Have equity in your home? Want a lower payment? An appraisal from The Appraisal Firm can help you get rid of your PMI.When buying a house, a 20% down payment is usually the standard. The lender's liability is often only the difference between the home value and the amount remaining on the loan, so the 20% adds a nice buffer against the expenses of foreclosure, selling the home again, and natural value fluctuations in the event a borrower is unable to pay. Lenders were accepting down payments as low as 10, 5 and even 0 percent in the peak of last decade's mortgage boom. A lender is able to handle the added risk of the small down payment with Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. PMI takes care of the lender in the event a borrower is unable to pay on the loan and the market price of the property is less than what the borrower still owes on the loan. Since the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is compiled into the mortgage monthly payment and frequently isn't even tax deductible, PMI can be expensive to a borrower. Unlike a piggyback loan where the lender consumes all the costs, PMI is money-making for the lender because they secure the money, and they get paid if the borrower defaults. 
Does your monthly mortgage payment include PMI? Contact us, you may be able to save money by removing your PMI. How homeowners can refrain from bearing the expense of PMIThe Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 forces the lenders on nearly all loans to automatically cancel the PMI when the principal balance of the loan equals 78 percent of the primary loan amount. Acute homeowners can get off the hook a little earlier. The law pledges that, upon request of the home owner, the PMI must be dropped when the principal amount equals only 80 percent. Since it can take many years to get to the point where the principal is just 20% of the original amount of the loan, it's necessary to know how your home has grown in value. After all, every bit of appreciation you've achieved over the years counts towards dismissing PMI. So why pay it after the balance of your loan has fallen below the 80% mark? Your neighborhood might not be following the national trends and/or your home might have secured equity before things calmed down, so even when nationwide trends indicate decreasing home values, you should understand that real estate is local. An accredited, licensed real estate appraiser can help homeowners understand just when their home's equity rises above the 20% point, as it's a hard thing to know. As appraisers, it's our job to know the market dynamics of our area. At The Appraisal Firm, we know when property values have risen or declined. We're masters at analyzing value trends in Escondido, San Diego County and surrounding areas. When faced with information from an appraiser, the mortgage company will usually do away with the PMI with little anxiety. At which time, the homeowner can delight in the savings from that point on.
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