Have equity in your home? Want a lower payment? An appraisal from EAS Appraisal Services can help you get rid of your PMI.A 20% down payment is usually accepted when buying a house. The lender's liability is often only the difference between the home value and the amount remaining on the loan, so the 20% adds a nice buffer against the charges of foreclosure, reselling the home, and regular value changes in the event a borrower defaults. During the recent mortgage boom of the mid 2000s, it was customary to see lenders requiring down payments of 10, 5 or even 0 percent. How does a lender handle the additional risk of the small down payment? The answer is Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. This supplementary plan protects the lender if a borrower defaults on the loan and the value of the home is less than what is owed on the loan. Because the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is rolled into the mortgage monthly payment and oftentimes isn't even tax deductible, PMI is costly to a borrower. Opposite from a piggyback loan where the lender absorbs all the deficits, PMI is lucrative for the lender because they obtain the money, and they receive payment 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 can a homebuyer refrain from bearing the expense of PMI?The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 forces the lenders on most loans to automatically eliminate the PMI when the principal balance of the loan reaches 78 percent of the initial loan amount. Savvy homeowners can get off the hook a little early. The law designates that, upon request of the homeowner, the PMI must be dropped when the principal amount reaches only 80 percent. It can take countless years to get to the point where the principal is only 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 obtained over the years counts towards removing PMI. So why should you pay it after your loan balance has fallen below the 80% mark? Your neighborhood might not be heeding the national trends and/or your home could have gained equity before things cooled off, so even when nationwide trends forecast declining home values, you should understand that real estate is local. The difficult thing for many home owners to know is just when their home's equity rises above the 20% point. A certified, licensed real estate appraiser can certainly help. It's an appraiser's job to understand the market dynamics of their area. At EAS Appraisal Services, we know when property values have risen or declined. We're experts at recognizing value trends in Pembroke Pines and the surrounding areas. Faced with figures from an appraiser, the mortgage company will most often do away with the PMI with little effort. At that time, the home owner can delight in the savings from that point on.
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