My wife is filling out her college loan Fasfa ap and the question "Do you have assets totaling 11,000 or greater?" Do vehicles and home count as assets if more than 1/2 way paid through? Or do they mean liquid as in "If you liquidated all your paid for worldly possessions, are you worth 11,000?"?
submitted by DCamp

Bob Bossa

In the context of a FAFSA application, I'd say assets typically refer to liquid or semi-liquid items. For vehicles and homes, the general guideline is that if you own them outright (more than 50% paid), their current market value should be included. However, if your mortgage or auto loan still has a significant balance, as in you haven't paid more than half, then their equity (current market value - remaining loan balance) is usually what's considered.

The question seems like it's trying to determine your total net worth in assets that could be liquidated or used to cover educational expenses. So, in essence, it considers the fair market value of your assets, not just what you owe on them, and yes, if your home and vehicle are paid off or have a paid-in-full value exceeding $11,000, they count as part of your assets.

Rossi

When filling out FAFSA, they're just asking if your stuff adds up to $11,000 or more.

Even if you own a car or house, they usually count it as an asset if you own most of it. Yes, you'd have to have paid for more than half. If you still owe a lot on them, then only the part you own (the equity) counts. Basically, they want to know if your total stuff you own outright (or mostly paid off) is worth at least $11,000. So, it's not just about what you could get if you sold everything quickly, but more about what your current items are worth minus what you still owe. This makes sense because if you sold your item right now, you would have to use part of the proceeds to pay off the loan, so that part doesn't really belong to you yet.