Helping Your Child Buy a Home: Mortgage Options for Families

By George Koutsos, Senior Vice President, CrossCountry Mortgage | Mortgage Loan Officer | NMLS 29613

After more than 35 years helping people buy homes, I'm having one conversation more and more often:

“We'd like to help our child buy a home. What are our options?”

It's becoming a very common part of the homebuying conversation.

For some families, it's a first-time buyer who has a good job and steady income but hasn't had enough time to build substantial savings. For others, parents simply want to help their child get established, move into a community they love or take the next step toward owning a home.

Whatever the reason, the important thing to understand is that helping doesn't necessarily have to look the same for every family.

There may be options worth exploring.

Helping Doesn't Have to Mean One Specific Thing

When parents first call me about helping their child buy a home, they sometimes already have an idea of what that help is going to look like.

My advice is usually to have the conversation first.

There can be different ways for families to approach a home purchase together. The right conversation starts with understanding what the buyer is trying to accomplish, where they are today and how the parents would like to help.

From there, my team and I can explain the financing options that may be available.

I'm not there to tell parents what they should do with their money or tell the buyer how they should purchase a home.

I'm there to make sure everyone understands the options.

Your Child May Be Closer Than You Think

Before deciding how much help your child might need, it's important to understand what they're already capable of doing.

Sometimes parents assume their child needs significant financial help simply because they're buying their first home.

That may not necessarily be the case.

Let's first understand where the buyer stands and what they're hoping to purchase. Then we can determine whether there's a gap and talk about ways that gap might potentially be addressed.

Sometimes the buyer needs less help than everyone expected.

Sometimes there are financing options the family didn't know existed.

And sometimes help from parents can make a meaningful difference.

The point is to understand the possibilities before deciding what to do.

This Is a Family Conversation

Buying a first home is a big milestone, and when parents want to be involved, I want them to feel comfortable being part of the conversation.

I've sat down with plenty of parents and their adult children to talk through a home purchase together. Sometimes we have a financial planner, CPA or attorney involved as well.

That's perfectly fine with me.

My role is the mortgage side of the conversation. I'll explain the financing options, answer questions and help everyone understand what's possible.

Then the family can decide what they're comfortable doing.

There doesn't need to be a predetermined answer before we start.

Start With the Goal

If you're thinking about helping your child buy a home, you don't need to understand mortgage programs before calling me.

You don't need to know exactly how much you're willing to contribute.

And you don't need to have the structure figured out.

The conversation can start very simply:

“My child wants to buy their first home, and I'd like to see if there's a way I can help.”

That's enough.

Let my team and me take it from there.

We'll understand what the buyer is trying to accomplish, look at the financing options that may be available and explain the possibilities.

There May Be More Than One Path

Every family is different.

That's why I don't think this conversation should begin with a specific mortgage product or a recommendation about what parents should do.

It should begin with a question:

What are you trying to accomplish?

Once we know that, we can start looking at options.

Maybe one of them makes sense for your family. Maybe none of them do. But you'll be making that decision knowing what possibilities are available.

After more than 35 years in mortgage lending, I've learned that sometimes the most valuable thing I can give a family isn't an answer.

It's an option they didn't know they had.

If your child is thinking about buying a home and you're wondering whether there's a way you can help, let's have the conversation.

You tell me what your family is trying to accomplish. My team and I will help you understand the financing options that may be available.

About George Koutsos

George Koutsos is a Senior Vice President and mortgage loan officer with CrossCountry Mortgage. With more than 35 years of mortgage experience, George and The Koutsos Team work with homebuyers, homeowners, Realtors and financial professionals on traditional and more complex financing strategies.

George Koutsos
Senior Vice President
CrossCountry Mortgage
781-864-0889
george@teamGK.com
GeorgeKoutsos.com
NMLS 29613