Have equity in your home? Want a lower payment? An appraisal from KEY INSIGHT can help you get rid of your PMI.It's largely understood that a 20% down payment is common when purchasing a home. The lender's risk is often only the remainder between the home value and the sum outstanding on the loan, so the 20% provides a nice cushion against the charges of foreclosure, reselling the home, and natural value fluctuations in the event a purchaser doesn't pay. During the recent mortgage upturn of the last decade, it became widespread to see lenders taking down payments of 10, 5 or often 0 percent. A lender is able to handle the increased risk of the reduced down payment with Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. This additional plan protects the lender if a borrower defaults on the loan and the market price of the home is lower than the loan balance. Since the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is bundled into the mortgage payment and frequently isn't even tax deductible, PMI can be expensive to a borrower. It's advantageous for the lender because they collect the money, and they get paid if the borrower doesn't pay, opposite from a piggyback loan where the lender consumes all the deficits. 
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 cost of PMIWith the implementation of The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998, on nearly all loans lenders are forced to automatically cancel the PMI when the principal balance of the loan reaches 78 percent of the initial loan amount. Acute homeowners can get off the hook a little early. The law designates that, upon request of the homeowner, the PMI must be abandoned when the principal amount equals just 80 percent. Because it can take many years to arrive at the point where the principal is just 20% of the original amount of the loan, it's necessary to know how your home has appreciated in value. After all, every bit of appreciation you've gained over time counts towards removing PMI. So why should you pay it after the balance of your loan has fallen below the 80% threshold? Your neighborhood may not be heeding the national trends and/or your home could have acquired equity before things simmered down, so even when nationwide trends indicate plummeting home values, you should understand that real estate is local. The difficult thing for many home owners to know is just when their home's equity rises above the 20% point. A certified, licensed real estate appraiser can surely help. As appraisers, it's our job to understand the market dynamics of our area. At KEY INSIGHT, we know when property values have risen or declined. We're masters at analyzing value trends in Rhinelander, Oneida County and surrounding areas. When faced with data from an appraiser, the mortgage company will often cancel the PMI with little anxiety. At which time, the home owner can relish the savings from that point on.
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