Have equity in your home? Want a lower payment? An appraisal from Prestige Appraisal, LLC can help you get rid of your PMI.When getting a mortgage, a 20% down payment is typically the standard. Because the risk for the lender is oftentimes only the remainder between the home value and the sum outstanding on the loan, the 20% adds a nice buffer against the expenses of foreclosure, reselling the home, and typical value changesin the event a borrower doesn't pay. The market was working with down payments as low as 10, 5 and even 0 percent during the mortgage boom of the mid 2000s. How does a lender manage the additional risk of the low down payment? The solution is Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. This additional plan protects the lender in the event a borrower defaults on the loan and the value of the house is lower than the loan balance. PMI is pricey to a borrower in that the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is compiled into the mortgage monthly payment and often isn't even tax deductible. It's money-making for the lender because they acquire the money, and they get paid if the borrower is unable to pay, unlike a piggyback loan where the lender takes in all the damages. 
Does your monthly mortgage payment include PMI? Contact us, you may be able to save money by removing your PMI. How homebuyers can prevent bearing the cost of PMIWith the implementation of The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998, on nearly all loans lenders are required to automatically eliminate the PMI when the principal balance of the loan equals 78 percent of the original loan amount. Smart homeowners can get off the hook a little early. The law stipulates that, at the request of the home owner, the PMI must be dropped when the principal amount reaches just 80 percent. Because it can take many years to arrive at the point where the principal is just 20% of the original loan amount, it's important to know how your home has appreciated in value. After all, all of the appreciation you've accomplished over the years 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 cooled off, so even when nationwide trends forecast plummeting home values, you should understand that real estate is local. The hardest thing for most homeowners to know is just when their home's equity rises above the 20% point. A certified, licensed real estate appraiser can surely help. As appraisers, it's our job to know the market dynamics of our area. At Prestige Appraisal, LLC, we're masters at analyzing value trends in Sylva, Jackson County and surrounding areas, and we know when property values have risen or declined. Faced with figures from an appraiser, the mortgage company will most often drop the PMI with little trouble. At which time, the homeowner can enjoy the savings from that point on.
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