Posted on: 08th Apr, 2004 11:37 pm
Mortgage Gift letter is what the donor of the gift writes to the lender stating that he has offered a gift of money to the home buyer.
Homebuyers often require extra funds to make their down payment or pay part/whole of their closing costs when there is shortage of cash to pay for these upfront costs. They can borrow from a non-profit organization but lenders often do not prefer borrowed money as the down payment. In this situation, cash gift from family members is very helpful.
When a gift is made available to a homebuyer applying for a mortgage, he needs to write a mortgage gift letter signed by the donor and attach it with the loan application form. At times, the lender may also provide the buyer with a Gift Letter form which the latter only needs to fill out.
However, if the gift is made by any non-family member such as friend, employer, etc, then a borrower needs to provide documentation of a very close and long lasting relationship.
Homebuyers often require extra funds to make their down payment or pay part/whole of their closing costs when there is shortage of cash to pay for these upfront costs. They can borrow from a non-profit organization but lenders often do not prefer borrowed money as the down payment. In this situation, cash gift from family members is very helpful.
When a gift is made available to a homebuyer applying for a mortgage, he needs to write a mortgage gift letter signed by the donor and attach it with the loan application form. At times, the lender may also provide the buyer with a Gift Letter form which the latter only needs to fill out.
However, if the gift is made by any non-family member such as friend, employer, etc, then a borrower needs to provide documentation of a very close and long lasting relationship.
How to write Mortgage Gift letter
A mortgage gift letter includes the following:
Apart from the above, the gift letter should also state that the buyer need not repay the gift amount. Also, the lender should be assured that the gift funds were not made available to the donor from any person involved with the sale of the property including the seller, broker, real estate agent, loan officer or builder etc.
With gift of money, a buyer can afford to purchase a bigger house. At the same time, he can borrow less and thus reduce his monthly payments. However, the homebuyer needs to provide a written statement and prove that the money he's putting down is a gift. Here's where a mortgage gift letter serves its purpose.
- Name of donor of the gift
- Name of the recipient
- Relationship between the donor and recipient
- Cash amount gifted
- Address of the property for which gift is made
- Source of the funds (bank account, brokerage account etc) as offered by the donor.
Apart from the above, the gift letter should also state that the buyer need not repay the gift amount. Also, the lender should be assured that the gift funds were not made available to the donor from any person involved with the sale of the property including the seller, broker, real estate agent, loan officer or builder etc.
With gift of money, a buyer can afford to purchase a bigger house. At the same time, he can borrow less and thus reduce his monthly payments. However, the homebuyer needs to provide a written statement and prove that the money he's putting down is a gift. Here's where a mortgage gift letter serves its purpose.
My father in law has gifted me and his daughter $50,000 for our home purchase. He lives in Indonesia and he does not feel comfortable revealing his bank statement to even his own daughter yet alone a loan company in the United States. He is super wealthy and of high class in Indonesia with several businesses and does not understand why "stupid" American company need to pry into his financial business. Is my only option to wait 2 months? We were already pre approved and a house we made an offer on is about to be approved in a week or so! Now the loan company is saying we need his bank statement and we can not get it! What do we do??
Hi
If you're putting $50,000 as down payment, the lender would be curious to know about the source of the money. They just want to make sure that you haven't borrowed the money to make the down payment. You can discuss it with your lender and check if there is any other option for you. Otherwise, you'll have to convince your father in law and get his bank statement or arrange the down payment money from some other sources.
If you're putting $50,000 as down payment, the lender would be curious to know about the source of the money. They just want to make sure that you haven't borrowed the money to make the down payment. You can discuss it with your lender and check if there is any other option for you. Otherwise, you'll have to convince your father in law and get his bank statement or arrange the down payment money from some other sources.
I recieved a gift from my parents, they used their credit card to give me the money, is that a problem
Hi anonymous,
Your parents can definitely give you the money as a gift so you can make the down payment. However, they need to send the lenders a mortgage gift letter stating that they have gifted the money to you and you will not have to repay it. I don't think it matters to the lender whether they pay the money through a credit card or a check.
Thanks,
Jerry
Your parents can definitely give you the money as a gift so you can make the down payment. However, they need to send the lenders a mortgage gift letter stating that they have gifted the money to you and you will not have to repay it. I don't think it matters to the lender whether they pay the money through a credit card or a check.
Thanks,
Jerry
If I list someone on my gift as family and they are not truly family, can we get into trouble? Also if it is over $13K do we both have to pay taxes on that? Do they have to pay income tax?
Can a mother gift the down payment to her son to be used for the purchase of her home (mother to son)? The son would eventually get the home if she were to die; but she wants him to have it now. The home is in a trust.
