Learn About the "Seller's Gift" for Buying a Home

Are you thinking about buying a home? Having trouble with cash for closing?

You should check out this website. It's just a 29-year-old guy explaining how he bought his home in Texas with only $70 cash. Well, he actually wrote checks for a few hundred dollars right before the closing, but he got a check in return at closing for everything but $70.

The secret: the seller's gift. Basically, he asked the seller to give him $4,000 to cover closing costs. This money is then rolled into the mortgage, and he didn't have to come up with all that cash at closing. Neat, right?

I think this is the same type of thing that people do for improvements to homes they buy. I believe it's akin to a "carpet allowance" or something of that nature. Basically, you finance the house + the extra "gift." The buyer then can do what he wants with that money. In this case, the guy used it for closing costs.