How to Handle Gift Money When Buying a House

So you’re buying a home, and you need to receive gift money to help with your down payment and other items. There is a specific process which you must be sure to follow. Otherwise, there could be major problems at the end of the transaction.

First, you should only get gift money from family, close relatives, your employer, or people whom you can prove a close relationship exists. Ok, here’s the process:

Step one: Have the donor write you a personal check.

Step two: Deposit the check into your personal account.

Step three: After the check is available, print out a transaction history which shows the money available in your account. 

Step four: Have the donor go online and print out the image of the cancelled check. 

Step five: Have the donor provide a copy of their bank statement to show that they already had the money in their account in order to provide the gift to you. 

Step six: Sign the gift letter, which we will provide you with. 

And lastly,

Step seven: Provide all of that information to us as soon as possible.

Verifying the funds needed to close on a purchase is often the most frustrating part of the transaction. So be sure to do all of this sooner than later, and as always, call us with questions.

This quick tip is brought to you by your friends at Liberty Home Mortgage, the homebuying experts who specialize in tough deals. To get pre-approved today, call us at 1-440-838-5291, or apply online here.