How do you determine the current value of rental property for FAFSA? tax assessment or recent sales?

Paying for College FAFSA & CSS Profile
1

To report a rental property’s net worth, we need to subtract any debts from its current value. How does one determine the current value? Is it from your property tax assessment or you need to look at actual recent sales in the area?

2

Zillow gives a range of values for properties. Maybe look there?

3

Current market value estimates through Zillow/Redfin.

4

Thanks. I wanted to confirm if it is through zillow etc. or based on county assessment.

5

I meant county assessment

6

Depending on the state or how often they “reset” - a Country Assessment might be quite low - and if you end up in CSS, that might come back to bite you.

7

Our property tax assessment would not had been accurate. We had a real estate agent pull recent sales to and give a current market value for our commercial property

1 Like
8

You can use any of the resources mentioned here to get the current market value of your rental property. Choose the one that is most favorable for you, which is probably the lowest value among the legit options. You do not want to overstate the asset’s value. Whichever source you use for the market value, keep a record of the documentation. Assets reported on FAFSA should be valued as of the day you sign and submit FAFSA.

Anything else to add @kelsmom @politeperson @BelknapPoint?

ETA: Note you can’t record a negative asset value for rental property. If the asset is underwater you would record $0 for its value.

1 Like
9

This topic was automatically closed 180 days after the last reply. If you’d like to reply, please flag the thread for moderator attention.