Rental Property affects Financial Aid for College?

[Nathan Gulbronson]

Hi my name is Nathan, I am new to BP  and real-estate in general, I could use some advice. I am 22 and start my first year of college this week. So i am Using the GI bill to pay for college, but I also got approved for $6,300 this year in financial aid (Pell Grant/Federal Supplement Grant). Since my school is paid for, this money will be refunded to me. In my area I found some homes that i could afford to pay cash for, and rent out. Will this affect my grant eligibility next year, if so would it be worth it? The two options i am weighing right now are... 1. Wait until my final year of school to start purchasing or, 2. start purchasing this year, and risk losing 6k a year in tax free money.

I found a 912 SqFt 3 Bed, 1 Bath home on HUD for 22k, it needs about 7k in work. Rent for these types of houses in my area go about 850 on a conservative estimate. Obviously this is a great deal but would it be worth the money i could possibly lose in Grants?