Metropolitan Real Estate Appraisal Service, Inc. can help you remove your Private Mortgage Insurance

When getting a mortgage, a 20% down payment is typically the standard. The lender's risk is generally only the difference between the home value and the amount due on the loan, so the 20% supplies a nice cushion against the costs of foreclosure, reselling the home, and regular value changes in the event a borrower defaults.

Banks were accepting down payments as low as 10, 5 and often 0 percent during the mortgage boom of the mid 2000s. A lender is able to endure the additional risk of the reduced down payment with Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. This supplementary policy covers the lender in the event a borrower doesn't pay on the loan and the market price of the home is less than what is owed on the loan.

PMI is pricey to a borrower in that the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is lumped into the mortgage monthly payment and many times isn't even tax deductible. It's beneficial for the lender because they acquire the money, and they get paid if the borrower doesn't pay, opposite from a piggyback loan where the lender takes in all the deficits.

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

How can homebuyers refrain from bearing the expense of PMI?

With the utilization of The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998, on most loans lenders are required to automatically terminate the PMI when the principal balance of the loan equals 78 percent of the initial loan amount. The law guarantees that, at the request of the home owner, the PMI must be dropped when the principal amount reaches only 80 percent. So, keen homeowners can get off the hook sooner than expected.

It can take many years to reach the point where the principal is only 20% of the initial amount of the loan, so it's important to know how your home has increased in value. After all, every bit of appreciation you've accomplished over the years counts towards abolishing PMI. So why should you pay it after your loan balance has fallen below the 80% threshold? 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 indicate decreasing 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 tough thing to know. It's an appraiser's job to recognize the market dynamics of their area. At Metropolitan Real Estate Appraisal Service, Inc., we know when property values have risen or declined. We're masters at identifying value trends in Lanham, Prince Georges County and surrounding areas. Faced with figures from an appraiser, the mortgage company will usually drop the PMI with little anxiety. At that time, the homeowner 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