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Herbert Said:

Get rid of PMI on condo or put money in savings account?

We Answered:

Get rid of the PMI. PMI only benefits the mortgage company. It is there to protect them in case you default on your loan. It makes it easier for them to recoup their loss in the event that they must forclose on a home.

At any rate, it is wise to cancel the PMI when you reach 20%. You are just throwing money away if you continue to pay it. If you want, figure it out mathematically. I would bet that the 5% earnings on a high-yield savings account would fall way short of the amount you would pay into PMI.

One side note, make sure you call your lender and tell them to cancel the PMI. Most lenders will not automatically do it when you reach the 20% mark. You must call and tell them to cancel it, or you will keep getting billed for it! Good Luck!

Sheila Said:

Getting Rid of PMI on a Mortgage?

We Answered:

what you did was pay off the pmi in one lump payment now your looking for a refund, yes as countywide said theirs no pmi
you paid it off u can never recoup the money you already paid...

Betty Said:

Getting Rid of PMI without getting an appraisal?

We Answered:

it is 20% of the value, not purchase price. They can not determine value without an appraisal, so will require it.

Suzanne Said:

Get rid of PMI using Life Insurance?

We Answered:

I've never heard that one and I've been involved in RE for 40+ years. PMI is not controlled by the bank/ lender. A PMI company is an insurance company that underwrites loans originated with less that 80% loan to value. So so I rather doubt that is the case. Fact is, the lender is not worried if you die, they are worried that you will default because of the small amount of equity you have in the property.

When you do have 20% equity in your property there is a process where you can get the PMI removed if the loan is a Frannie Mae or Freddie Mac underwritten loan. Basically you must pay a lender approved appraiser to appraise the property and not have had any late payments in the last three years. With FHA their PMI/MMI can't be removed at anytime. That is the big negative with a FHA loan.

Often in "short sales" it is the PMI company that will not sign off on a low short sale price not the bank/lender.

Patrick Said:

Is there any way of getting rid of my PMI on my mortgage without refinancing or getting an appraisal?

We Answered:

PMI insurance on your mortgage guarantees that you will pay that mortgage or the insurance will pay your mortgage company your default amount. PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) is automatically put on your loan when your equity is higher than 20%. In other words, if you borrow more money that 80% of what the house is worth (19%-0% down), the lender will automatically put that extra cost on for you to pay with your monthly payments and that can be quite a sum. IF you can prove that you have more equity in the house now, you can have it just removed. You can prove it by your tax assessment. Say your assessment is $100,000 and your mortgage balance is $79,999 or less, you can remove the PMI insurance off your mortgage. You have to ask, they won't volunteer! Worth checking out. If you do refinance, it can only be for 80% of the value or you will get another PMI tacked on again. Appraisal, no, use your State Equalized Value from your taxes. Good Luck!

Jerry Said:

Refinance 5 or 10 year Arm fixed at 4.1%? Getting rid of PMI?

We Answered:

For your situation I would suggest talking to someone about an FHA loan. They are fixed for thirty years but you can get 1 loan up to 97% LTV for around 5.5% including PMI. You probably can't get a 4.1% ARM with the LTV you are talking about. Good Luck.