[ChuckMcM]

I made the down payment on my first house selling my ISO shares, and then when we sold that house and moved to a slightly larger house my wife and I both sold shares we had in ISOs to make a larger downpayment. Neither time did the bank consider it a 'gift' (nor did the IRS, they took their pound of flesh too)

During the dot.com boom there was an interesting series in the newspaper about people who took their IPO proceeds and immediately sold them and bought a house. The question was "Gee, look at all the future growth they are giving up by converting hot stocks into stodgy real estate."