Especially when buying a first home, many borrowers look

  to their families for help coming up with the down payment.

  Any blood relation, as well as any relations that are intimate

  and long standing are acceptable. 

  If you do get help from family member, lenders require this

  to come in the form of a "gift." If you're really borrowing the

  money from your family member, intending to pay it back

  later -- your lender doesn't want to know about it. With rare

  exceptions, you are not allowed to borrow money to come

  up with your down payment.

  Your lender will supply you with a form called a "gift letter."

  The gift letter states the relationship between the parties, the

  address of the purchased property, the amount of the gift,

  and sometimes the source of the funds used to make the gift.

  The gift letter also clearly states that the funds are a gift and

  not required to be repaid. You and the person providing the

  gift will have to sign the letter.

  With most lenders, the donor will have to also provide

  evidence that they have the ability to make the gift. This can

  be in the form of a bank or stock statement to show they

  have the funds available. You should also make a copy of

  the check used to make the gift and keep a copy of the

  deposit receipt when you deposit the gift funds into your

  bank account or escrow.