We just needed had to have the person who gifted us the money write a letter to the bank explaining the money was a gift and that they understand the money was a gift and they were not looking to any repayment on the money.

I agreed again, but when I took this idea to the bank they shut me down and said it was a gift and the bank doesn't work with gifts...

@Dan Collins  Guidelines for your loan scenario:-Down Payment and Qualifying Ratio Requirements for Manually Underwritten Loans For manually underwritten loans, if the income of a guarantor, co-signer, or non-occupant borrower is used for qualifying purposes, the occupying borrower(s) must make the first 5% of the down payment from their own funds unless: the LTV or CLTV ratio is less than or equal to 80%; or the occupying borrower is purchasing a one-unit principal residence and meets the requirements to use gifts, donated grant funds, or funds received from an employer to pay for some or all of the borrower’s minimum contribution.

Sending post cards, volunteering, free dinner vouchers, Gift card sign ups, offers for analysis for tax reasons are all solid ways to grab people interested in your product.

It's obviously more intricate than that, but you get the idea.

Mortgage lates and credit issues are the gift that keeps on hurting... 

inn currently attempting to get seller financing as well however most of them want to just gift me the money to go to the bank, as previously stated the bank wants MY money.

Who knew that such a seemingly simple question would have such a nuanced and intricate answer ... welcome to the wonderful world of REI :)

You'd be better off helping them sell and then using the money to buy better returning assets.They can then do what they want - invest passively with you in a real estate venture, gift it slowly to you, place it into a safe passive product stock or real estate, go on a crazy pre retirement community travel binge, etc etc.

We still laugh about the 80's TV commercial with the middle aged woman telling her husband that she wanted not jewelry but Sheets' course as her gift."