Will adding my name to mortgage affect kids' FAFSA when fiancé earns 3x my income?

Being on the mortgage itself shouldn't directly impact your FAFSA calculations as long as you're not married. The FAFSA only considers the income and assets of the dependent student's legal parents (or the student if independent). However, here's what could affect your situation: 1. Your ownership stake in the home will count as YOUR asset on the FAFSA 2. If you're listed on the deed (not just the mortgage), your equity portion counts in asset calculations 3. The mortgage payment obligations might affect your ability to contribute to education If you're contributing to mortgage payments proportional to your income (which is significantly less than your fiancé's), you might consider reflecting that same percentage in ownership. For example, if you contribute 25% of payments, perhaps own 25% of the home officially. The 2024-2025 FAFSA uses the new Student Aid Index (SAI) instead of EFC, which still considers parent assets but with different protection allowances. Make sure you understand these new calculations.

my sister went thru something like this last yr. she stayed OFF the mortgage completely even tho they bought the house together. the mortgage company only cared about his income anyway since it was way higher. her kid got way more aid than expected because the house wasnt on her asset list at all. just something to think about

I'd be careful about making major financial decisions just for FAFSA purposes. While not being on the mortgage might help with financial aid, there are serious legal protections you lose by not being on both the mortgage AND the deed. If something happens to your relationship or your fiancé, you could find yourself without any legal claim to the home you've been helping pay for. The 2025-2026 FAFSA uses the Student Aid Index which still looks at parent assets, but remember there's a significant asset protection allowance. Depending on your total assets, the impact of home equity might be minimal. There's no perfect answer here - it's balancing financial aid optimization against your own financial security.

ur overthinking this. mortgage isnt even reported on fafsa directly. its the home equity (value minus what u owe) that counts as an asset. and even then theres a formula that protects a chunk of assets anyway. just do what makes sense for buying the house and dont stress too much about fafsa.

When I was helping my daughter with her FAFSA last year, I discovered that the asset protection allowance varies based on the age of the oldest parent and other factors. For most families, a significant portion of home equity is shielded from FAFSA calculations. Other considerations: 1. If you're not married, only YOUR portion of any joint assets counts 2. Primary residence equity isn't reported on CSS Profile either (if relevant schools use it) 3. The mortgage interest deduction could actually be valuable to you tax-wise What might help is speaking directly with a Federal Student Aid representative about your specific situation. When I had complex questions, I wasted days trying to get through on their phone line until someone told me about Claimyr.com - it got me connected to an actual FSA agent in about 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent I spoke with provided much clearer guidance than anything I found online about asset reporting.

LISTEN!! Do NOT put yourself on that mortgage unless you are ALSO on the deed with equal rights!!!!! I've been a financial aid counselor for 14 years and I've seen too many parents get screwed by thinking about FAFSA first and their own financial security second. Yes, being on the mortgage/deed will add to your reportable assets for FAFSA (your portion only), BUT: - Home equity is often one of the LEAST impactful assets in the formula - The SAI calculation protects a significant portion of parent assets - Many schools don't even consider home equity in their institutional methodology PROTECT YOURSELF FIRST!!!! The difference in aid will likely be minimal compared to the risk of having no legal claim to the property if things go south.

Am I the only one wondering why you'd buy a house with someone you're not married to? My cousin did this and it was a NIGHTMARE when they split up. Just saying...

Thank you all for the incredibly helpful advice! After reading everything, I'm leaning toward being on both the mortgage and deed with a percentage that reflects my contribution, which balances FAFSA considerations with protecting my own financial interests. I'm going to call FSA using that service someone suggested to get official clarification on how exactly they'll view partial home ownership. It sounds like the FAFSA impact might be less significant than I initially feared, especially with the asset protections built into the SAI formula. It's definitely a complex situation balancing near-term aid eligibility with long-term financial security, but I feel much better equipped to make this decision now. I really appreciate all the different perspectives!

That sounds like a really balanced approach! You're absolutely right to prioritize both the FAFSA considerations and your own financial protection. The proportional ownership based on contribution makes a lot of sense. One thing to keep in mind when you speak with the FSA representative - ask specifically about how they handle partial ownership when the property is jointly owned with someone whose income isn't reported on the FAFSA. I've heard there can be some nuances in how they calculate your reportable asset portion in these situations. Also, since you mentioned your fiancé earns 3x your income, you might want to explore whether any of your kids' target schools use the CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA. Some private schools have their own methodologies that could be more favorable in your situation. Best of luck with the home purchase and navigating the financial aid process!

As someone who went through a similar situation a few years ago, I wanted to share what I learned. I ended up staying off the mortgage but being on the deed for 30% ownership (matching my financial contribution). This kept most of the home value off my FAFSA while still giving me legal protection. The key thing I discovered is that you can structure ownership differently from mortgage responsibility. My partner qualified for the mortgage solo anyway due to his higher income, so the lender didn't care that I wasn't on it. But having my name on the deed with specified ownership percentage was crucial for my protection. My financial aid counselor at my daughter's school actually recommended this approach - said it's becoming more common with blended families. The FAFSA impact of my 30% equity share was minimal compared to losing potential aid by including my partner's income if we had married. Just make sure you have everything properly documented legally, especially the ownership percentages and who's responsible for what expenses. We used a real estate attorney to make sure everything was bulletproof.

I'm going through something very similar right now! My partner and I have been together for 8 years but aren't married specifically because of FAFSA considerations for my two kids. We just started the home buying process last month. From what I've learned so far, the most important thing is understanding that FAFSA looks at YOUR assets, not your partner's, since you're not married. So if you own 25% of a $400k house, they're looking at your $100k in equity, not the full $400k. One thing that's been helpful for me is using the Federal Student Aid Estimator tool to run different scenarios. I plugged in numbers for owning 0%, 25%, and 50% of our potential home purchase, and the difference in estimated aid was smaller than I expected - maybe a few hundred dollars per year rather than thousands. The bigger question for me has been the legal protection aspect that others mentioned. I've decided I'd rather have some asset impact on FAFSA than risk losing my investment if something happens to our relationship. My kids will only be in college for a few more years, but I need housing security for much longer than that. Have you looked at any specific schools' net price calculators? Some are more sensitive to home equity than others in their aid formulas.

I've been following this thread with great interest since I'm also navigating the unmarried-partner-home-buying situation with college-bound kids! One resource that might be helpful is reaching out directly to the financial aid offices at your kids' target schools. I found that many aid counselors have seen these situations before and can give you school-specific guidance on how they handle partial home ownership in unmarried partnerships. Also, regarding the CSS Profile that someone mentioned - it's worth noting that while CSS Profile schools often have more aid available, they also tend to look more closely at assets including home equity. However, many have policies that cap how much home equity they'll consider (often 2-3x annual income), which could work in your favor given the income difference between you and your fiancé. The more I read everyone's experiences, the more convinced I am that the legal protection aspect should be the primary consideration. The FAFSA impact seems manageable, but losing your housing security would be devastating. Have you considered getting pre-qualified to see what ownership percentage would make sense based on your actual financial contributions?