Financial aid if you own a house but don’t live in it

[Anonymous]

For complicated reasons that I won’t go into, I own a house that we don’t live in. It is rented out. We live in another house that I don’t own.

Almost all of my net worth, other than some retirement savings is equity in that home.

How is that going to impact financial aid?

If I sell it, and invest that money elsewhere what impact will that have?

Moving back isn’t an option.

[Anonymous]

if you sell and buy a car .. then you don't have to report .. FAFSA/CSS doesn't treat cars as assets. but if you leave it in cash at the bank or stocks or something kind of investments, you will have to report and will hurt financial aid.

[Anonymous]

It counts as an asset and will hurt your chances of FA. You can sell it or borrow against it.
Unfortunately, you'd be better off living in ithe house you own because some colleges give generous exemptions for the value of the house you actually live in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It counts as an asset and will hurt your chances of FA. You can sell it or borrow against it.
Unfortunately, you'd be better off living in ithe house you own because some colleges give generous exemptions for the value of the house you actually live in.

What happens to other families who have periods where they can’t live in their homes? Children of Foreign service Officers, or people who need to live near transplant centers because they have a child who is on a waiting list, or whatever reason. (Neither of those is my actual reason but it’s similar in that it’s truly not a choice). It seems unfair that everyone else can shelter hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of assets and we can’t, because I will need those assets in retirement or an emergency as much as anyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It counts as an asset and will hurt your chances of FA. You can sell it or borrow against it.
Unfortunately, you'd be better off living in ithe house you own because some colleges give generous exemptions for the value of the house you actually live in.

What happens to other families who have periods where they can’t live in their homes? Children of Foreign service Officers, or people who need to live near transplant centers because they have a child who is on a waiting list, or whatever reason. (Neither of those is my actual reason but it’s similar in that it’s truly not a choice). It seems unfair that everyone else can shelter hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of assets and we can’t, because I will need those assets in retirement or an emergency as much as anyone else.

+1 Perhaps hire a financial aid counselor. Your situation isn't the norm, but if you have a lot of equity in a house, yes, you have to report it and yes, that will be an indication of wealth. And not sure how people are sheltering hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of assets legally on a financial aid form...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It counts as an asset and will hurt your chances of FA. You can sell it or borrow against it.
Unfortunately, you'd be better off living in ithe house you own because some colleges give generous exemptions for the value of the house you actually live in.

What happens to other families who have periods where they can’t live in their homes? Children of Foreign service Officers, or people who need to live near transplant centers because they have a child who is on a waiting list, or whatever reason. (Neither of those is my actual reason but it’s similar in that it’s truly not a choice). It seems unfair that everyone else can shelter hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of assets and we can’t, because I will need those assets in retirement or an emergency as much as anyone else.

Why assume there's a solution for people in that situation other than call the financial aid office and beg. We had short term cross country move with kids in college, and we sold and bought a new house while oldest was a college junior. Using rental income to pay rent would have worked against us, and we wanted to have residency somewhere as youngest was in HS.

[Anonymous]

I've often wondered about this as well.

How does your primary home become an income-producing asset if you are using the rental income solely to rent a similar home - with a similar monthly rent as your current monthly mortgage payment?

It would be different, of course, if you are moving to a lower cost of living area and pocketing several hundred or thousand dollars monthly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It counts as an asset and will hurt your chances of FA. You can sell it or borrow against it.
Unfortunately, you'd be better off living in ithe house you own because some colleges give generous exemptions for the value of the house you actually live in.

What happens to other families who have periods where they can’t live in their homes? Children of Foreign service Officers, or people who need to live near transplant centers because they have a child who is on a waiting list, or whatever reason. (Neither of those is my actual reason but it’s similar in that it’s truly not a choice). It seems unfair that everyone else can shelter hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of assets and we can’t, because I will need those assets in retirement or an emergency as much as anyone else.

+1 Perhaps hire a financial aid counselor. Your situation isn't the norm, but if you have a lot of equity in a house, yes, you have to report it and yes, that will be an indication of wealth. And not sure how people are sheltering hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of assets legally on a financial aid form...

If you have hundreds of thousands of dollars in equity in your house that you live in that’s sheltered. It’s not taken into account on your financial
aid application.

We are a solidly middle class family, but we bought our house 15 years ago, so between 15 years of mortgage payments and 15 years of appreciation I own a large percentage of it. It just seems unfair that other families whose financial situations might be identical other than the fact that they live in their house would get significantly more aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It counts as an asset and will hurt your chances of FA. You can sell it or borrow against it.
Unfortunately, you'd be better off living in ithe house you own because some colleges give generous exemptions for the value of the house you actually live in.

