Keene Appraisals LLC can help you remove your Private Mortgage InsuranceWhen buying a house, a 20% down payment is typically the standard. The lender's liability is often only the difference between the home value and the sum outstanding on the loan, so the 20% provides a nice buffer against the costs of foreclosure, selling the home again, and natural value variations on the chance that a purchaser is unable to pay. During the recent mortgage upturn of the mid 2000s, it became customary to see lenders requiring down payments of 10, 5 or often 0 percent. A lender is able to endure the additional risk of the reduced down payment with Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. This supplemental policy takes care of the lender in case a borrower defaults on the loan and the worth of the home is less than the balance of the loan. Because the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is lumped into the mortgage payment and generally isn't even tax deductible, PMI can be costly to a borrower. Separate from a piggyback loan where the lender absorbs all the losses, PMI is money-making for the lender because they collect the money, and they receive payment 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 can a buyer keep from bearing the cost of PMI?The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 forces the lenders on most loans to automatically cease the PMI when the principal balance of the loan equals 78 percent of the beginning loan amount. Savvy homeowners can get off the hook beforehand. The law guarantees that, at the request of the home owner, the PMI must be abandoned when the principal amount reaches just 80 percent. Considering it can take many years to arrive at the point where the principal is just 20% of the initial amount of the loan, it's necessary to know how your home has appreciated in value. After all, every bit of appreciation you've achieved over time counts towards removing PMI. So why should you pay it after your loan balance has dropped below the 80% threshold? Your neighborhood might not be heeding the national trends and/or your home might have gained equity before things settled down, so even when nationwide trends indicate plunging home values, you should realize that real estate is local. A certified, licensed real estate appraiser can help home owners understand just when their home's equity rises above the 20% point, as it's a hard thing to know. It is an appraiser's job to keep up with the market dynamics of their area. At Keene Appraisals LLC, we know when property values have risen or declined. We're experts at determining value trends in High Springs, Alachua County and surrounding areas. Faced with data from an appraiser, the mortgage company will most often drop the PMI with little effort. At which time, the home owner can retain the savings from that point on.
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