Have equity in your home? Want a lower payment? An appraisal from Summers & Associates LLC can help you get rid of your PMI.When buying a house, a 20% down payment is usually the standard. The lender's risk is often only the remainder between the home value and the amount outstanding on the loan, so the 20% adds a nice buffer against the charges of foreclosure, selling the home again, and typical value fluctuations in the event a borrower doesn't pay. The market was working with down payments as low as 10, 5 and often 0 percent during the mortgage boom of the last decade. A lender is able to handle the added risk of the low down payment with Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. This supplemental policy guards the lender in case a borrower is unable to pay on the loan and the market price of the house is lower than what the borrower still owes on the loan. Since the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is bundled into the mortgage payment and oftentimes isn't even tax deductible, PMI can be costly to a borrower. Separate from a piggyback loan where the lender absorbs all the deficits, PMI is profitable for the lender because they acquire the money, and they get the money if the borrower doesn't pay. 
Does your monthly mortgage payment include PMI? Contact us, you may be able to save money by removing your PMI. How buyers can refrain from bearing the expense of PMIWith the employment of The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998, on most loans lenders are required to automatically cancel the PMI when the principal balance of the loan equals 78 percent of the primary loan amount. Smart home owners can get off the hook beforehand. The law guarantees that, upon request of the home owner, the PMI must be dropped when the principal amount reaches just 80 percent. It can take many years to reach the point where the principal is only 20% of the original loan amount, so it's essential to know how your home has appreciated in value. After all, all of the 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 reflecting the national trends and/or your home could have secured equity before things calmed down, so even when nationwide trends forecast plummeting home values, you should understand that real estate is local. A certified, licensed real estate appraiser can help homeowners understand just when their home's equity rises above the 20% point, as it's a difficult thing to know. As appraisers, it's our job to recognize the market dynamics of our area. At Summers & Associates LLC, we're masters at identifying value trends in Fort Wayne, Allen County and surrounding areas, and we know when property values have risen or declined. When faced with figures from an appraiser, the mortgage company will usually do away with the PMI with little anxiety. At that time, the home owner can enjoy the savings from that point on.
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