Have equity in your home? Want a lower payment? An appraisal from Timely Appraisal Services can help you get rid of your PMI.A 20% down payment is typically the standard when buying a house. The lender's risk is generally only the remainder between the home value and the amount due on the loan, so the 20% supplies a nice buffer against the costs of foreclosure, selling the home again, and typical value fluctuations in the event a purchaser doesn't pay. Banks were taking down payments down to 10, 5 and even 0 percent during the mortgage boom of the mid 2000s. A lender is able to handle the added risk of the reduced down payment with Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. PMI covers the lender if a borrower is unable to pay on the loan and the market price of the house is less than what the borrower still owes on the loan. Because the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is rolled into the mortgage monthly payment and often isn't even tax deductible, PMI can be expensive to a borrower. It's beneficial for the lender because they collect the money, and they receive payment if the borrower is unable to pay, contradictory to a piggyback loan where the lender takes in all the damages. 
Does your monthly mortgage payment include PMI? Contact us, you may be able to save money by removing your PMI. How can a home buyer avoid bearing the expense of PMI?The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 obligates the lenders on most loans to automatically terminate the PMI when the principal balance of the loan reaches 78 percent of the primary loan amount. The law states that, upon request of the homeowner, the PMI must be dropped when the principal amount reaches only 80 percent. So, smart home owners can get off the hook sooner than expected. It can take many years to get to the point where the principal is only 20% of the original amount of the loan, so it's essential to know how your home has appreciated in value. After all, all of the appreciation you've achieved over the years counts towards dismissing PMI. So why pay it after the balance of your loan has dropped below the 80% mark? Despite the fact that nationwide trends hint at falling home values, realize that real estate is local. Your neighborhood might not be minding the national trends and/or your home might have gained equity before things settled down. The toughest thing for many homeowners to know is just when their home's equity goes over the 20% point. A certified, licensed real estate appraiser can certainly help. It's an appraiser's job to recognize the market dynamics of their area. At Timely Appraisal Services, we know when property values have risen or declined. We're masters at identifying value trends in Quinlan, Hunt County and surrounding areas. Faced with figures from an appraiser, the mortgage company will usually do away with the PMI with little anxiety. At which time, the home owner can delight in the savings from that point on.
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