What happens to other families who have periods where they can’t live in their homes? Children of Foreign service Officers, or people who need to live near transplant centers because they have a child who is on a waiting list, or whatever reason. (Neither of those is my actual reason but it’s similar in that it’s truly not a choice). It seems unfair that everyone else can shelter hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of assets and we can’t, because I will need those assets in retirement or an emergency as much as anyone else.

You can always appeal the decision

[Anonymous]

OP - call the financial aid office of the school (s) you are interested in to find out how they calculate financial aid for your specific situation. And if you don't like the answer, move on.

Nothing in life is fair. I'd rather be in your position (of having significant equity in my home) than that of a family who has rented their entire lives in a squalid apartment because they can't afford a home of their own. Do you think you deserve more financial aid than they do?

[Anonymous]

I think FA is so messed up.

I dont know WHY colleges care where your money is. I wish you'd just add up ALL your assets and they take 1-2%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - call the financial aid office of the school (s) you are interested in to find out how they calculate financial aid for your specific situation. And if you don't like the answer, move on.

Nothing in life is fair. I'd rather be in your position (of having significant equity in my home) than that of a family who has rented their entire lives in a squalid apartment because they can't afford a home of their own. Do you think you deserve more financial aid than they do?

this is not an a or b situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It counts as an asset and will hurt your chances of FA. You can sell it or borrow against it.
Unfortunately, you'd be better off living in ithe house you own because some colleges give generous exemptions for the value of the house you actually live in.

What happens to other families who have periods where they can’t live in their homes? Children of Foreign service Officers, or people who need to live near transplant centers because they have a child who is on a waiting list, or whatever reason. (Neither of those is my actual reason but it’s similar in that it’s truly not a choice). It seems unfair that everyone else can shelter hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of assets and we can’t, because I will need those assets in retirement or an emergency as much as anyone else.

+1 Perhaps hire a financial aid counselor. Your situation isn't the norm, but if you have a lot of equity in a house, yes, you have to report it and yes, that will be an indication of wealth. And not sure how people are sheltering hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of assets legally on a financial aid form...

If you have hundreds of thousands of dollars in equity in your house that you live in that’s sheltered. It’s not taken into account on your financial
aid application.

We are a solidly middle class family, but we bought our house 15 years ago, so between 15 years of mortgage payments and 15 years of appreciation I own a large percentage of it. It just seems unfair that other families whose financial situations might be identical other than the fact that they live in their house would get significantly more aid.

Because you are NOT using the house to live in. Therefore it’s an asset like any other - a boat, money in stocks, a bank account.

You can always call the school to appeal your specific situation, but what it comes down to is that if you own a house that you are not living in, it’s a significant asset.

Also, not all schools disregard a house you are living in for FA purposes. Some do count it against you, or count a percentage of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - call the financial aid office of the school (s) you are interested in to find out how they calculate financial aid for your specific situation. And if you don't like the answer, move on.

Nothing in life is fair. I'd rather be in your position (of having significant equity in my home) than that of a family who has rented their entire lives in a squalid apartment because they can't afford a home of their own. Do you think you deserve more financial aid than they do?

Of course I don’t think I deserve that. I would assume that family has lower income than mine, since my income would stretch to renting a decent apartment. I would like to think that my kid deserves the same opportunity as a family of a similar size with a similar income and similar savings who is doesn’t face an emergency situation that requires them to live outside their home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - call the financial aid office of the school (s) you are interested in to find out how they calculate financial aid for your specific situation. And if you don't like the answer, move on.

Nothing in life is fair. I'd rather be in your position (of having significant equity in my home) than that of a family who has rented their entire lives in a squalid apartment because they can't afford a home of their own. Do you think you deserve more financial aid than they do?

Of course I don’t think I deserve that. I would assume that family has lower income than mine, since my income would stretch to renting a decent apartment. I would like to think that my kid deserves the same opportunity as a family of a similar size with a similar income and similar savings who is doesn’t face an emergency situation that requires them to live outside their home.

Most schools will also take into consideration other expenses as well as assets. So for example if a family is facing a medical situation where they have to move to be near a treatment center, they can report all those medical expenses. If you’re not sure how to handle your situation, call the school and explain it. If you are facing a true emergency situation, schools can help you navigate how to explain that and take it into consideration. No guarantee, of course, because the house is still an asset that could be sold but you are choosing not to. But talk to the school, not DCUM. We don’t know the specifics of your “emergency” or how a given school might adjust for it.