Wise Appraisal Services can help you remove your Private Mortgage InsuranceA 20% down payment is typically the standard when getting a mortgage. Since the liability for the lender is usually only the remainder between the home value and the amount due on the loan, the 20% adds a nice cushion against the charges of foreclosure, reselling the home, and typical value variationsin the event a purchaser doesn't pay. During the recent mortgage upturn of the last decade, it became widespread to see lenders taking down payments of 10, 5 or sometimes 0 percent. How does a lender manage the increased risk of the small down payment? The solution is Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. PMI protects the lender if a borrower defaults on the loan and the market price of the home is lower than the balance of the loan. PMI is costly to a borrower on the grounds that the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is bundled into the mortgage monthly payment and oftentimes isn't even tax deductible. Contradictory to a piggyback loan where the lender absorbs all the damages, PMI is lucrative for the lender because they acquire the money, and they get the money 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 can buyers avoid bearing the cost of PMI?With the utilization of The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998, on most loans lenders are forced to automatically eliminate the PMI when the principal balance of the loan reaches 78 percent of the beginning loan amount. Wise home owners can get off the hook a little early. The law promises that, at the request of the home owner, the PMI must be dropped when the principal amount reaches just 80 percent. Considering it can take countless years to get to the point where the principal is just 20% of the original amount of the loan, it's important to know how your home has appreciated in value. After all, all of the appreciation you've gained over time counts towards abolishing PMI. So why pay it after your loan balance has fallen below the 80% threshold? Your neighborhood may not be minding the national trends and/or your home might have secured equity before things settled down, so even when nationwide trends indicate falling home values, you should understand that real estate is local. An accredited, licensed real estate appraiser can help homeowners understand just when their home's equity rises above the 20% point, as it's a hard thing to know. As appraisers, it's our job to know the market dynamics of our area. At Wise Appraisal Services, we know when property values have risen or declined. We're masters at analyzing value trends in Lancaster, Lancaster County and surrounding areas. When faced with figures from an appraiser, the mortgage company will often remove the PMI with little trouble. At which time, the home owner can delight in the savings from that point on.
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