New Hampshire requires an attorney at every real estate closing. The New Hampshire purchase and sales agreement, published by NHAR and used across all 14 local boards, is the contract that starts every residential transaction in the state. Understanding how that contract works, what the attorney's role covers, and where a transaction coordinator fits in the process will save you time and prevent deadline failures.
This guide covers the NHAR form, attorney-mandatory closing rules, earnest money procedures, inspection contingencies, and the division of labor between your TC and your closing attorney. Written for New Hampshire agents, their TCs, and out-of-state agents taking NH referrals.
Key takeaways
- New Hampshire is a Category A attorney-mandatory state. An attorney must conduct or directly supervise the closing.
- The NHAR Purchase and Sales Agreement is the standard residential contract used statewide across 14 local boards.
- Earnest money deposits typically range from 2 to 5 percent of the purchase price, held in broker or attorney escrow.
- A TC coordinates the pre-closing file alongside the closing attorney, not in place of them.
- Median home price is $535,000 (2025), up 3.9 percent year over year.
What is the New Hampshire purchase and sales agreement?
The New Hampshire purchase and sales agreement is the standard residential contract published by the New Hampshire Association of REALTORS (NHAR). It covers purchase price, financing terms, earnest money, inspection contingencies, seller disclosures, the closing date, and property condition terms. Every one of NHAR's 14 local boards uses this form as the default for residential transactions.
Agents access the form through Dotloop or zipLogix, depending on which platform their local board has adopted. The form has been updated periodically since 2010, with NAR settlement compliance adjustments presumed in the 2024 to 2025 cycle.
The NHAR form is not the only legal option. Parties can use attorney-drafted contracts, and some transactions (particularly commercial or unique properties) use custom agreements. But for standard residential deals, the NHAR Purchase and Sales Agreement is what you'll see on nearly every file.
Why does New Hampshire require a closing attorney?
New Hampshire is a Category A attorney-mandatory state under the five-category closing convention framework. An attorney must conduct or directly supervise the closing. Non-attorney closings are treated as unauthorized practice of law.
The attorney's role at closing covers several functions:
- Title examination. The attorney searches records and certifies marketability.
- Document preparation. Deeds, security instruments, and affidavits.
- Closing conduct. The attorney sits at the table, explains documents, and manages the signing.
- Fund disbursement. The attorney's office disburses closing funds to the correct parties.
The New Hampshire Real Estate Commission, operating under the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC), regulates real estate practice in the state. RSA 331-A governs the Real Estate Practice Act. The commission's guidance draws a clear line between administrative work (permitted without a license) and real estate transaction services (requiring licensure).
For agents: the attorney handles the legal side of closing. Your TC handles everything before the closing table.
What does the NHAR form cover?
The NHAR Purchase and Sales Agreement addresses every material term of a residential transaction. Here's what each section covers and what a TC tracks against it:
| Contract Section | What It Covers | TC Tracking Point |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price and financing | Offer amount, financing type, down payment | Lender confirmation and commitment deadline |
| Earnest money | Deposit amount, escrow holder, delivery deadline | Deposit receipt and escrow confirmation |
| Inspection contingency | Buyer's right to inspect, response deadline | Inspector scheduling, report delivery, response tracking |
| Financing contingency | Buyer's obligation to pursue financing | Weekly lender check-in, commitment letter deadline |
| Title examination | Title search, marketability, exceptions | Attorney title order, title commitment delivery |
| Closing date | Target close date, extension provisions | Countdown tracking, party readiness confirmation |
| Seller disclosures | Property condition, lead paint (pre-1978) | Disclosure delivery confirmation, review period |
| Possession | When buyer takes occupancy | Pre-closing walkthrough scheduling |
In our NH TC work, the financing contingency and inspection contingency are the two sections that generate the most deadline-sensitive coordination. Missing either deadline can cost the buyer their deposit or their contract rights.
How does earnest money work in New Hampshire?
Standard earnest money deposits in New Hampshire range from 2 to 5 percent of the purchase price. At a $535,000 median home price, that's roughly $10,700 to $26,750.
The NHAR contract specifies the escrow holder at the time of the offer. Two options are standard:
- Broker escrow. The listing broker or buyer's broker holds the deposit in a federally insured escrow account per RSA 21:34-A.
- Attorney escrow. The closing attorney holds the deposit in a trust account. This is more common when attorney involvement begins early in the transaction.
Delivery timing varies by local board custom but typically runs 24 to 72 hours after contract execution. The TC confirms deposit receipt with the escrow holder on intake and tracks it through to credit at closing.
Disputes over earnest money in New Hampshire are resolved by agreement between the parties, mediation, or court intervention. There is no streamlined statutory release procedure, so disputes can delay closings. In our experience, clear documentation of contingency deadlines and written notices of timely performance prevent most deposit disputes before they start.
What are the key contingency deadlines?
New Hampshire residential contracts contain several contingency windows that create hard deadlines. Missing these deadlines can waive the buyer's rights or expose either party to default claims.
Inspection contingency. The buyer has a negotiated window (typically 10 to 14 days) to conduct inspections, review results, and request repairs or credits. If the buyer doesn't deliver a written response within the window, the contingency may be deemed waived depending on the contract language. The TC schedules the inspector, tracks report delivery, and ensures the buyer's agent submits any repair requests before the deadline.
Financing contingency. The buyer must pursue financing in good faith and typically must secure a commitment letter by a specified date. Weekly lender check-ins from the TC keep this on track. If the lender can't commit by the deadline, the buyer may need to request an extension or risk losing the deposit.
