<p>My mother owns some land in her name and shares land with her brother. This is unrelated to the rental property. She has a business license for a rental property on the land she shares. She is the only employee. Is this counted as "small business" or "investments"?</p>
<p>How do I "put a value" on my parent's real estate property(s) (there is no debt)?</p>
<p>What kind of tax forms does your mother file for the income from the rental property? That will probably make it clear whether it’s business or investment income. </p>
<p>As to value, it should be what she could probably get for it if she tried to sell it today. A real estate agent may be able to help her assess the value, if it hasn’t been appraised recently (which it probably hasn’t if there is not mortgage). Usually the tax assessment is not useful for this.</p>
<p>The rental estate income received on her 1040 Tax form is listed under 17 “Rental real estate, royalties, partnerships, S corporations, trusts, etc. Attach schedule E.” </p>
<p>My mother knows how much she bought it for 3 years ago. Does that help?</p>
<p>This may help? [When</a> is Real Estate Reported as a Business Asset on the FAFSA? - Fastweb](<a href=“When is Real Estate Reported as a Business Asset on the FAFSA? | Fastweb”>When is Real Estate Reported as a Business Asset on the FAFSA? | Fastweb)</p>
<p>[FinAid</a> | Financial Aid Applications | Small Business Exclusion](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/fafsa/smallbusiness.phtml]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/fafsa/smallbusiness.phtml)</p>
<p>It sounds like it should probably be listed as an investment asset, especially given this line from the second link:</p>
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<p>It is better in terms of qualifying for aid if it is counted as a business asset, since for businesses with under 100 employees, these are excluded on the FAFSA. All this is relatively moot if you’re also filing the CSS Profile, as they will require the value one way or the other, and it won’t make a huge difference which line it’s on.</p>
<p>A site like Zillow may help you and your mother figure out how the current market value compares to what it was 3 years ago.</p>
<p>I discovered that the rental income is reported as schedule E. Thank you mathmomvt.</p>
<p>Also, how do I record the value of an investment asset that my mom shares with her brother?</p>
<p>JESATPREP – she probably legally owns a certain percent of it (likely 50%) in which case she would report that percent of its value, I believe.</p>
<p>Agree, treat it as an asset report 50% of the value if she owns 50% of the asset. Remember the value of the entire asset is what it could be sold for quickly. If it’s land and a building she could get comparables from current sales in the area or ask a real estate agency if there are no recent comparables. The FAFSA will guide through through the lines on the 1040 with regard to everything else. (e.g. if she gets rental income etc…just pick up the numbers from the tax form.)</p>
<p>In case of verification, do I need a written statement declaring that she owns a certain percentage of the property? As of now, there is no written declaration that shows who owns which. </p>
<p>Also, i submitted the FAFSA with the wrong (higher) investment asset number. I indicated that my parents “will file”. Will it be okay to change the investment asset after they file their taxes?</p>
<p>There must be a deed or other legal document that states who owns the land.</p>
<p>The ONLY time you can change asset values is if you made a mistake on the initial FAFSA filing. You did make a mistake so correct it. </p>
<p>Since you are lowering by 50% an asset value, this could be a verification trigger…so be sure you have the documentation to support your value. It would need to be 50% of the value on the date of your initial filing of the FAFSA…not some newer value.</p>
<p>@mathmomvt There is legal documentation on ownership. There is no documentation on the % of ownership.</p>
<p>I think the value will only decrease about 25% to 35%. Will this trigger verification? The mistake is unrelated to the % of ownership.</p>
<p>Legal documentation of shared ownership is not generally vague as to how the ownership is shared/split. There may be legal terminology that implies a 50/50 split unless otherwise stated. But if your mom is not sure about whether the legal documents accurately reflect her and her brother’s understanding of the nature of the shared ownership, she probably needs to consult an attorney.</p>
<p>You put down the values the best you can. With no documentation on % of ownership of the land, use 50%. If you are selected for verification the school will ask for specific documentation. You provide them with what they request, and communicate with them directly if you have any questions.</p>
<p>Thank you all.</p>