Let Vegas Valuation help you discover if you can cancel your PMIA 20% down payment is usually accepted when purchasing a home. The lender's risk is generally only the difference between the home value and the amount due on the loan, so the 20% provides a nice buffer against the charges of foreclosure, selling the home again, and typical value fluctuations in the event a purchaser doesn't pay. The market was accepting down payments as low as 10, 5 and often 0 percent during the mortgage boom of the last decade. How does a lender endure the added risk of the small down payment? The solution is Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. This added plan guards the lender in case a borrower is unable to pay on the loan and the market price of the house is lower than what the borrower still owes on the loan. PMI is costly to a borrower because the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is lumped into the mortgage payment and many times isn't even tax deductible. Unlike a piggyback loan where the lender takes in all the losses, PMI is beneficial for the lender because they collect the money, and they get paid 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 home buyers can refrain from bearing the expense of PMIThe Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 forces the lenders on nearly all loans to automatically cease the PMI when the principal balance of the loan reaches 78 percent of the initial loan amount. The law stipulates that, upon request of the homeowner, the PMI must be abandoned when the principal amount reaches just 80 percent. So, acute homeowners can get off the hook sooner than expected. Considering it can take many years to reach the point where the principal is just 20% of the original loan amount, it's essential to know how your home has grown in value. After all, every bit of appreciation you've gained over the years counts towards removing PMI. So what's the reason for paying it after the balance of your loan has dropped below the 80% threshold? Despite the fact that nationwide trends predict decreasing home values, understand that real estate is local. Your neighborhood may not be minding the national trends and/or your home could have secured equity before things simmered down. The toughest thing for most home owners to understand is just when their home's equity rises above the 20% point. An accredited, licensed real estate appraiser can surely help. As appraisers, it's our job to keep up with the market dynamics of our area. At Vegas Valuation, we're masters at identifying value trends in Las Vegas, Clark County and surrounding areas, and we know when property values have risen or declined. Faced with figures from an appraiser, the mortgage company will often cancel the PMI with little effort. At that time, the home owner can relish the savings from that point on.
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