<p>People do buy houses so that their undergrad children have somewhere to live, but it’s done as an investment, especially for areas where housing prices are rising and where there’s limited student housing. Your child is essentially the property manager, arranging to have a few friends move in to help pay the “rent”. At the end of 3-4 years, the kid graduates, and the parents sell the investment or continue to rent it out. </p>
<p>I agree with other posters that if you have enough resources to look into setting up a living trust along with purchasing another house that you won’t be eligible for need-based aid. If your estate is large enough for a living trust for estate planning purposes, you should be setting that up regardless. You should be working with an attorney and a fee-based financial planner to make sure you do it the right way. Beating down your EFC is the least of your issues.</p>