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Have equity in your home? Want a lower payment? An appraisal from ASAP Appraisal Group can help you get rid of your PMI.

A 20% down payment is typically accepted when getting a mortgage. The lender's risk is usually only the remainder between the home value and the amount due on the loan, so the 20% adds a nice cushion against the expenses of foreclosure, reselling the home, and typical value changes on the chance that a purchaser is unable to pay.

Lenders were taking down payments as low as 10, 5 and often 0 percent in the peak of last decade's mortgage boom. How does a lender manage the additional risk of the low down payment? The answer is Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. This supplementary plan guards the lender in the event a borrower defaults on the loan and the worth of the home is less than the loan balance.

Because the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is compiled into the mortgage payment and often isn't even tax deductible, PMI can be pricey to a borrower. Separate from a piggyback loan where the lender takes in all the losses, PMI is profitable for the lender because they obtain the money, and they receive payment if the borrower is unable to pay.

Does your monthly mortgage payment include PMI? Contact us, you may be able to save money by removing your PMI.

How can home owners refrain from paying PMI?

With the utilization of The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998, on most loans lenders are obligated to automatically cease the PMI when the principal balance of the loan equals 78 percent of the primary loan amount. The law pledges that, at the request of the home owner, the PMI must be released when the principal amount reaches just 80 percent. So, smart homeowners can get off the hook a little early.

Since it can take countless years to arrive at the point where the principal is only 20% of the original loan amount, it's crucial to know how your home has increased in value. After all, any appreciation you've achieved over time counts towards abolishing PMI. So why pay it after the balance of your loan has dropped below the 80% mark? Your neighborhood may not be heeding the national trends and/or your home may have secured equity before things calmed down, so even when nationwide trends hint at plummeting home values, you should realize that real estate is local.

The difficult thing for almost all home owners to know is just when their home's equity goes over the 20% point. An accredited, licensed real estate appraiser can definitely help. It's an appraiser's job to understand the market dynamics of their area. At ASAP Appraisal Group, we're experts at analyzing value trends in Lakeland, Polk County and surrounding areas, and we know when property values have risen or declined. When faced with information from an appraiser, the mortgage company will most often drop the PMI with little anxiety. At which time, the home owner can delight in the savings from that point on.

Want to learn more about PMI and the Homeowners Protection Act? Click this link:
Cancellation of Private Mortgage Insurance: Federal Law May Save You Hundreds of Dollars Each Year