When your names share an account
If your son or daughter uses an account they share with you, programs that count assets ask for an access letter from anyone on the account who is not on the loan.
Asset-based loans
River Vale, Bergen County
Helping a grown child buy a home: a guide for River Vale, NJ parents
For River Vale parents who want to help a son or daughter buy a home: how a gift is documented, what co-signing does to your own credit, and the papers each of you needs. Fidelity Residential is a direct, licensed mortgage lender with a New Jersey office on Route 36 in West Long Branch, in Monmouth County, and we lend across New Jersey.
- Direct, licensed mortgage lender
- NMLS #103098
- Equal Housing Lender
How do you want to help?
Pick the closest, or call and talk it through.
Fidelity Residential · NMLS #103098 · Equal Housing Lender
River Vale housing
Long-settled owners
River Vale numbers about 10,100 residents and about 3,500 homes in the Census Bureau’s 2020 to 2024 survey estimates, and an estimated 90.0 percent of its occupied homes are owned.
About three households in ten, an estimated 30.4 percent, have been in their home since before 2000, and about 1,100 owner-occupied homes have no mortgage. Half of owner-occupied homes are valued above about $775,000 and half below, by the Census estimate.
Fidelity Residential is a direct mortgage lender licensed in New Jersey under a Residential Mortgage Lender License. Our office is at 121 NJ-36, Suite 230, West Long Branch, in Monmouth County; we do not have an office in River Vale, and we lend across New Jersey.
Homes and households
- Married-couple households: an estimated 76.5 percent of households
- Someone 65 or older: an estimated 36.1 percent of households
- Houses standing on their own lots: an estimated 77.2 percent of homes
- 1970s construction: an estimated 19.2 percent of homes
- Worth $500,000 to $999,999: an estimated 67.8 percent of owner-occupied homes, by the Census value bands
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024. Estimates, not counts.
A gift
Giving money toward the down payment
A gift from a parent can cover the down payment on many loans, within each program’s limits. The lender needs two things from you: a gift letter, and a record of the money moving.
The letter. A gift letter names you, your son or daughter, and the amount you are giving. It goes into their loan file with the rest of their papers.
The record. Keep the record of the transfer from your account to theirs. Large deposits are explained and traced to their source, so a clear trail saves questions later.
Talk first, then move it. If family is giving money, the loan officer should hear about it before it moves, and the record of it moving goes in the file.
Which loans. FHA loans let a documented gift cover the down payment, and other programs have their own gift rules. On a conventional loan for a rental, gift money cannot be used.
Co-signing
What co-signing does to your own credit
Some parents are asked to go further and sign the loan. Be careful: a loan you co-sign counts as your debt, and late payments on it show on your report.
At some programs, a relative who is not moving into the home can co-sign. That makes you a borrower on the loan, and you send your own identification and income documents like anyone else on it.
The payment also counts as your debt when you apply for a loan of your own later, so weigh it against your own plans.
Before you sign
- Your credit: the loan shows on your report, late payments included
- Your debts: the payment counts as yours
- Your papers: identification and income documents, as for any borrower
- Your plans: a refinance or a new loan of your own reads this debt too
- Your advisers: tax and estate questions go to your CPA or attorney
Other ways to help
Help that is not a gift or a signature
Some help moves no money at all, and some is set by each program’s own rules.
Programs alongside a gift
Several assistance programs allow a documented gift alongside their help. Each one sets its own rules, so ask before planning on it.
Down payment assistanceHabits before they apply
Opening new credit or financing a car in the middle of the process is one of the habits that sinks first-time files. A quiet few months help.
Improve your credit
Questions
Questions from River Vale parents
Do you lend in River Vale?
Yes. Fidelity Residential is a dba of PFN Lending Group, Inc. (NMLS #103098), which holds a New Jersey Residential Mortgage Lender License, and we lend across New Jersey. You can check the licence on NMLS Consumer Access (opens in a new tab).
Do you have an office in River Vale?
No. Our office is at 121 NJ-36, Suite 230, West Long Branch, NJ 07764, in Monmouth County, and we lend across New Jersey. Call 732-686-9999 to talk with a licensed loan officer.
Can I give my son or daughter money for the down payment?
On many loans, yes, within each program’s limits. The lender needs a gift letter and a record of the money moving.
Does co-signing affect my own credit?
Yes. A loan you co-sign counts as your debt, and late payments on it show on your report.
Can I co-sign if I am not moving into the home?
At some programs a relative who does not plan to live there can co-sign. You become a borrower on the loan, with your own documents and credit.
Can a gift help buy a rental property?
Under conventional rules for a rental, no: gift money cannot be used. Ask a loan officer about any other program before planning on it.
Talk with a loan officer near you
Get a quote online, or call us and talk it through with a licensed loan officer.
What happens next
- Tell us about your loan. A few quick questions about the property and the loan you want. No credit check to start and no obligation.
- A licensed loan officer reviews your answers and follows up with you, usually within one business day.
- This is a request for a quote, not a loan application and not a commitment to lend.
This page is general information, not a commitment to lend. Programs, terms and eligibility depend on credit, income, property and underwriting review and are subject to change without notice.
Reviewed by Robert Shamie, CEO, NMLS #241428 · Last reviewed:
Fidelity Residential (PFN Lending Group, Inc., NMLS #103098) is a direct mortgage lender licensed in 40 states and the District of Columbia, with 26 years in business.