<p>We have been fortunate enough to save enough money to pay off our mortgage in the next couple of years. Our son is a Sophomore. Are we better off paying off the mortgage, or keeping the mortgage and banking the money? Do colleges hold it against you if you do not have a mortgage? Our son is looking at private D3 schools, he will likely swim in college, but there is no athletic scholarship at that level. His current unweighted GPA is 3.92, Honors and AP classes. We are hoping for Merit Aid and other Financial Aid due to our income level. Thanks.</p>
<p>Some colleges count your house as an asset for Profile. For those it would be a wash. For those that don’t count your home, it would shelter that $. </p>
<p>Ask this question in the Financial Aid forum and you’ll probably get a very good answer. They know there ‘stuff’ over there. Our house was paid off when the oldest was a senior so i can’t tell you how it impacted the profile. it won’t make a difference for federal loans because the primary home value is not included in the calculation.</p>
<p>Thank you. I will post in the other forum.</p>
<p>I think if you pay off the house, it will be better in some situations. It’s better than have extra cash sitting outside of retirement fund.</p>
<p>IF the school uses the CSS profile, and your home is paid off, you may be expected to borrow against the equity iin your paid-off home to pay for college. Best move is to find some way to shelter the extra cash in some kind of retirement account that you cannot touch until you retire. Some kind of annuity that matures at your expected retirement date might work. Being debt fee is preferable in all areas except the counter-intuitive world of college finances.</p>
<p>OP has a similar thread in the FA forum as recommended by @momofthreeboys . Please feel free to contribute over there. </p>