Plus, Christmas Gifts aren't illegal.

That and gift cards to nice restaurants and Starbucks go real far in getting what you need done from escrow in a timely manner.

If your partner is related you can receive a gift, you can borrow the funds in some cases so long as you disclose the loan.

If you can, you may get a gift letter from a family memebr and finance it up front and have them lend a second if necessary.

Many will do an estimate for free, but you may want to consider a thank you gift if you don’t purchase the home to encourage he contractor to work with you in the future and show you value their time

Also if a gift was used to buy the home, you can't get that portion refinanced.I've talked to several lenders and they generally aren't aware of this option or have done them rarely. 

-Loans from friends and family members : The IRS may look at a loan as a "taxable gift" from a family member/friend and not an actual loan if provided to you interest free. 

Quick question, can I borrow $20k from my mother and have her gift it to me?

Andrew Taylor I'm not a CPA but I think if you sell it at below market value (you think it's worth $200K+ and you sell it for $50K) to a family member it can be construed as a gift.

Often times my brokerage will buy the policy as a client gift which gives many clients peace of mind.