Hello
I am an international student applying to the US. The primary home we live in is held in my name but owned by my father. The problem is that I do not know if the primary home is considered an asset and whether I should indicate that my parents have an asset held in my name. After all, shouldn’t the primary home be viewed differently than the other assets?
You will be completing the Profile, and this does ask for primary home equity.
You will need to list the equity in this home in your Profile.
Please explain what you mean by the home is held in your name, but it is owned by your father.
CSS Profile does require that real property, including the primary home, that is owned by the student or a parent be reported as an asset. It should be reported as an asset of the legal owner, based on the amount of current equity.
Why should it be? On CSS Profile, it’s not.
Thanks for your reply
I don’t know how to describe it in English, but here we say that the investment is his but the property is in my name. I’ll check with someone to see what it exactly means to see whether I should list as a student asset or a parents asset
I just thought that a savings account or a secondary home for instance can be used to fund my education more than the primary home. After all, it’s not like I can ask my parents to sell their house or something lol.
You need to find out how your colleges deal with primary home equity. Some count it all…ams some cap the amount…and some don’t count it at all.
In this country, primary home equity can be tapped by parents in the form of a home equity loan.
How much equity are we talking about here?
If the deed to the home is in YOUR (student) name, it will be listed as an asse fo you.
Are you saying your dad put forth the money but the house is listed with YOU as the owner? Why?
If it is a tax shelter in your country to put property in your name, you should really check out the legal details. It might be counted as your personal asset in the USA.
So I asked and it means that I am the owner of the house and my father has usufruct rights. Is this the same as him being a beneficiary?
I cannot do anything with the house right now (such as sell it) without his approval.
It’s as if your father is a leasee or has a life estate. He has certain rights and responsibilities related to the property, but he does not have ownership rights. It’s your asset and needs to be reported as such on the Profile.
Okay so since this isn’t a trust, an investment, nor a retirement asset, and since it is our primary home, there is nowhere I can report it under student assets. When asked about housing situation, I answered own home, and decided to explain the situation in the special circumstances. Do you think I should change something?
If you say “the investment is his” but the property is in your name then I’d put it under an investment in the student assets section. But still explain it in the special circumstances section.
In the US there is a distinction between “legal” and “beneficial” ownership, for tax and many other purposes. Legal ownership typically refers to the title or other form of registration of an asset, while beneficial ownership addresses the substance. As an example, registered shares held by a nominee (or in “street name”) will almost always be deemed to be held by the beneficial owner for tax and reporting purposes.
It sounds like the property is actually owned by your parents, notwithstanding the title. No one can give you a definitive answer on an anonymous forum, but I would specifically explore this concept of beneficial ownership as it relates to college financial aid applications. It may well be worth a few dollars to explore this with a professional specializing in this area. I believe that if the asset is deemed “owned” by the student rather than parents for purposes of college aid, it will count for quite a lot more towards your expected financial contribution. Good luck!