Am I foolish for looking a gift horse in the mouth or am I dodging a bullet?

It is a possibility that my Mother would at this stage gift me the down payment to take on a second primary residence loan but we are still discussing. 

(different loans have different seasoning periods for your funds and different guidelines on allowing gifted funds - something to consider) To determine closing costs you can call a local title company in your chosen area and ask them for their fee sheet and your lender should be able to provide you with any other fees associated with the loan.

We have something called CHFA that will gift you 3-5% for a down payment for a slightly higher interest rate. 

Do I need to gift Rent to parents?

I assume the person gifting you the house is far from their deathbed.

You need to do your own due diligence before you bid as best you can so you have a comfort zone that you’re doing the right thing.... it’s no different than buying the gift bag at a country restaurant...you won’t know what’s in the bag unless you try and check it out.

There are some ways to get creative with down payments: seller financing, using an investment loan that allows "gifted funds", etc.Best of luck! 

A DSCR program will allow for gift funds for an investment property.  

What a gift it would be to be able to set them up to do that!