Florida Property Research & Appraisal can help you remove your Private Mortgage InsuranceWhen purchasing a home, a 20% down payment is typically the standard. Because the risk for the lender is generally only the remainder between the home value and the sum outstanding on the loan, the 20% adds a nice buffer against the costs of foreclosure, selling the home again, and regular value variationson the chance that a purchaser is unable to pay. Banks were accepting down payments down to 10, 5 and often 0 percent in the peak of last decade's mortgage boom. How does a lender handle the additional risk of the low down payment? The answer is Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. This additional policy protects the lender in the event a borrower is unable to pay on the loan and the value of the property is less than what is owed on the loan. Because the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is lumped into the mortgage payment and frequently isn't even tax deductible, PMI can be expensive to a borrower. Separate from a piggyback loan where the lender consumes all the damages, PMI is lucrative for the lender because they obtain 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 home buyers can prevent bearing the cost of PMIThe Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 forces the lenders on most loans to automatically cancel the PMI when the principal balance of the loan reaches 78 percent of the original loan amount. The law designates that, at the request of the home owner, the PMI must be dropped when the principal amount equals just 80 percent. So, savvy homeowners can get off the hook sooner than expected. It can take many years to arrive at the point where the principal is only 20% of the original loan amount, so it's essential to know how your home has grown in value. After all, any appreciation you've accomplished over time counts towards removing PMI. So why pay it after your loan balance has fallen below the 80% mark? Your neighborhood might not be adhering to the national trends and/or your home may have acquired equity before things settled down, so even when nationwide trends hint at declining home values, you should understand that real estate is local. The hardest thing for most homeowners to understand is just when their home's equity rises above the 20% point. An accredited, licensed real estate appraiser can surely help. As appraisers, it's our job to know the market dynamics of our area. At Florida Property Research & Appraisal, we know when property values have risen or declined. We're masters at recognizing value trends in Tallahassee, Leon County and surrounding areas. Faced with data from an appraiser, the mortgage company will often do away with the PMI with little anxiety. At that time, the homeowner can relish the savings from that point on.
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