If you have to pay for private mortgage insurance (PMI), you are probably looking forward to the day when the equity in your home reaches 20% of the purchase price of the home so that you can be freed from PMI payments on your mortgage. .

Better yet, rising home values ​​could increasingly allow you to get a dump sooner than you expected. However, don’t get carried away by online home valuation estimates: lenders are the ones who set the PMI withdrawal eligibility thresholds.

What is the PMI?

When a buyer doesn’t have at least 20% down payment on a home financed with a conventional loan, they will likely need to purchase private mortgage insurance (PMI), an additional cost that is usually built into your monthly payment of ready. Most homebuyers need to get a PMI because they don’t have such a large down payment. In fact, the median down payment was 12% in 2019, according to a National Association of Realtors survey.

PMI provides additional financial protection for your lender against a potential default or foreclosure. The PMI amount is determined when finalizing your mortgage. It usually ends up costing between 0.58% and 1.86%.

Lenders will research PMI estimates from several sources when preparing your loan, and you will see the monthly cost in your loan estimate (LE) and closing disclosure (CD). If you think the PMI cost is too high, you can check with the lender to see if they can work with another PMI provider at a lower cost.

Related: States with the Highest and Lowest Mortgage Insurance Costs

Is the PMI mandatory?

Most conventional loans guaranteed by Government Sponsored Businesses (GSEs), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, require a PMI for a down payment of less than 20%.

Other federally guaranteed loans often have arrangements similar to PMI or nothing at all. If you can get a loan from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), you won’t pay any mortgage insurance. However, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) loans require borrowers to pay a guarantee fee, and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans require borrowers to pay a mortgage insurance premium for the term of the loan. ready.

Can PMI disappear automatically?

Your PMI payment may go missing without you taking action. Two situations can trigger this: when your principal balance reaches 78% of the initial value of your home or when you are halfway through the total term of your loan. Both situations are possible due to the Federal Homeowners Protection Act (HPA).

The HPA also allows you to request cancellation of your PMI when your mortgage balance reaches 80% of the home’s original value – the contract selling price or the appraised value of your home, depending on the current value. lower.

“These are general guidelines – guidelines may vary depending on the state, type of loan, investor, whether it is a primary residence or investment property, the history of loan repayments and whether or not the client has made significant improvements to their home, which can change the value of the property, ”says Sean Grzebin, Consumer Lending Manager for Chase Home Lending

3 ways to get rid of your PMI

If you don’t want to wait at least a few years until you hit the 20% equity threshold to have your PMI removed, you have three other options.

1. Pay off your mortgage faster

There are several ways to increase your equity at a faster rate, which would help you reach the PMI removal threshold faster.

For example, you could make additional payments on your principal during the year, such as sending all or part of your tax return to the mortgage manager. You can also make larger monthly mortgage payments. For example, you can divide your mortgage payment by 12 and make 1/12 of the extra payment each month, which will translate into a bigger payment by the end of the year.

2. Get a new assessment

If the value of your home has increased since the time you took out your mortgage, you may find that your equity has increased by at least 20%.

A lender won’t take your word for it, however. You will likely need to get a new appraisal, at your own expense, so that a professional third-party source can confirm the value of your new home. An appraisal can cost several hundred dollars, so confirm that your lender will accept a real estate broker’s appraisal, which may cost less.

Before hiring an appraiser, check with your lender that you are following their PMI removal regulations.

3. Refinance your mortgage

Refinancing your mortgage is another way to remove the PMI from your current mortgage.

If you know your home is worth enough for you to get a new mortgage with at least 20% equity, refinancing can be a good thing if you can:

• Get a lower interest rate. If you can’t get a lower rate, you could be paying more interest on the new loan than you save with the loss of PMI. For example, you might save $ 50 per month if the PMI goes away, which can add up to $ 600 per year. However, your PMI can end after a few more years anyway, and higher interest rates could cost thousands of dollars over the life of your loan.
• Limit the costs. Closing costs can total between 3% and 6% of your mortgage principal, which can amount to several thousand dollars on a $ 200,000 mortgage.

You will need to see if the refinancing is worth it, because if your interest rate is the same or similar to your current rate, refinancing could cost you more than what you would save by removing the PMI. And if you end up incorporating closing costs into your new loan, it could drop your equity to less than 20%, especially if your valuation is lower than expected.

Other requirements to cancel PMI

The PMI discharge conditions depend on the type of loan.

For example, for loans owned by Fannie Mae, if you had it between two and five years and it is your primary or secondary residence, you could get the PMI removed if the value of the house s ‘is appreciated enough to raise the current LTV ratio to 75%.

Also, if you have a loan for investment property through Freddie Mac and your home has risen enough in value to request the removal of the PMI, you must have a current LTV rate of 65% and have made mortgage payments for at least two years. You should also not have a 30-day late payment for the past year or a 60-day late payment for the past two years.

Fannie and Freddie’s rules also change if you’ve had the loan for less than two years but made significant improvements to the home that increased its value.

Next steps to cancel your PMI

If you’ve analyzed the numbers and found that you might be eligible for PMI removal, contact your lender about their specific removal process.

The requirements will vary depending on the lender, but you will usually need to make the request in writing, have a good payment history, no other liens on the property (such as a home equity loan or line of credit), and agree on the way you are going to get a professional estimate of the value of your home.

As you focus on the numbers that show an increase in your home’s value and equity, consider what it might cost if you try to remove your PMI costs. While a new appraisal or appraisal can end up worth the cost, more expensive actions, such as refinancing, could cost you money in the long run.