Have equity in your home? Want a lower payment? An appraisal from Wronski Appraisal Services Inc. can help you get rid of your PMI.A 20% down payment is usually the standard when buying a house. Since the risk for the lender is usually only the remainder between the home value and the amount remaining on the loan, the 20% supplies a nice cushion against the expenses of foreclosure, reselling the home, and typical value variationsin the event a borrower defaults. The market was taking down payments down to 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 reduced down payment with Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. PMI protects the lender if a borrower is unable to pay on the loan and the worth of the house is less than what is owed on the loan. Since the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is bundled into the mortgage monthly payment and generally isn't even tax deductible, PMI is costly to a borrower. It's beneficial for the lender because they secure the money, and they get paid if the borrower doesn't pay, separate 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 a buyer refrain from paying PMI?The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 makes the lenders on most loans to automatically cease the PMI when the principal balance of the loan reaches 78 percent of the beginning loan amount. The law states that, upon request of the home owner, the PMI must be abandoned when the principal amount reaches only 80 percent. So, wise homeowners can get off the hook a little early. It can take many years to arrive at the point where the principal is only 20% of the original loan amount, so it's important to know how your home has grown in value. After all, every bit of appreciation you've obtained over time counts towards removing PMI. So why pay it after the balance of your loan has dropped below the 80% mark? Your neighborhood may not be heeding the national trends and/or your home may have gained equity before things settled down, so even when nationwide trends signify plunging home values, you should realize that real estate is local. A certified, licensed real estate appraiser can help homeowners understand just when their home's equity goes over the 20% point, as it's a hard thing to know. As appraisers, it's our job to recognize the market dynamics of our area. At Wronski Appraisal Services Inc., we know when property values have risen or declined. We're masters at determining value trends in Scottsdale, Maricopa County and surrounding areas. Faced with data from an appraiser, the mortgage company will often remove the PMI with little effort. At which time, the home owner can relish the savings from that point on.
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