Have equity in your home? Want a lower payment? An appraisal from Certified Appraisers can help you get rid of your PMI.When purchasing a home, a 20% down payment is usually the standard. Since the liability for the lender is usually only the difference between the home value and the sum due on the loan, the 20% provides a nice buffer against the costs of foreclosure, selling the home again, and natural value variationsin the event a borrower defaults. During the recent mortgage upturn of the mid 2000s, it was common to see lenders commanding down payments of 10, 5 or often 0 percent. A lender is able to endure the added risk of the reduced down payment with Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. This supplemental policy guards the lender if a borrower is unable to pay on the loan and the worth of the property is less than the balance of the loan. Because the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is lumped into the mortgage monthly payment and many times isn't even tax deductible, PMI is costly to a borrower. It's money-making for the lender because they obtain the money, and they get the money if the borrower is unable to pay, different from a piggyback loan where the lender absorbs all the damages. 
Does your monthly mortgage payment include PMI? Contact us, you may be able to save money by removing your PMI. How home buyers can keep from bearing the expense of PMIWith the employment of The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998, on nearly all loans lenders are required to automatically eliminate the PMI when the principal balance of the loan equals 78 percent of the primary loan amount. The law promises that, upon request of the home owner, the PMI must be dropped when the principal amount equals only 80 percent. So, savvy homeowners can get off the hook a little early. It can take many years to reach the point where the principal is only 20% of the original amount of the loan, so it's crucial to know how your home has appreciated in value. After all, every bit of appreciation you've accomplished over the years counts towards dismissing PMI. So why pay it after the balance of your loan has fallen below the 80% threshold? Your neighborhood might not be reflecting the national trends and/or your home might have acquired equity before things simmered down, so even when nationwide trends indicate plummeting home values, you should realize that real estate is local. An accredited, licensed real estate appraiser can help homeowners understand just when their home's equity goes over the 20% point, as it's a hard thing to know. As appraisers, it's our job to understand the market dynamics of our area. At Certified Appraisers, we're experts at determining value trends in Brentwood, Williamson County and surrounding areas, and we know when property values have risen or declined. Faced with information from an appraiser, the mortgage company will most often eliminate the PMI with little anxiety. At which time, the homeowner can delight in the savings from that point on.
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