When someone offers to help you make a down payment on a house, your lender will require a gift letter for a mortgage. Here's what it includes.A gift letter for a mortgage shows your lender that you don't need to repay gift money toward your down payment. A down payment can be hard to come by. One option is to be gifted the money, but this has certain requirements, such as a gift letter. A gift letter is a note from a donor to your lender regarding cash funds for your mortgage down payment. Most conventional mortgage loans allow homebuyers to use gift money for their down payment and closing costs as long as it's a gift from an acceptable source. You can often use money you are given to help fund the down payment or closing costs of buying a home. You will need a gift letter when you do. You can search for, get copies of, or update property ownership records, such as deeds and mortgages.