Let Aiken Appraisal, LLC help you learn if you can get rid of your PMI

It's typically known that a 20% down payment is common when buying a house. The lender's liability is oftentimes only the remainder between the home value and the sum outstanding on the loan, so the 20% supplies a nice cushion against the costs of foreclosure, selling the home again, and natural value changes in the event a borrower is unable to pay.

During the recent mortgage boom of the last decade, it was customary to see lenders requiring down payments of 10, 5 or often 0 percent. How does a lender manage the added risk of the low down payment? The solution is Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. This supplementary policy takes care of the lender in case a borrower is unable to pay on the loan and the worth of the house is lower than the loan balance.

PMI can be pricey to a borrower because the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is lumped into the mortgage monthly payment and oftentimes isn't even tax deductible. Separate from a piggyback loan where the lender absorbs all the damages, PMI is lucrative for the lender because they acquire the money, and they get paid if the borrower doesn't pay.

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

How homebuyers can prevent paying PMI

The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 requires the lenders on nearly all loans to automatically stop the PMI when the principal balance of the loan reaches 78 percent of the primary loan amount. Keen homeowners can get off the hook ahead of time. The law states that, at the request of the homeowner, the PMI must be abandoned when the principal amount reaches only 80 percent.

It can take countless years to reach the point where the principal is just 20% of the original amount of the loan, so it's crucial to know how your home has appreciated in value. After all, all of the appreciation you've gained over the years counts towards removing PMI. So what's the reason for paying it after your loan balance has dropped below the 80% mark? Your neighborhood might not be adopting the national trends and/or your home could have secured equity before things calmed down, so even when nationwide trends predict falling home values, you should realize that real estate is local.

A certified, licensed real estate appraiser can help home owners understand just when their home's equity rises above the 20% point, as it's a hard thing to know. It is an appraiser's job to understand the market dynamics of their area. At Aiken Appraisal, LLC, we're masters at analyzing value trends in Concrete, Skagit County and surrounding areas, and we know when property values have risen or declined. Faced with data from an appraiser, the mortgage company will usually eliminate the PMI with little effort. At which time, the home owner can retain 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