Let Ashe Appraisal, LLC help you decide if you can cancel your PMIWhen getting a mortgage, a 20% down payment is usually the standard. Because the risk for the lender is often only the difference between the home value and the sum outstanding on the loan, the 20% supplies a nice cushion against the expenses of foreclosure, selling the home again, and regular value fluctuations in the event a purchaser defaults.During the recent mortgage boom that our country recently experienced, it became common to see lenders reducing down payments to 10, 5, 3 or sometimes 0 percent. A lender is able to handle the added risk of the reduced down payment with Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. This added plan covers the lender if a borrower doesn't pay on the loan and the value of the house is lower than what is owed on the loan. PMI can be costly to a borrower because the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is rolled into the mortgage payment and on many occasions isn't even tax deductible. Instead of a piggyback loan where the lender absorbs all the deficits, PMI is profitable for the lender because they secure the money, and they get paid if the borrower defaults.
How can a buyer refrain from paying PMI?With the implementation of The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998, lenders are obligated to automatically stop the PMI when the principal balance of the loan equals 78 percent of the beginning loan amount on nearly all loans. Acute home owners 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 equals only 80 percent.Since it can take several years to arrive at the point where the principal is only 80% of the original amount of the loan, it's essential to know how your Texas home has increased in value. After all, any appreciation you've accomplished over time counts towards dismissing PMI. So what's the reason for paying it after the balance of your loan has fallen below the 80% threshold? Even when nationwide trends forecast lower overall home values, understand that real estate is local. Your neighborhood may not be adhering to the national trends and/or your home could have secured equity before things declined. A certified, Texas licensed real estate appraiser can help homeowners figure out if their equity has reached the 20% point, as it's a hard thing to know. It is an appraiser's job to keep up with the market dynamics of their area. At Ashe Appraisal, LLC, we know when property values have risen or declined. We're masters at analyzing value trends in Plano, Collin County, and surrounding areas. Faced with data from an appraiser, the mortgage company will generally do away with 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
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