How would my parent buying a house (on mortgage) affect my FAFSA?

^^It isn’t likely NOW, after Dodd-Frank, but it was actually fairly common in the 2000’s, and that’s what caused people to be upside down on their mortgages very quickly.

OP’s parent might be part of the federal program that will pay some of that mortgage (she’s currently getting HUD rental assistance), but the potential rent can’t be part of the qualifying income.

First question is is your mom pre approved for a home loan already? 30k sounds awfully low for a 250-300k home w/o a downpayment. Normally you want a 20% down on a home and the mortgage payments should be be greater than 30% of the total income. Houses aren’t counted in fafsa only CSS profile schools.

For the sake of accuracy: some CSS Profile schools do not use primary home equity as a factor when determining need-based aid.

If this family isn’t putting any down payment down on this house purchase…theynarwnt going to have much equity…right?

This family needs to think about their overall finances. The story as presented her…is not a realistic plan…at all…

Right. My previous comment was made only to prevent a misunderstanding about how Profile schools might use primary home equity.

Your earlier post about only being able to give good advice when provided with good information is spot on. Hypothetical data will get you a hypothetical conclusion, which won’t be very useful. Garbage in… garbage out.