I have been selected for FAFSA vertification and they ware asking me for property value will this affect me?

Question

My mom owns the house but she still struggles and does not get a High income. There is no mortgage but no rent comming in. Will my mom's property value affect my not getting financial aid? Why do they ask for this? Will I not get any financial aid because of this?

Answer 1

let your mom answer all the parent questions. and truthfully. they will probably take it into account im not 100% sure

Answer 2

You do not have to report the value of the home you live in.  Repeat... you do not have to report the value of the home you live in.  

But you do have to report the net worth of any other property you own.. like investment property, vacation or second home.  Net worth means value minus debt...  so if her investment property is worth 40,000 and she doesn't owe any money on it, then she would have to put 40K.  If she owes 40K on a 40 K house, then the net worth is zero.

Answer 3

First of all, neither you, nor your parents should be alarmed. The Department of Education selects 30% of all FAFSA applications for verification every year. Some of the applications are selected because of red flags or incomplete information, but many of the applications chosen for verification are randomly selected, for no reason at all.

The segment of your FAFSA application that is being scrutinized is the portion dealing with your parents' assets. As a previous respondent correctly explained, certain assets are "excludable", meaning that the Department of Education does not expect your parents to include them in their calculation.

The most common excludable assets are your parents' "primary residence" (where they live most of the year) and their retirement funds (401Ks, pensions, etc.)

Common assets that MUST be included are cash and bank accounts, trust funds, and investments, including things like money market funds, mutual funds, certificates of deposit, stocks, bonds, precious metals and residential or commercial property OTHER than the primary residence.

The Department has requested these values in order to insure that your application is accurate - they will not complete the processing of the form and issue an EFC (expected family contribution) until the information they have requested has been received and evaluated. What this means to you is - no financial aid determination - and no financial aid - until the Department has received the data they are requesting.

If your original form was filed correctly, then the additional step of verification will have no impact on your final financial aid determination. If your parents wind up submitting new data, that will be the data that the Department uses to analyze your financial aid eligibility - and in turn, the data that your school uses to establish your financial aid need.

Again - keep in mind that chances are high that your application was selected completely randomly, so you shouldn't be alarmed. Do remember, however, that the Department of Education compares the data you submit with available data from other government agencies, like the Department of Treasury (IRS), so you do need to stay consistent with your info!

Good luck to you - I hope that helps.