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Let Barnes Appraisal Company help you discover if you can cancel your PMI

It's generally understood that a 20% down payment is common when getting a mortgage. The lender's liability is oftentimes only the remainder between the home value and the amount outstanding on the loan, so the 20% provides a nice buffer against the charges of foreclosure, reselling the home, and regular value fluctuations on the chance that a purchaser is unable to pay.

During the recent mortgage boom of the mid 2000s, it became customary to see lenders taking down payments of 10, 5 or often 0 percent. How does a lender handle the additional risk of the small down payment? The solution is Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. PMI protects the lender in case a borrower doesn't pay on the loan and the market price of the house is lower than the balance of the loan.

PMI is pricey to a borrower on the grounds that the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is lumped into the mortgage payment and oftentimes isn't even tax deductible. Opposite from a piggyback loan where the lender consumes all the costs, PMI is favorable for the lender because they obtain 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 can home buyers prevent bearing the cost of PMI?

The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 makes the lenders on nearly all loans to automatically cease the PMI when the principal balance of the loan equals 78 percent of the initial loan amount. Keen homeowners can get off the hook ahead of time. The law designates that, upon request of the home owner, the PMI must be dropped when the principal amount reaches only 80 percent.

Considering it can take many years to reach the point where the principal is only 20% of the original loan amount, it's necessary to know how your home has appreciated in value. After all, every bit of appreciation you've accomplished over the years counts towards removing PMI. So why pay it after the balance of your loan has fallen below the 80% mark? Your neighborhood might not be minding the national trends and/or your home might have secured equity before things simmered down, so even when nationwide trends predict falling home values, you should understand that real estate is local.

The difficult thing for many homeowners to understand is just when their home's equity rises above the 20% point. A certified, licensed real estate appraiser can certainly help. As appraisers, it's our job to keep up with the market dynamics of our area. At Barnes Appraisal Company, we know when property values have risen or declined. We're experts at analyzing value trends in Lawton, Comanche County and surrounding areas. Faced with data from an appraiser, the mortgage company will most often cancel the PMI with little effort. At which time, the homeowner can enjoy 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