Having a rich family member who can just hand you a home would be wonderful, but that’s not the norm. For most people buying their first home, scrapping together enough money is the hardest part. And in this housing market where you may have to make 5 or 6 offers of houses – that’s saying a lot. A lot of these houses will be 300 to 400 thousand dollars. For example, a very humble downpayment of just 5% will come out to $15,000 dollars for a $300,000 house. And remember, that doesn’t include the thousands of dollars for other expenses on top of that! This can become quite the challenge for younger aspiring homeowners trying to get into their first home and start building real estate wealth!
Thankfully, mortgage banks and the government not only allow, but encourage family members to help chip in for these down payments. Now don’t roll your eyes just because you don’t have that rich aunt who promised you 3 million dollars. Many families have saved up sizable chunks of money to help their kids with college or a first house! Remember how you needed 15,000 dollars for that downpayment? A gift from a parent, grandparent, or aunt of even 5 or 10 thousand dollars can drastically shrink the timeline when you are saving up for 15 thousand. This can be the boost that you need if you are a cash strapped first time homebuyer. Close family and relatives who may be hesitant to toss money around tend to more generous when it is for such a life-changing gift as helping an aspiring home owner get into their own place. So next time you are wondering where you are going to come up with 15 or 20 thousand, you might want to pay special attention at the family reunion.