They want at least half of their money from gifts to go into those accounts- and the percent keeps growing. 

My FIL paid off his home, moved out and has given it to us as our first investment property to get started. The as is appraisal came back at $375K and we have taken out a HML of $120K. Once rehab has been completed AR...

Joe gives out gifts and flowers and such to his tenants.

All of that can be a gift or a combination of gift and seller concessions. 

You can get a gift for a down payment but it must be from a  blood relative or "like" relative  and the you must explain the close relationship and why the "like" relative would give you a gift. a GIFT for downpayment is money given willingly to a buyer without repayment. 

If you are purchasing with a conventional investor loan you are not able to get gift funds or borrowed funds for the cash to close.

I looked for weeks trying to get a lender that had a manageable down payment who also accepted gift funds ( borrowing most of my down payment ).

Oh, great gift for the holidays!"

A family member gave my girlfriend and I a gift of a substantial amount of money to start a business.

My question is: Can my parents gift me some of their home equity they have built in the home they live.