Home Buying with Parental Assistance
Helping Your Children Buy a Home Without Jeopardizing Your Wealth
David Pipe, Mortgage Broker
David provides clients with tailored advice on mortgages, life insurance and investments. He offers a holistic approach to mortgages, investing and wealth-building. David focuses on helping entrepreneurs, families and investors and is an active investor in real estate.
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Strategic Intergenerational Home Buying Advice from Wealthtrack
For many Canadian families, real estate is more than a place to live—it's a long-term investment and a cornerstone of generational wealth.
If you're a parent considering helping your child buy their first home, you’re not alone. In today’s housing market, many young Canadians face significant hurdles to homeownership, and family support has become a critical piece of the puzzle.
At Wealthtrack, we specialize in guiding individuals and families through strategic, tax-conscious ways to support home purchases for their children—without compromising their own financial security.
Whether your goal is to preserve family wealth, transfer property effectively, or simply give your child a better start, we can help you do it wisely.
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Why Parents Are Stepping In
With home prices surging in cities across Canada, a down payment is one of the biggest barriers for first-time buyers. Many families want to help—but they also want to ensure they’re making smart moves that won’t trigger unintended tax consequences or impact their retirement goals.
Wealthtrack offers custom strategies for:
Gifting a down payment tax-efficiently
Using registered accounts like the FHSA and RRSP to maximum effect
Joint property purchases or co-signing a mortgage
Keeping the property in the family long-term
Protecting your own assets while helping your children build theirs
The First Home Savings Account (FHSA): A Parent’s Secret Weapon
The FHSA is one of the most powerful tools available for parents who want to help their children enter the housing market. This tax-free account allows up to $8,000 in contributions annually (to a lifetime maximum of $40,000), and the withdrawals—when used for a qualifying home purchase—are completely tax-free.
Here’s the real kicker: Parents can contribute to their child’s FHSA, helping grow the account faster and providing their child with a personal tax deduction. That’s a win-win: your money helps build the down payment, and your child gets a tax break they can apply to reduce their income taxes now.
Better still, if the FHSA funds aren’t used for a home, they can be rolled into an RRSP tax-free—so the funds are never lost or wasted.
Wealthtrack helps parents structure contributions in a way that aligns with their tax plan, family goals, and estate planning strategies.
Why Work With Me, David Pipe, and Wealthtrack
Helping your children enter the housing market—or keeping property in the family—is one of the most powerful moves you can make for generational wealth. But it’s also complex. That’s why working with the right mortgage expert matters.
Here’s why families across Ontario trust me, David Pipe, and Wealthtrack for smart, family-first mortgage solutions:
🧠 Expert Guidance on Intergenerational Mortgage Planning
Buying a home with your children, gifting a down payment, or co-signing a mortgage isn’t one-size-fits-all. I walk you through the options—FHSAs, joint ownership, trust structuring, and more—ensuring every move supports your long-term wealth strategy and your child’s success.
🧩 Truly Personalized Advice for Complex Family Dynamics
Your financial life is unique—and so are your goals for your children. Whether you’re gifting money outright or planning a partial transfer of ownership, I tailor mortgage solutions that align with your entire financial picture, including estate planning, retirement income, and tax efficiency.
📈 Deep Knowledge of the Market—and What It Means for Families
With years of experience and a strong pulse on market trends, I help you understand how timing, rate choices (fixed vs. variable), and lender policies affect your specific situation—especially when multiple generations are involved.
🗣️ Clear, Transparent Communication You Can Count On
You’ll never be left wondering what something means. I translate complex mortgage concepts into plain English—making sure you understand every detail before making a decision that could affect your family’s future.
🤝 Commitment to Protecting Your Wealth—and Empowering Your Children
My job is to help you provide support without sacrificing your own security. That means structuring deals that safeguard your investments, build your child’s independence, and position your family for long-term success. I work alongside you (and your financial or legal team) to get it right.
RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP): Boosting the Down Payment Without Triggering Tax
If your child has unused RRSP contribution room, we can guide them in strategically depositing funds into their RRSP—sometimes just before the March 1st deadline—to generate a tax refund. That refund can then go toward their down payment or closing costs.
Once the funds have been in the account for at least 90 days, they can withdraw up to $60,000 tax-free ($120,000 for couples) under the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP). These funds must be repaid over 15 years to avoid being taxed as income.
FHSA and HBP can be used together, offering a powerful dual strategy for your child’s down payment.
Wealthtrack can help you and your child time and combine these strategies for maximum benefit.
Gifting, Loaning, or Co-Signing: Structuring Support the Smart Way
There are a few different ways to provide direct financial support:
1. Gifted Down Payment
Gifting a down payment is the most straightforward method—but without a proper structure, it could raise CRA scrutiny, and the gifted amount might be exposed in the event of your child’s divorce or financial hardship.
Wealthtrack helps formalize your gift with legal documentation to protect it from unintended consequences while preserving eligibility for first-time buyer incentives.
2. Parent-to-Child Loan
Some parents prefer to structure the help as a loan—often with zero or minimal interest. While this can offer better control, it also needs to be documented correctly to avoid future disputes and tax complications.
3. Co-Signing or Joint Ownership
If your child’s income alone doesn’t qualify for the mortgage they need, co-signing or joint ownership may be the solution. But this approach isn’t without risks: your credit and finances are tied to theirs, and it could affect your eligibility for future loans.
At Wealthtrack, we’ll walk you through all the legal, tax, and financial considerations involved and help you determine the best-fit strategy for your family.
Staying in Control: Protecting Your Financial Future
You’ve spent a lifetime building your wealth. Helping your children shouldn’t mean putting your own future in jeopardy.
We help you answer questions like:
How much support can I afford to offer without disrupting my retirement plans?
Should I help one child now and others later—or offer equal support all at once?
How do I keep my contributions from being lost in a divorce or legal battle?
We’ll help you model scenarios, build protections into your plan, and coordinate with your legal and accounting team to make sure everything fits within your larger wealth plan.
Planning for Closing Costs and Hidden Fees
Homeownership isn’t just about the down payment. Your child will need to budget for:
Legal fees
Appraisal fees
Home inspections
Title insurance
Property tax adjustments
Land transfer tax
We generally recommend budgeting 2–4% of the purchase price for closing costs. If needed, we’ll help you set up the funding plan to ensure these are covered without surprises.
Building a Trusted Team Around You
When you work with Wealthtrack, you don’t just get strategic planning—you get a trusted partner with a network of vetted professionals, including:
Top-tier Mortgage Brokers to secure the most competitive terms
Experienced Realtors familiar with family-focused purchases
Real Estate Lawyers to structure ownership and protect your interests
Financial Planners and Tax Advisors to oversee the entire plan
We coordinate with everyone involved to make sure your family’s best interests are protected at every step.
Let’s Make This a Legacy Move—Not Just a Real Estate Deal
Helping your child buy a home is one of the most meaningful gifts you can offer. But done right, it’s also a legacy move—a way to preserve wealth, instill financial discipline, and ensure your family’s assets remain strong across generations.
At Wealthtrack, we don’t just help you “make the purchase.” We help you build a smart, structured plan that considers every detail—from tax benefits and legal structure to emotional peace of mind.
Ready to start the conversation?
Book a consultation with Wealthtrack today and let’s explore how to help your children build a brighter future—without compromising your own.
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