(a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, a mortgage discharge executed on behalf of a banking or lending institution with respect to a mortgage encumbering a one- to four-family residential real property, including a residential unit in a condominium or in a common interest community as defined in Title 27A, that is not valid because it is not executed by or is not issued by or in the name of the record holder of the mortgage, shall be valid as if it had been issued or executed by the record holder of the mortgage if:
(1) No person has within three years after the discharge is recorded brought an action challenging the validity of the discharge and recorded a copy of the complaint in the land records of the town where the discharge is recorded; and
(2) An affidavit is recorded that is dated more than three years after the recording date of the mortgage discharge and contains the following:
(A) A statement that the affiant has been the record owner of the real property described in the mortgage for at least two years prior to the date of the affidavit.
(B) The recording information for the mortgage, any assignments, and the release.
(C) A statement that, since the date of the recording of the release, the affiant has received no demand for payment of all or any portion of the debt secured by the mortgage and has received no notice or communication that would indicate that all or any portion of the mortgage debt remains due or owing.
(D) A statement that, to the best of the affiant's knowledge and belief, the mortgage has been paid in full.
(b) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any release obtained by fraud or forgery. (Added 2007, No. 177 (Adj. Sess.), ยง 4.)
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