anyone receive family money for a down payment on house?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. I'm really surprised at all the posters who received money. I got zip for the house. But my parents paid for law school (I think I was the ONLY one in my class with that kind of help). So, sort of like teaching a man to fish, I can thank my parents for the ability to make mortgage payments. DH already had a condo when I met him and we sold that to move into our house. I wonder if he had any help from his parents when he first bought the condo. I don't think so though.

I should also add that both of my grandmothers are still living. I don't know if deceased grandparents accounts for some of the help people have received, but I don't think my grandmother expected to make it past 100 and still be kickin' so I'm actually thankfull she didn't give me anything. She would probably need it back now!

[Anonymous]

My grandmother left my mother a small fortune. My mom inherited her home (no mortgage), and bought another home and a time share. My mother hasn't shared any of it or provided any financial support. It is hers, so that is up to her.

What did piss me off is that apparently my grandmother left me a beautiful handmade rocking chair, and my mom demanded it back when my baby was born so she could put it in her "nursery."

[Anonymous]

Yes. My parents gave us 20% downpayment on our house. My parents have always viewed paying 100% for our education, and doing the house downpayment, as part of their "duty". I hope to be able to do both for my kids someday.

[Anonymous]

Nope. I received nothing. Not school, not for a house.

Luckily, my DH's grandmother left him a small sum for a partial down payment on our house (the small sum was lucky, not her passing away). It helped a little, which was appreciated.

[Anonymous]

this post makes me feel better about renting. can't afford to buy, particularly because no family help will be forthcoming. at least i know that i am not a total loser.

[Anonymous]

Sort of. When my grandfather died, he left a decent inheritance for his three daughters. Because my mother had died when I was a teenager, her share went to me and my siblings. My dad said he thought that was fair, since they hadn't been able to help me pay for college. (I got a scholarship for tuition and earned the rest by working.) I used about half to make a 20% down payment on a modest townhouse, and much of the rest paid for my grad school tuition a few years later.

[Anonymous]

We got a 100% loan through dh's employer.

[Anonymous]

For our condo, we got no help. When we upgraded to a single family home, we used some money my DH inherited from his grandmother for the downpayment (though we covered almost 50% ourselves). We would have been able to do it ourselves, but it would have taken another 4-5 years of saving.

[Anonymous]

Yes, but we'd have bought it anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nope. I received nothing. Not school, not for a house.



(...)


this post makes me feel better about renting. can't afford to buy, particularly because no family help will be forthcoming. at least i know that i am not a total loser.

Same here. No help for school or house and this post makes me feel much better about renting...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm struck by all the help so many people seem to receive from parents (and I admit, envious).

DH and I each put ourselves through graduate school (law school for me), with zero help from parents. We bought two houses, again, zero help from parents.

When each of our children were born, my parents gave them each $500 as a gift. That's the largest gift we've ever received from either set of parents (and it wasn't for us, LOL).

replace law school with business school and this is our story, right down to the $500 gifts for the kids! I appreciate all that our parents have done, and certainly didn't expect them to help us buy a home, but I admit I'm kind of envious as well...

[Anonymous]

We did not get any help from our parents (and both sets were struggling financially so we had to provide financial assistance to them). We both had signfiicant student loans from undergrad and professional schools. We had to wait until our late 30s/early 40s to buy our first house.

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised that people are surprised that so many folks get help from their parents to purchase homes. Depending on the couple's jobs and the size/location of the house, I assume that most people who own a home at a young age (before mid-30s) have had help from family unless they bought before the boom. Otherwise, I just don't see how that many people can afford a down payment and/or the mortgage on houses that are as expensive as the ones in this area.

That said, we did not have help. That's why we live in a tiny 3 BR townhouse in Prince William County that we were only able to buy last year because of the housing bust (our house was a foreclosure) and an FHA loan (small down payment). Before that we rented because the idea of owning here was totally out of our reach.

[Anonymous]

My husband had money that was in an account set up by his parents for grad school which we used for our down payment (he never intended to go) so that was a great opportunity for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised that people are surprised that so many folks get help from their parents to purchase homes. Depending on the couple's jobs and the size/location of the house, I assume that most people who own a home at a young age (before mid-30s) have had help from family unless they bought before the boom. Otherwise, I just don't see how that many people can afford a down payment and/or the mortgage on houses that are as expensive as the ones in this area.

That said, we did not have help. That's why we live in a tiny 3 BR townhouse in Prince William County that we were only able to buy last year because of the housing bust (our house was a foreclosure) and an FHA loan (small down payment). Before that we rented because the idea of owning here was totally out of our reach.

I think people do what they can. DH and I had no help at all. Together we make $140K, which isn't a lot in this area, but we managed to scrimp and save for years for a downpayment. In 2000 we bought close-in, in a great neighborhood, and are deeply grateful on a daily basis that we managed to get where we are.