Crampton Inspection Service

Real Estate Services

  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
  • Resources
    • First Time Home Buyer Tips
    • First Time Home Seller Tips
    • Home Pricing 101
  • Blog
  • Visit Our Website
  • Contact

The Right Way To Take A Cash Gift For Downpayment

May 18, 2010 by Crampton Inspection Service Leave a Comment

How to accept a cash gift on a mortgageAs lenders tighten mortgage guidelines for Walnut Creek home buyers, minimum downpayment requirements are increasing.  Several years ago, you could finance a home with nothing down. Today, most conventional mortgages require at least 10 percent.

Anecdotally, guideline changes have led to an increase in the number of home buyers accepting cash gifts from family.

Gifts are allowed in most cases but the problem is, if you don’t accept the gift in a “lender-friendly” way, the mortgage underwriter could reject it, and negate it.

You can’t just deposit a cash gift into your bank account. You have to follow a series of steps and keep records.

  1. Provide an acceptable gift letter signed by all parties
  2. Provide documentation of the gifter’s withdrawal of funds via teller receipts
  3. Provide documentation of the giftee’s deposit of funds via teller receipts

Lenders require these 3 steps for two basic reasons.  First, they want to make sure that the cash gift is “clean” (i.e. not laundered).  Second, they want to make sure the gift is really a gift and not a loan-in-disguise.

It’s why lenders typically require that the loan application be accompanied by a signed, dated letter.

For example:

I am the [relationship to recipient] of [name of recipient] and this letter serves as evidence that I am gifting [name of recipient] [amount of gift] to be used for the purchase of the home at [complete address of property].

This is a gift — not a loan — and there is no expectation of repayment.

Signed,
[Signature of gifter]

As an additional step, home buyers receiving cash gifts should make sure that gifted funds are not commingled at the time of deposit. If the cash gift is for $10,000, therefore, the bank’s deposit slip should indicate that a $10,000 deposit was made — nothing more, nothing less. Don’t add a random $100 deposit to the transaction, in other words. The $100 deposit should be a separate transaction.

It’s also worth noting that gifting funds between family members can create both legal and tax liabilities.  If you’re unsure about how donating or receiving a gift may impact you, call or email me directly.  If I can’t help you with your questions, I can refer you to somebody that can.

Filed Under: Mortgage Guidelines Tagged With: Cash Gifts,Gift Letter

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Logo

Contact Us


Crampton Inspection Service

P.O. Box 6043
Moraga, CA 94570
Phone: 925-376-7707
Email: john@your-home-inspector.com
CALL (925) 376-7707

How can we help?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Connect with Us



max-width: 80px;

Recent Articles

  • What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – March 20, 2023
  • How to Get Along With Your Homeowners Association
  • Manage These 3 Items Before Applying For A Mortgage
  • Short-Term Vacation Rentals: What To Know
  • What To Know About Property Lines
Certified with California Real Estate Inspection Association (CREIA) and American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI)

Looking For Something?

Our Location

P.O. Box 6043
Moraga, CA 94570

Copyright © 2023 · Powered by MySMARTblog