That's awesome! So glad you got it resolved. My daughter is heading to college next fall, and I'm already dreading going through this process again with all the confusing financial aid offers.

As someone who just went through this nightmare with my twin daughters applying to different schools, I can't stress enough how important it is to get EVERYTHING in writing from the financial aid office. When you call, ask them to email you a confirmation of what they told you about the federal aid being included in the final package. I learned this the hard way when one school "forgot" to include my daughter's subsidized loans in the final offer even though they verbally confirmed it would be there. Having that email trail saved us when we had to appeal. Also, don't be afraid to ask for a timeline - "final package next week" is vague. Get a specific date so you can follow up if needed!

Thanks everyone for the helpful information! To summarize what I learned: 1. Yes, I definitely need to report the rental property as an asset on the FAFSA 2. I'll report the current market value minus the mortgage balance 3. The rental income from 2023 will automatically be included via tax information 4. Trying to hide it could trigger verification and potentially worse consequences I'll make sure to have all this information ready when I fill out the 2025-26 FAFSA. Better to be honest upfront than deal with verification issues later!

Great summary Connor! You've got it exactly right. Just one additional tip - when you're getting the current market value for the FAFSA, you don't need a formal appraisal. A reasonable estimate based on recent comparable sales in your area or online valuation tools like Zillow is typically sufficient. The key is being consistent if you're selected for verification later. Also, keep good records of your rental income and expenses from 2023 since that will help if you need to provide documentation. Good luck with your daughter's FAFSA!

So glad you got through to the financial aid office and have a clear path forward! This thread has been super helpful - I'm bookmarking it in case I run into similar issues with my own kids' FAFSA in the future. The birth certificate + driver's license combo seems to be the go-to solution for citizenship verification when passports aren't available. Fingers crossed everything processes smoothly for your daughter tomorrow!

Just wanted to add that if anyone else runs into this situation, make sure to keep copies of EVERYTHING you submit! I learned this the hard way when my daughter's school "lost" her documents and we had to resubmit everything. Also, if you're going the birth certificate route, some states have different processing times for ordering certified copies if you don't have the original. In California it took 3 weeks to get a new certified copy when we needed one for my older son. Planning ahead is so important with FAFSA verification - these deadlines come up fast!

Thank you all SO MUCH for the helpful information! I feel way less stressed now knowing I just need to focus on completing the FAFSA correctly. I'm going to start gathering all the documents I need and aim to submit on October 1st when it opens. One last question - do you guys think it's better to use the FAFSA mobile app or just do it on the website?

Just wanted to jump in as someone who works in financial aid - you've gotten great advice here! One thing I'd add is to make sure you have your FSA ID (Federal Student Aid ID) created BEFORE October 1st when the FAFSA opens. Both you AND one of your parents will need separate FSA IDs to electronically sign the FAFSA. Creating the FSA ID can take a few days to process, and if you wait until the last minute, you might run into delays. You can create it at studentaid.gov. Also, double-check that the name on your FSA ID exactly matches your Social Security card - mismatches cause processing delays! Good luck with your application! With your family income under $40k, you should definitely qualify for significant Pell Grant funding.

Hey! I just went through this exact same nightmare a few months ago. Before you consider deleting (which can create more problems), try one more thing that worked for me: have your parent try signing from their phone using the mobile browser instead of a computer. For some weird reason, the mobile version of the site handled signatures better when I was having issues. Also make sure they're not copying/pasting their FSA ID password - type it manually. I know it sounds silly but that was actually part of my problem! If none of the troubleshooting works and you absolutely have to delete, definitely call your schools first like others mentioned. Good luck!

I'm dealing with similar signature issues right now! Reading through all these suggestions has been super helpful. I wanted to add one more thing that my school's financial aid counselor told me - apparently there's also a known issue where if you have multiple tabs open with studentaid.gov, it can interfere with the signature process. She said to make sure you close all other tabs and only have one FAFSA tab open when attempting signatures. Also, if your parent's FSA ID was created very recently (like within the last 72 hours), there might still be a verification delay on the backend even if it appears active. Might be worth waiting a day or two if that's the case before trying the nuclear option of deleting everything!