parents helping with down payment??

[Anonymous]

was chatting with my neighbor, a very well to do attorney who bought a 1.5 million home next door and said that his parents helped him by loaning him 500k for the down payment?!? he said several of his friends were fortunate to get this level of help. he's fairly humble about it (it came up because i asked a leading question.

i'm kind of blown away

how common is this?

[Anonymous]

This can't possibly be the first time you are hearing of a parent helping with a down payment. Are you similarly shocked to learn that parents often help pay for their children's weddings?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:was chatting with my neighbor, a very well to do attorney who bought a 1.5 million home next door and said that his parents helped him by loaning him 500k for the down payment?!? he said several of his friends were fortunate to get this level of help. he's fairly humble about it (it came up because i asked a leading question.

i'm kind of blown away

how common is this?

It's extremely common - especially for first time home buyers. So common that I would guess that most have this. Be aware that the bank is going to ask for your parent's bank statements as well as yours in this case.

[Anonymous]

Very common. In fact, most people I know in certain areas of DC had family help with many parents buying the house outright. It was weird to me too at first.

[Anonymous]

Very common, but also extremely common in our parents' generation. Both my parents and in-laws had help with their first homes, although both grew up blue collar (respectively, the kids of a carpenter and an auto worker).

[Anonymous]

wedding sure. but to cough up 500K for a down payment, that blew me away. what's the typical payback schedule?

[Anonymous]

Common. We were provide with a significant down payment from both sets of parents. My husband and I will do the same for our child.

[Anonymous]

Not unheard of among Indians. Parents typically pay for college, wedding and down payment for home if they can. college and wedding is pretty common for all SES.

[Anonymous]

My blue collar parents are going to loan us $100k to help buy a house, and it will be paid back when we sell our old house. I don't know of anyone in my current circle who has had help. I feel like nearly everyone I know in DC is a transplanted middle class midwesterner.

[Anonymous]

With housing prices as high as they are here, I'm not surprised. Not sure if I'll have that much money to give, but I'll sure try to give some.

[Anonymous]

Don't ask leading questions about how people can afford their houses. It's incredibly rude.

[Anonymous]

We got a 20k loan from a parent to bridge what we needed for a down payment to keep the loan just under the jumbo threshold. Paid it back within a year along with interest. 500k free and clear would have been life changing. Nice for them that their parents were in that position. We hope to be able to provide help to our kids or grandchildren (although not likely to that level of generousity).

[Anonymous]

Immigrant here. Coughed up 260k for downpayment with DW all on our own. No help from parents. Even if our parents had the $$ we would not take it. Maybe its a pride thing. Honestly, maybe I am judgemental, but being grown adults and getting monetary help from parents I personally frown up. People should have some self-respect and pay for the choices they make on their own. In our situation, we'll be helping our parents vs. the other way around.

[Anonymous]

My grandparents bought my parents first house outright for them. My parents gave us 100K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Immigrant here. Coughed up 260k for downpayment with DW all on our own. No help from parents. Even if our parents had the $$ we would not take it. Maybe its a pride thing. Honestly, maybe I am judgemental, but being grown adults and getting monetary help from parents I personally frown up. People should have some self-respect and pay for the choices they make on their own. In our situation, we'll be helping our parents vs. the other way around.

American here. I agree.
We bought our first home when I was 23 and Dh was 28. Not in the DC area, but another high cost of living area (San Diego.) Not a single dime from either of our parents.