CaptainNapalm
Junior Member
Hello everyone,
I'm new here and looking for some general advice on something that has been weighing heavily on my heart.
My wife and I bought a home together. We are both employed, earn good money, have a decent downpayment, no debts and in good standing with the banks which will allow us to benefit from a great mortgage rate. My wife's mother has offered to give us $100,000 of her own money to put towards the house. My intuitive reaction to this was not to take the money because we really don't need it and we can afford to pay off our home without her help. My wife feels otherwise and strongly believes that we should take the money so that we can shave off a few hundred dollars in payments every month and not have to pay the bank interest on that extra money.
Initially when my wife was trying to convince me to take her mom up on the offer, she made it seem like the money would be a gift which we would have to repay only if there was som dire emergency and her mom really needed the funds. Now her mom said that she wants to offer us the money, provided I sign a contract form stating that the $100,000 is a loan and that I promise to repay it in an event that we divorce or sell the house. Basically, this indicates that she doesn't want me to be entitled to any of that money if things don't workout between us. This doesn't bother me at all because I don't want a penny of that money in the first place but this whole proposition is not sitting well with me at all. Afterall, I don't want to carry a burden of knowing that I have to pay off $100,000 to someone at some point if circumstances fall a certain way. I'd rather add that initial amount on my mortgage and have both my wife and I strive to pay everything off. I also wonder if having this loan hanging over my head for many years to come will cause some negative implications on my credit. Will I have to legally state this loan if I apply for any major credit? Will my mother in law have partial rights to the property down the line? Basically, I'm wondering if by signing this promise-to-repay contract to my mother in law, will this somehow be able to make my life difficult down the line. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
I'm new here and looking for some general advice on something that has been weighing heavily on my heart.
My wife and I bought a home together. We are both employed, earn good money, have a decent downpayment, no debts and in good standing with the banks which will allow us to benefit from a great mortgage rate. My wife's mother has offered to give us $100,000 of her own money to put towards the house. My intuitive reaction to this was not to take the money because we really don't need it and we can afford to pay off our home without her help. My wife feels otherwise and strongly believes that we should take the money so that we can shave off a few hundred dollars in payments every month and not have to pay the bank interest on that extra money.
Initially when my wife was trying to convince me to take her mom up on the offer, she made it seem like the money would be a gift which we would have to repay only if there was som dire emergency and her mom really needed the funds. Now her mom said that she wants to offer us the money, provided I sign a contract form stating that the $100,000 is a loan and that I promise to repay it in an event that we divorce or sell the house. Basically, this indicates that she doesn't want me to be entitled to any of that money if things don't workout between us. This doesn't bother me at all because I don't want a penny of that money in the first place but this whole proposition is not sitting well with me at all. Afterall, I don't want to carry a burden of knowing that I have to pay off $100,000 to someone at some point if circumstances fall a certain way. I'd rather add that initial amount on my mortgage and have both my wife and I strive to pay everything off. I also wonder if having this loan hanging over my head for many years to come will cause some negative implications on my credit. Will I have to legally state this loan if I apply for any major credit? Will my mother in law have partial rights to the property down the line? Basically, I'm wondering if by signing this promise-to-repay contract to my mother in law, will this somehow be able to make my life difficult down the line. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
