.nh.gov/government/county-registry-deeds, retrieved: 2026-06-08}
- {type: secondary, url: https://contractfordeed.uslegal.com/state-laws/new-hampshire-contract-for-deed-law/, retrieved: 2026-06-08}
- needs_verification:
- Exact remedy/penalty for omission of each RSA 477:4-a/:4-c/:4-d disclosure (RSA 477:4-a disclaims liability; the operative remedy for the other sections — whether rescission, RSA 358-A damages, or none — not pinned to retrieved primary text).
- Whether a CFD-specific prepayment-penalty restriction exists (none located).
- Whether recording a contract for deed itself triggers the RSA 78-B real estate transfer tax, or only the fulfillment deed (RSA 78-B keyed to transfer of title; application to the executory contract not pinned).
- Precise RSA 397-A “mortgage loan originator” definition / threshold for NH SAFE-Act licensing (NH Banking Department administers; exact cite not pinned).
- NH-specific authority on acceleration enforceability, risk of loss, buyer-bankruptcy characterization (§365 vs. secured debt), seller bankruptcy, assignability, and the ejectment-vs.-eviction possession path for a defaulting CFD vendee (general common-law principles stated; no controlling NH CFD holding retrieved on these).
- Availability/terms of vendee’s-interest title insurance from specific NH insurers.
- Direct fetch of the Randall v. Riel opinion was blocked (HTTP 403 on Justia / FindLaw to the fetch tool); the holding and three-part liquidated-damages test were retrieved via search extraction of the same opinion and corroborated across multiple sources — confirm against the bound reporter (123 N.H. 757, 465 A.2d 505) before relying on the exact language.
- open_questions:
- Post-1983 New Hampshire appellate gloss on Randall — has any later NH decision refined the “reasonable liquidated damages” test or the market-value-minus-contract- price restitution measure for installment land contracts?
- Whether a NH court will require a formal foreclosure/judicial sale (vs. a damages accounting) to extinguish an equity-rich vendee’s interest.
- changelog:
- 2026-06-08 — Initial authored page. Primary sourcing from NH General Court (RSA 477:3-a/:4-a/:4-c/:4-d/:15, 336:1, 480:1, ch. 479-B), NH DRA (transfer tax FAQ, Form PA-33), and the verified leading case randall-v-riel-1983, 123 N.H. 757, 465 A.2d 505 (1983). Remedy regime classified hybrid (no CFD statute; common-law penalty doctrine bars windfall forfeiture and grants the defaulting vendee restitution of payments exceeding the vendor’s actual damages). New case page created at cases/randall-v-riel-1983.md.
- cross_links: forfeiture-vs-foreclosure, equitable-conversion, dodd-frank-seller-financing, safe-act-mlo, garn-st-germain-due-on-sale, irc-453-installment-sale, skendzel-v-marshall-1973, sebastian-v-floyd-1979, randall-v-riel-1983, washington
Disclaimer. This page is legal information, not legal advice, and may be out of date. New Hampshire has no contract-for-deed-specific statute; remedies turn on the common-law penalty doctrine of Randall v. Riel and on the facts of each default. Consult a licensed New Hampshire attorney before drafting, enforcing, or signing a contract for deed / bond for deed.