Market Value. Real estate must be valued at “market value,” and market value means “the property’s full and true value as the same would be appraised in payment of a just debt due from a solvent debtor.” RSA 75:1.
Arms-length transaction. An arm’s-length transaction is a transaction freely arrived at in the open market, unaffected by abnormal pressure or by the absence of normal competitive negotiation as might be true in the case of a transaction between related parties. See Appeal of Lakeshore Estates, 130 N.H. 504, 508 (1988).
Also of note….
Homestead. Each person’s homestead in property in which he or she maintains a dwelling is exempt from attachment except in limited circumstances. The amount of the homestead exemption is $100,000 and lasts for the lifetime of the owner and his or her surviving spouse. RSA 480:1; 3-a.
The New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled last month that the odor of cat urine could constitute a “direct physical loss” under a homeowner’s insurance policy it was asked to interpret. Mellin v. Northern Security Insurance Company (April 24, 2015). The plaintiffs/claimants noticed a urine odor in about 2010, and surmised it entered their condominium unit from the downstairs unit through an open plumbing chase servicing the kitchen. The Epping building/health inspector examined the unit and informed the plaintiffs a health problem existed and that the odor was such the plaintiffs needed to vacate the unit to have a company terminate the odor. The remediation was unsuccessful. The plaintiffs could not lease the unit, and ultimately sold it at a price considerably less than for comparable condominiums unaffected by cat urine odor. The Court ruled the plaintiffs were not required to demonstrate a “tangible physical alteration” to the unit or to prove that the unit was rendered permanently uninhabitable. Rather, to demonstrate a physical loss under the policy, they were required to establish a distinct and demonstrable alteration to the unit. The Court remanded the case to the superior court to apply this standard to the facts of the case.