The letter must explain who is gifting the money, where the donor's funds are coming from and the relationship between the donor and the recipient. What should the gift letter include?How Does a Gift Letter Work? Mortgage Gift letter is what the donor of the gift writes to the lender stating that he has offered a gift of money to the home buyer. A gift letter for a mortgage shows your lender that you don't need to repay gift money toward your down payment. Gift funds may not be contributed from any source that has an interest in the sale of the property (seller, builder, real estate agent, etc.). The lender will need a "gift letter" from the donor to make sure your down payment help has no strings attached. Your mortgage gift letter or others need to include all the basic information so that you don't have to face any problems in the future.