We're about two weeks from closing our escrow and moving...our loan was approved by the underwriter pending verification of some items. ONE deposit to our checking account for $1,000 was a birthday gift to my husband from his parents. This was not intended as part of the down payment, and we have enough money in our accounts to not "need" that one deposit. However, the loan guy said he needs a paper trail on all "unusual" deposits. My in laws will not sign the standard gift letter stating it's for the down payment, because it was not. Do we need a gift letter, and if so, how should it be worded to show that it was a gift for him to use as he pleased?
My husband and I made an offer on a house, and it was accepted. Prior to making the offer, we had been withdrawing our money from the bank and keeping it in a savings box at home. (Long story short, someone took out a power source and caused all bank's, ATM's, credit card machines, landlines, cell phones, etc in our city to crash for several hours. We had no cash on us at the time and had it been for days, we would have been in trouble.)
After we put in the offer on the house, we quickly deposited over $3,000 of our savings into our bank account. Our loan officer is having a hard time trying to explain these funds to his underwriter. As a result, he has asked us if someone can "gift" us the money. We don't know anyone with those kinds of funds, so that is not a possibility. It's so irritating because we have the money ourselves, and worked hard for that money, we just don't have a paper trail to show where some of the funds came from.
As a last resort, we were told that we might have to take our funds out of our bank and give it to someone else who can deposit it into their account, and then they can "gift" it back to us. Does this sound possible? We don't want to let this house slip out from under us!
After we put in the offer on the house, we quickly deposited over $3,000 of our savings into our bank account. Our loan officer is having a hard time trying to explain these funds to his underwriter. As a result, he has asked us if someone can "gift" us the money. We don't know anyone with those kinds of funds, so that is not a possibility. It's so irritating because we have the money ourselves, and worked hard for that money, we just don't have a paper trail to show where some of the funds came from.
As a last resort, we were told that we might have to take our funds out of our bank and give it to someone else who can deposit it into their account, and then they can "gift" it back to us. Does this sound possible? We don't want to let this house slip out from under us!
stacy, can't you sweet-talk your in-laws into complying with the bank so that you can get them off your back?
classy - if you took the money out of the bank to hold on to, and then put it back in the bank, why can't you get documentation to show that you had it to begin with and satisfy your lender's requirements? how long a period was it that you were withdrawing the funds and stashing it at home? if long, that's the root of the problem.
that last paragraph is evidence that someone is trying to get you to do something fraudulent. you cannot take your own money out, give it to someone else and have them "gift" it back to you - that's ridiculous. you must have one wonderful loan officer.
classy - if you took the money out of the bank to hold on to, and then put it back in the bank, why can't you get documentation to show that you had it to begin with and satisfy your lender's requirements? how long a period was it that you were withdrawing the funds and stashing it at home? if long, that's the root of the problem.
that last paragraph is evidence that someone is trying to get you to do something fraudulent. you cannot take your own money out, give it to someone else and have them "gift" it back to you - that's ridiculous. you must have one wonderful loan officer.
I recently received a large cash deposit into my checking account for a down payment but do not want to have to deal with writing a gift letter or having to justify where these funds came from. I am planning on leaving the funds in the account and letting them sit there for at least 2 months until they are considered "seasoned'. After that, I will submit bank statements, but my question is whether I am really in the clear or not if they (the lenders) are only asking for the two most recent bank statements. Will they have the authority to check my account further back than what I provide them? I am afraid they might see the cash deposit if they look even a month past the two statements I provide!
FYI, the funds are not borrowed. They are from my parents, but they do not want to admit to having that much money as they mostly deal with cash and don't keep much of it in the bank.
Any insight will be helpful! Thanks!
FYI, the funds are not borrowed. They are from my parents, but they do not want to admit to having that much money as they mostly deal with cash and don't keep much of it in the bank.
Any insight will be helpful! Thanks!
you could be caught in a trap of your own making, galaxia. depending on the timing, if that large deposit shows up in your 2 month history, then the prior statement will be requested, and the source of that deposit will be requested.
it isn't as easy to season funds as it once was.
it isn't as easy to season funds as it once was.
176000 2 family home in peeksill need donpayment asstance fast
well, bertha, if you think someone is sitting here waiting for an inquiry so he or she can write a gift letter, i'm sad to tell you that's not the case.
can you explain your post a bit more for us?
can you explain your post a bit more for us?
I am buying an investment property. The hard money is no longer available so I need to get a conventional loan. Because it is an investment property I need to put $12,000 (20%) down. Can an investor give that money to my dad who in turn writes me a check for $12,000? I would then have him sign the gift letter. The investor would be paid interest on the money when the property started to cash-flow. Is this wrong?
investor, since you are attempting to obtain a conventional loan, be forewarned - what you propose is not allowed. when purchasing an investment property, you must have your own funds - none of the funds you are using for the purchase are allowed to come from a gift.