<p>What schools will your kids be applying to an what are their stats. All of this may be for naught if their schools don’t have institutional aid to give </p>
<p>And what is your home state.</p>
<p>“So what I understand is that each school may (or may not) individually interpret factors such whether or not we live in the house we own (and “the folks have a big pile of cash, but very little in a retirement plan”).”</p>
<p>"So there’s no general answer to the question, “Will the student qualify for more institutional aid if the family resides in the house it owns, versus renting it out.”</p>
<p>Is that right?"</p>
<p>YES to both.</p>
<p>I really doubt that a private Profile college will accurately or truthfully tell you, at this point, before admissions decisions have been made, how they really will view the different elements of your financial situation. In addition, any FA offer MAY strongly depend on how much that college wants you kid! FA decisions at PRIVATE colleges are much more of a “black box” than at public U’s.</p>
<p>I think I’m seeing this a little differently.</p>
<p>Your rental property is NOT your primary residence. My understanding is that some of the Profile schools…will cap the amount of equity they tap (some at zero actually) for your primary residence. BUT in your case, the rental property you own is NOT a primary residence…at this point it is a rental property that you must list as a SECONDARY piece of real estate. I do not believe you will get the same equity caps on a property that is NOT your primary residence.</p>
<p>One thing you can do is run an online financial aid calculator…put the figures in the calculator BOTH ways…one time as though this “house” is your primary residence, and a second time putting it as a rental property. Use the IM (Institutional Methodology) and see what you get for a difference. My guess is that when you list this as a rental property, your family contribution will increase…but that’s my guess.</p>
<p>In any event…for your students to qualify for the Pell Grant, your EFC per FAFSA would need to be below $5500.</p>