<p>I have a questions about the FASA worksheet, can anyone help me?</p>
<p>How can I define the net worth of my investment? (it has indicated net worth means current value minus debt). Since the housing market is really bad, I don't know what is the current value of my investment property. Are there any other things can be consider as debt besides mortgage? I have filed the 2008 tax return for supplemental income and loss for $22,992 loss, can this amount consider as debt? Will FASA really check the figure that I enter? and how will they verify?</p>
<p>Your answers will be highly appreciated</p>
<p>Search for sales of comparable properties in the last 3-6 months to find a selling price. If there are none, you might ask a local realtor for advice. There are also online real estate estimators but bot sure how accurate they are in this market! This one purports to be very conservative, but is based on year of purchase and purchase price:
FinAid</a> | Calculators | Federal Housing Index Calculator</p>
<p>After you find a reasonable selling (not asking) price, you can then deduct any debt, closing costs you'd be responsible for, and estimated repairs you'd need to do to put it in sale conditionl That should yield a reasonable net worth.</p>
<p>I decided that my house's value is what I paid for it in 1990. No homes have sold near me in a long time, so this seemed to be the best approach.</p>
<p>It certainly would not sell for the tax assessed value!</p>
<p>Thank you to telling me all these information. Do you know will FASA check the net worth amount I input since some of numbers are estimate, such as closing cost and the repair cost. I purchased this property on year 2000, I knew there were some sales from year 2000 till 2 years ago. I tried to refinance this property last year, but the mortgage broker told me no bank will accept my application because my property is 2-family- condo (no bank will loan the money for 2-family-condo). I remembered only Washington Mutual willing to loan me money when I purchased this property, and now the bank is closed. Do you think I can use my purchasing price as current value?</p>
<p>The only debt that is considered in FAFSA is debt directly against a reportable asset. So a mortgage against your primary home would not be considered because the primary home is not a reportable asset. A mortgage against a secondary home would be considered as you report the net value of the secondary home (value less mortgage). A margin loan against a stock account would be considered as it actually reduces the value of the account to the stock value less the loan. A loan against your 401k would not be considered because you do not report the 401k on FAFSA.</p>
<p>Any other debt such as car loans, credit card debt, loans not secured against a reportable asset, are not considered by FAFSA at all.</p>
<p>As far as I know, there's no check of any asset value except through the verification process if you're asked for it. Just use reasonable figures and estimates and document and keep them in case you're asked about it. If you think you could only get your purchase price back, and that's what you'd sell it for, then that seem to be a reasonable and documentable basis.</p>
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Since the housing market is really bad, I don't know what is the current value of my investment property.
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<p>You can also check with your local Assessors Office. They can give you their estimate of the value of your property. They have to value it for property tax purposes.</p>
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I have filed the 2008 tax return for supplemental income and loss for $22,992 loss, can this amount consider as debt?
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<p>The "loss" is not a debt. If you borrowed money because of the loss (negative cashflow), then the debt can be an offset to the value of the asset that created the loss. For instance, let's say the rental income was $1,000/mo less than the mortgage, creating a $12,000 loss. Presumably you paid the $12,000 out of other assets (thus reducing your reportable assets). If you had to borrow to make up the cashflow, then that loan could be an offset.</p>