I-485 request for evidence...evidence of ownership

[mcovell 0]

My husband is self employed and we recently received a request for initial evidence I-485 that they want "evidence of ownership, a recent licensed appraisal or county tax assessment, and any mortgage/lien or lien release of any real estate". My husband owns real estate and i already submitted a list of the value and dates of the properties that he has as well as the house deeds that show the purchase amount. They wrote on the request for evidence paper that 'in order to use real estate, the equity in the real estate must be established'. What does this mean? Any suggestions of what I should include? (My husband paid for the houses in full. He doesn't have a mortgage).

Would appreciate input. Thanks

[Lainie B 465]

Moving to "AOS from family-based visas" forum

[WalterC 1]

You could use the appraisal done when he bought the property, if he had one done and this was recent. The most recent county tax valuation would also work, although this may be lower than the value from an appraisal. Hopefully you won't need an appraisal, but if you do you could shop around and make sure you get a reasonable cost, and maybe a multiple appraisal discount. At least you would be hiring the appraiser instead of someone else like a lender. Seems to me like an unnecessary expense given that the other two options are something you already have, but it does seem clear that they want something different from what you submitted.

Good luck.

My husband is self employed and we recently received a request for initial evidence I-485 that they want "evidence of ownership, a recent licensed appraisal or county tax assessment, and any mortgage/lien or lien release of any real estate". My husband owns real estate and i already submitted a list of the value and dates of the properties that he has as well as the house deeds that show the purchase amount. They wrote on the request for evidence paper that 'in order to use real estate, the equity in the real estate must be established'. What does this mean? Any suggestions of what I should include? (My husband paid for the houses in full. He doesn't have a mortgage).
Would appreciate input. Thanks

[Dave&Roza 748]

My husband is self employed and we recently received a request for initial evidence I-485 that they want "evidence of ownership, a recent licensed appraisal or county tax assessment, and any mortgage/lien or lien release of any real estate". My husband owns real estate and i already submitted a list of the value and dates of the properties that he has as well as the house deeds that show the purchase amount. They wrote on the request for evidence paper that 'in order to use real estate, the equity in the real estate must be established'. What does this mean? Any suggestions of what I should include? (My husband paid for the houses in full. He doesn't have a mortgage).

Would appreciate input. Thanks

You need to show the fair market value of the house minus any mortgage to get the net asset value. I would spend the money and get an offical appraisal--the one we used charged us a base fee plus an additional amount for each additional property. The problem we had is we had property in two different states. Then you will need to show how much is still owed to the bank. Since you do not have a mortgage, you might need to go to the county courthouse and get copies of the records to show there is no Deed of Trust. Maybe you can get the County Clerk to write a letter of attestation to the fact that there is no Deed of Trust on the property and the current owner owns it free and clear.

Good luck,

Dave

[KayDeeCee 4,900]

You need an appraisal and proof your house is paid off.

From Page 7 of the I-864 instructions >

You may include the net value of your home as an asset. The net value of the home is the appraised value of the home,
minus the sum of any and all loans secured by a mortgage, trust deed, or other lien on the home. If you wish to include the
net value of your home, this, you must include documentation demonstrating that you own it, a recent appraisal by a
licensed appraiser, and evidence of the amount of any and all loans secured by a mortgage, trust deed, or other lien on the
home. You may not include the net value of an automobile unless you show that you have more than one automobile, and
at least one automobile is not included as an asset.