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Jessica Long
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Can we change our down payment amount once it appraises

Jessica Long
Posted Apr 18 2021, 06:25

Hello! My husband and I have been given the opportunity to buy his parents home at a deep discount which we will live in as our primary residence. We are trying to use a gift in equity to cover the down payment and closing costs (we need to keep as much cash on hand for renovations and a side venture). 

Since we are guessing on what the house will appraise for, is it possible to change our down payment amount once we find out what it appraises for (we will buy at appraisal value and get the difference as a gift in equity between that amount and the actual desired sales price of the owner). We are very open with our lender and still considering other lenders but he’s been a bit confusing or we don’t know enough and so it’s unclear what the answer to this question is (maybe it differs between loan officers?).

Please advise! Thank you

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Taylor L.
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  • Multifamily and Self Storage Investor
  • Richmond, VA
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Taylor L.
Pro Member
  • Multifamily and Self Storage Investor
  • Richmond, VA
Replied Apr 18 2021, 11:31

So let's slap some sample numbers on here. Feel free to reply with more accurate numbers, I'm just pulling these out of the hat so we can understand what you're going for. 

The property is worth $300k on the market and will likely appraise for that. You're getting it at a discount, so maybe $240k. You want to get a loan for that $240k, if it appraises for $300k, and use the $60k built in equity to cover down payment & closing costs? Where does changing your down payment fall in?