<p>My twins are juniors and I'm just gathering info on what may be needed when they apply to college this fall. I have income property in which I am part owner. Will I have to get the property assessed to determine the exact value, or can an estimated value be used (based upon similar properties in the area currently for sale)? </p>
<p>My agi is a little under 60K, and the property generates approximately 1/2 of our income. Is it worth mentioning that to the colleges ds/dd apply to?</p>
<p>We didn’t have our properties assessed, but then we came in well over the limit where we would qualify for need anywhere. Be sure to subtract any balance you may owe on loans for the property to get the net value. As for mentioning it, there is no real place to do that, and it will likely show up on the FAFSA data. How is that relevant anyway?</p>
<p>It’s an asset. You have to report it as such. And of course the income is reported, as it is reported for taxes. It won’t matter to the colleges that the property is what is generating the income or something else. </p>
<p>Friend of mine argued till he was blue in the face that he could not see his properties that generated most of his income. The high market value really was a hit in terms of getting any financial aid.</p>
<p>You can determine the value, which is market value minus amount owed on the property. Report the value based on the %'age you own.</p>
<p>You don’t need to have the property assessed, but you may be asked at some point to document the value of the property-- ordinarily that would come up if there was something in your FAFSA or CSS Profile that raised questions. (For example, if the stated value of the property seems unrealistically low).</p>
<p>From what I’ve read some people use Zillow to assess the value of their properties.</p>