The cleanest source is straightforward cash from savings: easiest to document, and it creates no new cost for your parents. If the money is tied up, the other common routes each carry a trade-off worth weighing: - Selling investments frees up cash but can trigger capital gains, so that's a conversation for their CPA. - A HELOC or cash-out refinance on their home gives them liquidity but adds a monthly payment on their end. - Tapping a retirement account is usually the least attractive, since a withdrawal before retirement age can trigger income tax plus an early-withdrawal penalty under IRS rules (some plans allow a loan instead, which avoids that). Whatever the source, the lender will want a clean paper trail: a signed gift letter, proof the funds moved to you, and depending on the program, evidence of where your parents' money came from (FHA requires documenting the donor's ability to give; conventional generally doesn't). Plan the documentation up front. On taxes, a gift like this generally isn't taxable to you or to your parents at the time. Amounts above the annual gift exclusion simply reduce their lifetime estate exemption rather than creating a tax bill for most families. Have them confirm the specifics with a CPA, since gift and tax rules change. We'll map exactly how the gift needs to be documented for your loan on the free Roadmap conversation.