Edwards Appraisal Service, Inc. can help you remove your Private Mortgage Insurance

It's generally known that a 20% down payment is the standard when buying a house. Since the risk for the lender is oftentimes only the remainder between the home value and the sum outstanding on the loan, the 20% provides a nice cushion against the charges of foreclosure, selling the home again, and natural value fluctuationsin the event a borrower defaults.

During the recent mortgage boom of the last decade, it became customary to see lenders requiring down payments of 10, 5 or even 0 percent. A lender is able to handle the increased risk of the reduced down payment with Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. This added policy protects the lender if a borrower doesn't pay on the loan and the market price of the property is less 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 rolled into the mortgage payment and often isn't even tax deductible. Unlike a piggyback loan where the lender takes in all the deficits, PMI is advantageous for the lender because they secure the money, and they get the money 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 can a home owner prevent bearing the expense of PMI?

The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 makes the lenders on most loans to automatically stop the PMI when the principal balance of the loan reaches 78 percent of the initial loan amount. Acute homeowners can get off the hook a little earlier. The law pledges that, upon request of the home owner, the PMI must be released when the principal amount reaches just 80 percent.

Considering it can take countless years to reach the point where the principal is only 20% of the original amount of the loan, it's essential to know how your home has increased in value. After all, all of the appreciation you've obtained over time counts towards dismissing PMI. So what's the reason for paying it after your loan balance has fallen below the 80% threshold? Even when nationwide trends signify plummeting home values, understand that real estate is local. Your neighborhood may not be heeding the national trends and/or your home may have acquired equity before things cooled off.

An accredited, licensed real estate appraiser can help home owners understand just when their home's equity rises above the 20% point, as it's a difficult thing to know. As appraisers, it's our job to keep up with the market dynamics of our area. At Edwards Appraisal Service, Inc., we know when property values have risen or declined. We're masters at pinpointing value trends in Goldsboro, Wayne County and surrounding areas. When faced with information from an appraiser, the mortgage company will often remove the PMI with little trouble. At which time, the homeowner can delight in 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