New Hampshire Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

Under RSA 482-A:3, I(a), a person who wants to excavate, remove, fill or dredge in or on any bank, flat, marsh or swamp in and adjacent to waters of the state must first obtain:

• a.A variance from the municipal zoning board of adjustment
• b.A conditional use permit from the local planning board
• c.A written waiver from the town conservation commission
• d.A permit from the Department of Environmental Services✓

RSA 482-A:3, I(a) provides that "no person shall excavate, remove, fill, dredge or construct any structures in or on any bank, flat, marsh, or swamp in and adjacent to any waters of the state without a permit from the department," and RSA 482-A:2, I-b defines "department" as the department of environmental services. The permit is a state authorization and no local body can substitute for it. The municipality does have a role, but a procedural one: the same subparagraph requires the application form to be signed by the clerk of each municipality where the impacts lie, certifying receipt of a paper and a digital copy, and requires the clerk to circulate copies to the local governing body, the planning board and the conservation commission. So the conservation commission is consulted rather than empowered to waive, and a zoning variance or a conditional use permit addresses the ordinance rather than the wetland. Two related jurisdictions sit alongside this one and are cited in the same part of the state outline: RSA 483-A on wetlands boards and RSA 483-B, the Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act.

New Hampshire's real estate transfer tax under RSA 78-B:1 is imposed at $.75 per $100 of the price or consideration. RSA 78-B:1, III applies that rate to:

• a.The purchaser only, as the grantee
• b.Both the purchaser and the seller✓
• c.The seller only, as the grantor
• d.Whichever party the contract names

RSA 78-B:1, I(b) sets the rate: "The rate of the tax is $.75 per $100, or fractional part thereof, of the price or consideration for such sale, grant, or transfer; except that where the price or consideration is $4,000 or less there shall be a minimum tax of $20." RSA 78-B:1, III then provides that "the rate of tax established in RSA 78-B:1 shall apply to both the purchaser, grantee, assignee or transferee and the seller, grantor, assignor or transferor." Each side therefore pays $.75 per $100, so the combined burden on a transfer is $1.50 per $100, or 1.5 percent of the price. Parties commonly agree to shift the economic cost between themselves, but that is a contract term and does not change who the statute taxes. RSA 78-B:1, I(a) presumes every sale, grant and transfer taxable unless specifically exempt under RSA 78-B:2, and RSA 78-B:1, IV treats manufactured housing as real estate once it is placed on a site and tied into required utilities.

RSA 205-A:4 limits the reasons a New Hampshire manufactured housing park owner may terminate a tenancy. Which of the following is a permissible reason under that section?

• a.Condemnation or a change of use of the park✓
• b.The park owner's decision to raise the lot rent
• c.The tenant's refusal to sell the home to the park
• d.The tenant's home being more than 25 years old

RSA 205-A:4 provides that a tenancy "may be terminated by a park owner or operator pursuant to this chapter only for one or more of the following reasons," and paragraph VI is "condemnation or change of use of the manufactured housing park." The other five are non-payment of rent, utility or reasonable incidental service charges; failure to comply with laws or regulations relating to manufactured housing after written notice and a reasonable chance to comply; damage beyond reasonable wear and tear; repeated conduct on the premises disturbing other tenants' peace and quiet; and failure to comply with reasonable written park rules after notice and an opportunity to comply. A rent increase, a refusal to sell the home and the age of the unit are not on the list, so none of them supports an eviction. The change-of-use ground carries the longest notice in the chapter: RSA 205-A:3, III requires 18 months for an action based on RSA 205-A:4, VI, against 60 days for grounds II through V.

RSA 540-A:6, I(a) caps the security deposit a New Hampshire landlord may demand or receive on a residential tenancy at:

• a.One month's rent or $100, whichever is smaller
• b.Two months' rent, in every residential tenancy
• c.One month's rent or $100, whichever is greater✓
• d.One and one-half months' rent, in every tenancy

RSA 540-A:6, I(a) provides that "a landlord shall not demand or receive any security deposit in an amount or value in excess of one month's rent or $100, whichever is greater." Reading the test the other way round would cap a $2,000-a-month tenancy at $100, which is the mirror image of the rule. Two and one and one-half months' rent are figures from other states. Three obligations travel with the cap and are commonly tested together. Under RSA 540-A:6, I(b) the landlord must give a signed receipt stating the amount and the place the deposit is held, and must tell the tenant that conditions needing repair should be reported in writing within 5 days of occupancy - though under I(c) no receipt is required where the tenant pays by personal check, bank check or a check from a government or non-profit agency. Under II(a) the deposit remains the tenant's money and is held in trust. Under IV(a) a landlord holding a deposit for a year or longer must pay interest at the rate the depository pays on regular savings accounts.

RSA 477:3-a requires that a New Hampshire deed be recorded at length in the registry of deeds for the county where the land lies. Until it is recorded, the deed:

• a.Is void as between the grantor and the grantee themselves
• b.Conveys only an equitable interest to the named grantee
• c.May not be received in evidence in any court of the state
• d.Is not effective as against bona fide purchasers for value✓

RSA 477:3-a provides that every deed or other conveyance of real estate, and every court order or instrument affecting title, "shall be recorded at length in the registry of deeds for the county or counties in which the real estate lies and such deed, conveyance, court order or instrument shall not be effective as against bona fide purchasers for value until so recorded." Recording protects the grantee against third parties; it is not what makes the deed work between the two people who signed it, so an unrecorded deed is neither void between grantor and grantee nor demoted to an equitable interest. It is admissible in evidence as well. What actually creates the conveyance is RSA 477:1, under which real estate may be conveyed by deed "without any other act or ceremony whatever," together with RSA 477:3, which requires the deed to be signed by the grantor, acknowledged before a justice, notary public or commissioner, and to show the grantee's mailing address. RSA 477:10 gives an unacknowledged but otherwise properly executed deed 60 days of full effect after recording.

A New Hampshire resident dies intestate leaving a spouse and children, all of whom are also children of that spouse, and the spouse has no other children. Under RSA 561:1, I(b), the surviving spouse receives:

• a.The first $250,000 plus half the balance of the estate✓
• b.The first $100,000 plus half the balance of the estate
• c.The entire estate, with nothing passing to the children
• d.One third of the estate, with the rest to the children

RSA 561:1, I(b) gives the surviving spouse "the first $250,000, plus 1/2 of the balance" where there are surviving issue of the decedent all of whom are also issue of the surviving spouse, and the spouse has no other surviving issue. The remaining paragraphs turn on exactly those two facts. Under I(a) the spouse takes the entire estate only where there is no surviving issue and no surviving parent. Under I(c), issue-free but with a surviving parent, the spouse takes the first $250,000 plus three-quarters of the balance. Under I(d) the figure drops to the first $150,000 plus half where the spouse has children who are not the decedent's, and under I(e) to the first $100,000 plus half where the decedent has children who are not the spouse's. Whatever does not pass to the spouse then descends under RSA 561:1, II, first to the decedent's issue. All of this applies only where there is no valid will; RSA 551:2 requires a will to be in writing, signed by the testator, and attested by two or more credible witnesses.