Fourteen percent of current homeowners received a gift from family or friends to put toward the down payment and closing costs on their first home, according to Bankrate’s Down Payment Survey. If you ...

Cash gifts from others can be used toward a down payment or home purchase. In order for a cash gift to be eligible, mortgage lenders require a gift letter that specifies the amount of the gift, its ...

Matt Webber is an experienced personal finance writer, researcher, and editor. He has published widely on personal finance, marketing, and the impact of technology on contemporary arts and culture.

Saving up the down payment for a home is never easy. But it can be especially discouraging when housing prices are on the rise. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that the national ...

A gift letter for a mortgage confirms that some or all of the borrower’s down payment money is a gift that doesn’t need to be repaid and that the giver isn’t involved in the purchase or ownership of ...

When purchasing a home, one of the critical pieces of information is the amount of a down payment you’re providing. For some potential homebuyers, the down payment funding comes from the sale of their ...