Have equity in your home? Want a lower payment? An appraisal from A. G. Appraisal Services can help you get rid of your PMI.It's typically understood that a 20% down payment is the standard when buying a house. The lender's risk is often only the remainder between the home value and the sum outstanding on the loan, so the 20% provides a nice cushion against the charges of foreclosure, reselling the home, and regular value fluctuations on the chance that a purchaser doesn't pay. During the recent mortgage upturn of the mid 2000s, it was common to see lenders commanding down payments of 10, 5 or sometimes 0 percent. A lender is able to endure the increased risk of the reduced down payment with Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. This added plan protects the lender in the event a borrower is unable to pay on the loan and the value of the property is less than what the borrower still owes on the loan. PMI can be pricey to a borrower on the grounds that the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is compiled into the mortgage payment and generally isn't even tax deductible. It's favorable for the lender because they collect the money, and they get paid if the borrower doesn't pay, opposite from a piggyback loan where the lender absorbs 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 homeowners keep from bearing the expense of PMI?The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 requires the lenders on most loans to automatically eliminate the PMI when the principal balance of the loan equals 78 percent of the initial loan amount. Keen homeowners can get off the hook sooner than expected. The law pledges that, at the request of the home owner, the PMI must be abandoned when the principal amount reaches just 80 percent. Considering it can take countless years to get to 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, every bit of appreciation you've obtained over time counts towards removing PMI. So what's the reason for paying it after your loan balance has fallen below the 80% threshold? Your neighborhood may not be reflecting the national trends and/or your home could have acquired equity before things settled down, so even when nationwide trends forecast falling home values, you should realize that real estate is local. The hardest thing for almost all home owners to know is just when their home's equity rises above the 20% point. An accredited, licensed real estate appraiser can definitely help. It's an appraiser's job to keep up with the market dynamics of their area. At A. G. Appraisal Services, we're experts at pinpointing value trends in Dubuque, Dubuque County and surrounding areas, and we know when property values have risen or declined. When faced with data from an appraiser, the mortgage company will most often eliminate the PMI with little effort. At which time, the home owner can enjoy the savings from that point on.
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