Have equity in your home? Want a lower payment? An appraisal from Corrie Appraisal & Consulting, Inc. can help you get rid of your PMI.When purchasing a home, a 20% down payment is typically the standard. Considering the liability for the lender is usually only the remainder between the home value and the amount outstanding on the loan, the 20% provides a nice cushion against the costs of foreclosure, reselling the home, and typical value fluctuationsin the event a borrower doesn't pay. Banks were taking down payments as low as 10, 5 and often 0 percent during the mortgage boom of the last decade. How does a lender manage the additional risk of the low down payment? The solution is Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. PMI guards the lender in the event a borrower doesn't pay on the loan and the market price of the home is less than the balance of the loan. Because the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is lumped into the mortgage payment and often isn't even tax deductible, PMI is pricey to a borrower. Unlike a piggyback loan where the lender takes in all the damages, PMI is favorable for the lender because they obtain the money, and they get paid 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 homeowners can keep from bearing the cost of PMIWith the employment of The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998, on nearly all loans lenders are forced to automatically cancel the PMI when the principal balance of the loan reaches 78 percent of the primary loan amount. Keen homeowners can get off the hook a little early. The law designates that, at the request of the home owner, the PMI must be abandoned when the principal amount equals only 80 percent. It can take countless years to get to the point where the principal is only 20% of the initial amount borrowed, so it's important to know how your home has increased in value. After all, any appreciation you've gained over time counts towards abolishing PMI. So what's the reason for paying it after the balance of your loan has dropped below the 80% mark? Even when nationwide trends signify decreasing home values, realize that real estate is local. Your neighborhood may not be reflecting the national trends and/or your home might have gained equity before things settled down. A certified, licensed real estate appraiser can help home owners understand just when their home's equity goes over the 20% point, as it's a difficult thing to know. It's an appraiser's job to know the market dynamics of their area. At Corrie Appraisal & Consulting, Inc., we know when property values have risen or declined. We're experts at recognizing value trends in Charleston, Coles County and surrounding areas. Faced with information from an appraiser, the mortgage company will most often cancel the PMI with little trouble. At which time, the homeowner can delight in the savings from that point on.
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