Have equity in your home? Want a lower payment? An appraisal from Property Valuation Group can help you get rid of your PMI.It's largely known that a 20% down payment is accepted when getting a mortgage. Considering the risk for the lender is often only the difference between the home value and the sum remaining on the loan, the 20% adds a nice buffer against the charges of foreclosure, reselling the home, and regular value changesin the event a borrower defaults. Banks were accepting down payments down to 10, 5 and often 0 percent in the peak of last decade's mortgage boom. How does a lender manage the increased risk of the small down payment? The answer is Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. This additional policy guards the lender in the event a borrower doesn't pay on the loan and the market price of the property is less than the balance of the loan. Since the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is bundled into the mortgage payment and often isn't even tax deductible, PMI can be pricey to a borrower. Opposite from a piggyback loan where the lender consumes all the costs, PMI is favorable for the lender because they secure the money, and they get the money 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 homebuyers can keep from paying PMIWith the implementation of The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998, on nearly all loans lenders are required to automatically terminate the PMI when the principal balance of the loan reaches 78 percent of the primary loan amount. Savvy home owners can get off the hook a little earlier. The law states that, upon request of the home owner, the PMI must be released when the principal amount equals only 80 percent. It can take many years to get to the point where the principal is only 20% of the initial amount borrowed, so it's crucial to know how your home has appreciated in value. After all, all of the appreciation you've achieved over time counts towards removing PMI. So why pay it after the balance of your loan has fallen below the 80% mark? Your neighborhood might not be adhering to the national trends and/or your home may have acquired equity before things calmed down, so even when nationwide trends forecast plummeting home values, you should realize 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 tough thing to know. As appraisers, it's our job to know the market dynamics of our area. At Property Valuation Group, we know when property values have risen or declined. We're experts at identifying value trends in Ferndale, Oakland County and surrounding areas. Faced with information from an appraiser, the mortgage company will most often drop the PMI with little effort. At which time, the homeowner can delight in the savings from that point on.
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