<p>Hello, I wonder if anyone knows the extent to which colleges are flexible with need based aid where FASFA does not accurately reflect cash available?</p>
<p>Situation: I inherited a farm jointly with siblings. I own less than half as tenants in common. The farm has no debt. I cannot mortgage this real estate without all siblings agreeing (which will not happen). Banks will not give a mortgage on a partial ownership. I would not sell this property anyway, but even if I wanted to, it would be very hard to find a buyer for a minority share. I do not live there.</p>
<p>FASFA assumes I am somehow going to turn this farm into money to pay for college, presumably with an equity loan. But I cannot do that because no bank will give me an equity loan on a partial ownership interest.</p>
<p>Do colleges ever exclude this type of asset and recalculate need?
Perhaps I take the position that the value of my interest is discounted from a proportional share of assessed value due to being a minority interest, but that wouldn't help much. My share has a value in the high 6-figures to low 7-figures.</p>
<p>You can try to make a pitch to the FA officers but my guess is you won't get much sympathy. </p>
<p>Fact is, you're pretty wealthy---whether or not you can easily turn that wealth into cash. Your inability to get your siblings to agree to take on a mortgage is your issue, not theirs. Any chance you could get your sibs to purchase your share? Alternatively, you can legally demand a severance of the tenancy in common, dividing up the land so you get sole ownership of a portion, which you could then mortgage. Better if you can amicably work out a severance agreement with your siblings, however, instead of trying to work it out through a bloody court battle. I can understand why none of this might sound appealing to you, but you do have options. I think it will look to FA officers that you're trying to "have your cake and eat it, too" by holding on to an ownership interest in valuable property but at the same time claiming it's not so valuable to you because it's complicated, and unappealing, to turn your ownership interest into cash.</p>
<p>I don't know about a farm owned jointly. But I've had a number of conversations with the FAFSA folks regarding joint beneficiaries of a trust that is real estate. We have to put down our shares of the value of the trust even though we have NO access to this trust for educational purposes. </p>
<p>The bottom line is that your sibs "could" all agree to sell and you would have a sizable asset. Same with us...the beneficiaries "could" agree to sell the trust property.</p>
<p>And in my discussions with the financial aid department regarding viewing this as a "special circumstance"...they said..unlikely.</p>
<p>I'm full of sympathy because family members own farms in various states. Years ago one cousin said to me "Well, it's not like we can just go and sell off X number of square feet so I can pay for my books, is it?"</p>
<p>My college roommate and her husband are paying the last year of full tuition/fees for their daughter at a highly selective private college in large part because the husband bought the family vacation home from his mother for $1.00. Should he ever choose to sell, their contract requires him to offer it to his brother (and/or the brother's children) for $1.00 first. The CSS profile calculates the current land value of this property in the high six figures.</p>
<p>You are definitely not alone. I wish you all the best with the financial aid officers. Perhaps you will get lucky.</p>
<p>Thanks to all, and to the person who emailed as well. Selling to siblings isn't an option - they don't have any more money than I do (but their kids are a little older). We live in average homes and drive old cars; not much else in the way of assets. But this farm has been in the family for generations, and no one wants to sell. Going to court would force a sale as it's not really possible to divide up "equal" shares otherwise. I'll plan to talk to the FA officers and hope for the best.</p>
<p>What you can do is request a mortgage on the farm up to your share of the property and then have a separate contract with your co owners to take care of that mortgage. Or ask them for loans against the farm for your share. Or force the sale. Those are all options to getting money out of the farm. </p>
<p>Do get a revaluation of the market value of the farm given current financial market conditions so that you are not overassessed for its value.</p>