PenPenWrites

Let us now praise our college grads. Grown ups at last. Let's not minimize their accomplishment. They may have had their wild moments on campus, but they've made it through at least four years of academic rigor, learned something and matured.

Some of us want–and can afford–to reward that accomplishment with a gift that will give them a lift or leg up the ladder of life. Some parents deposit a check in a bank account. Some buy their college grads a car. Those thinking really big have come up with an even greater gift: an apartment.

For the parents whose children are moving to a big city, it's a two-fer. They give a gift and they rest easy, knowing their child is living in a safe place. For others, the gift of an apartment–which alleviates the need [or cuts the cost] for their child to pay rent or make mortgage payments–frees their child to take that nonprofit, do-good job that they couldn't otherwise afford to take. Or to take their time job hunting for the right slot. Whatever the reason, the New York Times reports that New York City realtors, in particular, are seeing a surge in such gifts–from native New Yorkers as well as parents from other parts of the country whose children are heading for a bite out of the Big Apple. For the latter, the apartment is part gift to themselves–it's potential pied-à-terre when the child decides to move on or it can be a place to crash when they come to the city to visit.

A condo can be a straight-out gift, sweetened by the current generous tax exclusion. Or it can be an  investment in which the parents retain ownership.

No good gift goes without rules to consider. Do the parents have a right to stay there or drop in whenever they want? Who pays for maintenance? Who makes the profit when the unit is sold?  One simple scenario: the parents buy and keep the apartment in their name and agree to pay the monthly carrying costs. The grown child lives there as a family member, not a renter.

And of course: We, the parents, are always welcome.