Did you know a family Memember can Lend the borrower their downpayment and closing cost? Read the 4155

Family Member Lending-Family members (defined below) may help with the costs of acquiring a home in the form of a gift or a loan. All such gifts must also meet the requirements of paragraph 2-10(C). FHA permits family member to lend on a secured or unsecured basis, up to 100 percent of the homebuyer's required cash investment. This lending may include the downpayment, closing costs, prepaid expenses and discount points. If the money lent by the family member is secured against the subject property, whether borrowed from an acceptable source or from the family member's own savings, only the family member provider(s) may be the note holder. FHA will not approve any form of securitization of the note that results in any entity other than the family member being the note holder, whether at loan settlement or at any time during the mortgage life cycle.
Further, if the funds that are lent by the family member are borrowed from an acceptable source, the homebuyer may not be a co-obligor on that note (e.g., the son and daughter-in-law may not be co-obligors on the note used to secure money borrowed by the parents that in turn was lent for the down payment).

The following financing terms and conditions also apply:

1. The maximum insurable mortgage is not affected by gifts or loans from family members.

2. The combined amount of financing may not exceed 100 percent of the lesser of the property's value or sales price, plus normal closing costs, prepaid expenses, and discount points. While the family member may lend 100 percent of the cash investment requirements, cash back to the homebuyer (beyond refund of any earnest money deposit) at closing is not acceptable.

3. If periodic payments of the secondary financing are required, the combined payments may not exceed the borrower's reasonable ability to pay. The secondary financing payments are to be included in the total debt-payment-to-income ratio (i.e., the "back-end" ratio) for qualifying purposes.

4. The second lien may not provide for a balloon payment within five years from the date of execution.

5. If the family member providing the secondary financing borrows those funds, the source may not be any entity with an identity-of-interest in the sale of the property, including the seller, builder, loan officer, real estate agent, etc. Mortgage companies that have retail banking affiliates may have that entity make a loan to the family member, providing the secondary financing for the home purchase. However, the lending institution may not make such financing available under terms and conditions more favorable than to other borrowers (i.e., there may not be any special considerations provided in connection between making the mortgage and lending funds to family members to be used as secondary financing for the purchase of the home).

6. An executed copy of the document outlining the terms of the secondary financing must be maintained in the lender’s file. An executed copy of this agreement also must be provided in the endorsement binder.

For the purposes of this paragraph, a “family member” is defined as a child, parent, or grandparent of the borrower or borrower’s spouse. Included in this definition are legally adopted sons or daughters (and a child who is a member of an individual's household, if placed with such individual by an authorized agency for legal adoption by that individual), and foster children. The term "child" means a son, stepson, daughter, or stepdaughter.