Title contingency. The closing attorney examines title and issues a title commitment. Title exceptions (liens, easements, encroachments) must be resolved before closing. The TC tracks title order, commitment delivery, and exception resolution.
Appraisal contingency. If the property appraises below the purchase price, the buyer may have a window to renegotiate or terminate. The TC tracks appraiser scheduling and appraisal delivery.
In our NH TC work, we build a master timeline on intake that maps every contingency window against the closing date. Each deadline gets a 48-hour advance alert so nobody is scrambling at the wire.
How does the TC work alongside the NH closing attorney?
In New Hampshire, the transaction coordinator and the closing attorney serve different functions on the same file. The attorney is the legal authority. The TC is the operational coordinator.
What the attorney handles:
- Title examination and certification
- Deed and mortgage preparation
- Closing-table conduct and document explanation
- Fund disbursement and recording
What the TC handles:
- Contract intake and timeline build against the NHAR form
- Earnest money deposit confirmation and tracking
- Inspection scheduling and report routing
- Lender coordination (weekly check-ins, commitment tracking)
- Document collection from all parties
- Disclosure delivery and review-period tracking
- Pre-closing walkthrough scheduling
- Broker-file assembly for commission compliance
The relationship with the attorney's office is the most important coordination channel on a New Hampshire file. The attorney's paralegal or closing coordinator is usually the day-to-day contact. Weekly check-ins on title status, disclosure delivery, and lender readiness keep the file moving toward the closing date.
In our experience on NH files, the most common failure mode is a breakdown in communication between the lender and the attorney's office in the final week before closing. The TC bridges that gap by keeping both parties updated on document status and outstanding conditions.
What makes New Hampshire closings different from other states?
New Hampshire sits in a distinct market position within New England. Here are the characteristics that shape NH files:
Attorney-mandatory but not heavily formalized. Unlike Connecticut (where CGS Section 51-88a makes non-attorney closings a Class D felony) or Massachusetts (where SJC No. 10744 explicitly requires attorney analysis of closing documents), New Hampshire's attorney requirement is enforced by state practice rules rather than a single statutory citation. The practical result is the same: an attorney conducts every closing. But the enforcement mechanism is less codified, which means practices can vary slightly by region.
Seacoast and Boston commuter corridor. The seacoast region (Portsmouth, Exeter, Hampton) and the southern border towns (Nashua, Salem, Londonderry) function as a Boston commuter market. Agents in these areas handle higher price points and faster timelines. Out-of-state buyers from Massachusetts are common, creating referral-heavy files that benefit from a TC who understands both states.
Seasonal real estate patterns. New Hampshire's market peaks in summer and during ski season (December through February). Vacation and second-home purchases in the White Mountains and Lakes Region areas involve longer due diligence periods and sometimes out-of-state attorneys or buyer representation.
14 local REALTOR boards. NHAR's 14 boards (Seacoast, Greater Manchester/Nashua, White Mountain, Lakes Region, and others) each have local customs around earnest money delivery timing, inspection periods, and title company selection. A TC familiar with the local board's norms can prevent confusion on multi-board transactions.
How much does closing cost in New Hampshire?
New Hampshire closing costs vary by transaction size and whether the buyer or seller is paying. Here's a general breakdown:
| Cost Item | Typical Range | Who Pays |
|---|---|---|
| Attorney fees | $800 to $1,500 | Buyer (sometimes split) |
| Title insurance | $400 to $800 | Buyer |
| Title search | $200 to $400 | Buyer |
| Recording fees | $50 to $150 | Buyer |
| Transfer tax (real estate transfer tax) | $15 per $1,000 of sale price (split by custom) | Buyer and seller split |
| Lender fees (origination, underwriting) | Varies by lender | Buyer |
| Home inspection | $400 to $600 | Buyer |
| Appraisal | $400 to $600 | Buyer |
New Hampshire's real estate transfer tax is $15 per $1,000 of the sale price. On a $535,000 sale, that's $8,025, typically split between buyer and seller. This is one of the larger closing-cost line items in the state.
The TC doesn't set these costs, but tracking them across the file ensures the closing disclosure matches what the parties agreed to in the contract. Discrepancies between the contract terms and the closing disclosure are one of the most common last-minute closing delays we see on NH files.
What should agents know about the 2024 to 2025 market changes?
The post-NAR settlement landscape (effective June 2024) has changed how New Hampshire transactions are structured in several ways relevant to TCs:
Buyer broker agreements. Agents must now use written buyer representation agreements before showing property. The TC tracks execution of these agreements and ensures they're in the broker file.
Unbundled compensation. Buyer-agent compensation is no longer automatically offered through MLS. The NHAR form and addenda now include buyer broker compensation language that must be negotiated separately. The TC confirms compensation terms match across the listing agreement, buyer broker agreement, and purchase contract.
Increased form complexity. Additional disclosures and agreements mean more documents per file. The TC tracks each one against its delivery deadline and ensures nothing falls through the cracks.
For agents processing 15 or more transactions per year, these changes added meaningful administrative burden to every file. That's where outsourced TC coordination pays for itself.
How Quill coordinates New Hampshire files
Quill is an outsourced transaction coordination firm that runs NH files alongside the closing attorney. We handle the pre-closing coordination so the attorney can focus on the legal work and you can focus on your next client.
Every NH file includes: NHAR timeline build, earnest money confirmation, inspection and contingency tracking, weekly lender check-ins, document collection, disclosure routing, title coordination with the attorney's office, and broker-file assembly.
Flat fee of $350 per file, billed at close. First file free.
For more on how Quill works in attorney-mandatory states, see Attorney State vs Title State: How Real Estate Closings Work. For New Hampshire state-specific TC services, see the New Hampshire hub page.