Have equity in your home? Want a lower payment? An appraisal from Professional Property Appraisals & Consulting can help you get rid of your PMI.When getting a mortgage, a 20% down payment is usually the standard. The lender's risk is often only the remainder between the home value and the sum due on the loan, so the 20% supplies a nice buffer against the expenses of foreclosure, selling the home again, and regular value variations on the chance that a purchaser is unable to pay. During the recent mortgage upturn of the mid 2000s, it was widespread to see lenders taking down payments of 10, 5 or even 0 percent. A lender is able to handle the increased risk of the reduced down payment with Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. PMI covers the lender in the event a borrower is unable to pay on the loan and the market price of the property is less than what the borrower still owes on the loan. PMI can be costly to a borrower on the grounds that 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 beneficial for the lender because they collect the money, and they receive payment if the borrower defaults, contradictory to a piggyback loan where the lender absorbs all the losses. 
Does your monthly mortgage payment include PMI? Contact us, you may be able to save money by removing your PMI. How can a homeowner avoid bearing the cost of PMI?The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 makes the lenders on most loans to automatically terminate the PMI when the principal balance of the loan reaches 78 percent of the initial loan amount. The law guarantees that, at the request of the home owner, the PMI must be abandoned when the principal amount reaches just 80 percent. So, wise home owners can get off the hook sooner than expected. Considering it can take countless years to reach the point where the principal is only 20% of the initial amount of the loan, it's essential to know how your home has grown in value. After all, every bit of appreciation you've gained over the years counts towards removing PMI. So why should you pay it after your loan balance has fallen below the 80% threshold? Your neighborhood might not be heeding the national trends and/or your home could have secured equity before things cooled off, so even when nationwide trends hint at plunging home values, you should realize that real estate is local. The difficult thing for most homeowners to understand is just when their home's equity goes over the 20% point. An accredited, licensed real estate appraiser can surely help. As appraisers, it's our job to keep up with the market dynamics of our area. At Professional Property Appraisals & Consulting, we're masters at identifying value trends in Miami, Miami-Dade County and surrounding areas, and we know when property values have risen or declined. Faced with data from an appraiser, the mortgage company will generally cancel the PMI with little effort. At which time, the homeowner can relish the savings from that point on.
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