Have equity in your home? Want a lower payment? An appraisal from Marden L.L.C. Appraisals can help you get rid of your PMI.When purchasing a home, a 20% down payment is usually the standard. Since the risk for the lender is usually only the remainder between the home value and the sum remaining on the loan, the 20% adds a nice cushion against the expenses of foreclosure, reselling the home, and natural value fluctuationsin the event a purchaser doesn't pay. Banks were accepting down payments as low as 10, 5 and even 0 percent during the mortgage boom of the last decade. A lender is able to manage the increased risk of the minimal down payment with Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. This supplementary policy covers the lender in the event a borrower doesn't pay on the loan and the market price of the property is less than the loan balance. Because the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is bundled into the mortgage monthly payment and oftentimes isn't even tax deductible, PMI is costly to a borrower. Different from a piggyback loan where the lender takes in all the losses, PMI is advantageous for the lender because they collect the money, and they get paid 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 can a homeowner refrain from paying PMI?With the implementation of The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998, on most loans lenders are forced to automatically cease the PMI when the principal balance of the loan reaches 78 percent of the original loan amount. The law designates that, at the request of the homeowner, the PMI must be dropped when the principal amount equals only 80 percent. So, keen homeowners can get off the hook a little early. It can take countless years to get to the point where the principal is just 20% of the initial loan amount, 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 what's the reason for paying it after your loan balance has dropped below the 80% threshold? Even when nationwide trends hint at plummeting home values, understand that real estate is local. Your neighborhood may not be following the national trends and/or your home could have secured equity before things calmed down. An accredited, licensed real estate appraiser can help home owners 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 keep up with the market dynamics of our area. At Marden L.L.C. Appraisals, we know when property values have risen or declined. We're experts at recognizing value trends in Dothan, Houston County and surrounding areas. Faced with data from an appraiser, the mortgage company will most often drop the PMI with little anxiety. At which time, the homeowner can delight in the savings from that point on.
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