Have equity in your home? Want a lower payment? An appraisal from Crowe Appraisals 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 generally only the remainder between the home value and the amount due on the loan, so the 20% adds a nice buffer against the costs of foreclosure, reselling the home, and regular value fluctuations on the chance that a purchaser defaults. During the recent mortgage boom of the mid 2000s, it was customary to see lenders requiring down payments of 10, 5 or sometimes 0 percent. How does a lender endure the additional risk of the low down payment? The solution is Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. This additional plan guards the lender if a borrower defaults on the loan and the worth of the home is lower than the balance of the loan. Since 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 can be expensive to a borrower. Separate from a piggyback loan where the lender consumes all the deficits, PMI is favorable for the lender because they acquire the money, and they receive payment 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 can homeowners prevent bearing the expense of PMI?The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 forces the lenders on most loans to automatically eliminate the PMI when the principal balance of the loan reaches 78 percent of the initial loan amount. The law stipulates that, at the 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 sooner than expected. Since it can take countless years to get to the point where the principal is only 20% of the original amount borrowed, it's necessary to know how your home has appreciated in value. After all, any appreciation you've accomplished over the years counts towards removing PMI. So why should you pay it after your loan balance has dropped below the 80% mark? Even when nationwide trends forecast decreasing home values, understand that real estate is local. Your neighborhood might not be adopting the national trends and/or your home may have secured equity before things simmered down. The hardest thing for most home owners to know is just when their home's equity goes over the 20% point. An accredited, licensed real estate appraiser can definitely help. As appraisers, it's our job to recognize the market dynamics of our area. At Crowe Appraisals, we know when property values have risen or declined. We're masters at pinpointing value trends in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County and surrounding areas. Faced with figures from an appraiser, the mortgage company will generally do away with the PMI with little anxiety. At that time, the home owner can relish the savings from that point on.
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