Have equity in your home? Want a lower payment? An appraisal from Watson Appraisal Services, Inc can help you get rid of your PMI.It's largely inferred that a 20% down payment is common when getting a mortgage. The lender's liability is often only the difference between the home value and the sum remaining on the loan, so the 20% adds a nice buffer against the charges of foreclosure, reselling the home, and natural value changes on the chance that a purchaser doesn't pay. Banks were working with down payments as low as 10, 5 and often 0 percent in the peak of last decade's mortgage boom. A lender is able to handle the added risk of the minimal down payment with Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. PMI takes care of the lender in case a borrower defaults on the loan and the value of the house is lower than the loan balance. Since the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is rolled into the mortgage payment and oftentimes isn't even tax deductible, PMI can be costly to a borrower. Unlike a piggyback loan where the lender takes in all the losses, PMI is profitable for the lender because they collect 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 home buyers can prevent bearing the expense of PMIThe Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 obligates the lenders on most loans to automatically cancel the PMI when the principal balance of the loan equals 78 percent of the beginning loan amount. Wise home owners can get off the hook ahead of time. The law guarantees that, at the request of the home owner, the PMI must be abandoned when the principal amount equals only 80 percent. Because it can take countless years to arrive at the point where the principal is only 20% of the original loan amount, it's important to know how your home has grown in value. After all, any appreciation you've gained over the years counts towards removing PMI. So why should you pay it after your loan balance has dropped below the 80% threshold? Your neighborhood may not be heeding the national trends and/or your home might have acquired equity before things calmed down, so even when nationwide trends signify plummeting home values, you should understand that real estate is local. The difficult thing for most home owners to know is just when their home's equity goes over the 20% point. An accredited, licensed real estate appraiser can certainly help. As appraisers, it's our job to recognize the market dynamics of our area. At Watson Appraisal Services, Inc, we know when property values have risen or declined. We're experts at recognizing value trends in Raleigh, Wake County and surrounding areas. Faced with figures from an appraiser, the mortgage company will usually eliminate the PMI with little trouble. At which time, the homeowner can relish the savings from that point on.
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