Intermountain Appraisals, Inc. can help you remove your Private Mortgage InsuranceA 20% down payment is usually accepted when purchasing a home. Because the liability for the lender is oftentimes only the remainder between the home value and the sum outstanding on the loan, the 20% supplies a nice cushion against the expenses of foreclosure, reselling the home, and typical value changesin the event a borrower doesn't pay. Banks were working with down payments down to 10, 5 and even 0 percent in the peak of last decade's mortgage boom. How does a lender endure the added risk of the low down payment? The solution is Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. PMI takes care of the lender in the event a borrower doesn't pay on the loan and the market price of the home is lower than what is owed on the loan. PMI can be pricey to a borrower because the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is lumped into the mortgage monthly payment and oftentimes isn't even tax deductible. It's money-making for the lender because they obtain the money, and they get the money if the borrower doesn't pay, contradictory to a piggyback loan where the lender takes in all the costs. 
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 refrain from bearing the expense of PMI?The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 forces the lenders on most loans to automatically terminate the PMI when the principal balance of the loan equals 78 percent of the beginning loan amount. The law stipulates that, upon request of the homeowner, the PMI must be released when the principal amount reaches just 80 percent. So, acute home owners can get off the hook ahead of time. Considering it can take many years to arrive at the point where the principal is just 20% of the initial amount borrowed, it's important to know how your home has appreciated in value. After all, any appreciation you've acquired over the years counts towards dismissing PMI. So why should you pay it after your loan balance has fallen below the 80% threshold? Your neighborhood might not be adhering to the national trends and/or your home might have secured equity before things settled down, so even when nationwide trends forecast falling home values, you should understand that real estate is local. The toughest thing for almost all homeowners to understand is just when their home's equity goes over the 20% point. A certified, licensed real estate appraiser can certainly help. As appraisers, it's our job to understand the market dynamics of our area. At Intermountain Appraisals, Inc., we're masters at recognizing value trends in Boise, Ada County and surrounding areas, and we know when property values have risen or declined. Faced with data from an appraiser, the mortgage company will most often 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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