Appraisal House, Inc. can help you remove your Private Mortgage InsuranceWhen getting a mortgage, a 20% down payment is usually the standard. The lender's risk is oftentimes only the remainder between the home value and the sum outstanding on the loan, so the 20% supplies a nice cushion against the costs of foreclosure, selling the home again, and regular value variations on the chance that a purchaser doesn't pay. During the recent mortgage boom of the mid 2000s, it was common to see lenders requiring down payments of 10, 5 or sometimes 0 percent. A lender is able to handle the increased risk of the low down payment with Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. PMI takes care of 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 can be expensive to a borrower because the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is rolled into the mortgage monthly payment and generally isn't even tax deductible. It's favorable for the lender because they collect the money, and they get the money if the borrower doesn't pay, separate from a piggyback loan where the lender takes in all the losses. 
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 refrain from bearing the expense of PMI?The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 requires the lenders on most loans to automatically stop the PMI when the principal balance of the loan equals 78 percent of the beginning loan amount. Keen homeowners can get off the hook sooner than expected. The law designates that, at the 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 arrive at the point where the principal is just 20% of the initial amount borrowed, it's crucial to know how your home has grown in value. After all, every bit of appreciation you've accomplished over time counts towards abolishing PMI. So why pay it after your loan balance has dropped below the 80% mark? Your neighborhood may not be reflecting the national trends and/or your home may have secured equity before things simmered down, so even when nationwide trends predict declining home values, you should realize that real estate is local. 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. It is an appraiser's job to keep up with the market dynamics of their area. At Appraisal House, Inc., we're experts at identifying value trends in Destin, Okaloosa County and surrounding areas, and we know when property values have risen or declined. When faced with information from an appraiser, the mortgage company will generally remove the PMI with little effort. At which time, the home owner can enjoy the savings from that point on.
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