Have equity in your home? Want a lower payment? An appraisal from Southern Star Real Estate Services can help you get rid of your PMI.When buying a house, a 20% down payment is typically the standard. The lender's liability is often only the remainder between the home value and the amount outstanding on the loan, so the 20% supplies a nice buffer against the costs of foreclosure, selling the home again, and natural value variations in the event a borrower defaults. The market was accepting down payments as low as 10, 5 and even 0 percent during the mortgage boom of the last decade. A lender is able to manage the added risk of the minimal down payment with Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. This added policy takes care of the lender if a borrower doesn't pay on the loan and the market price of the home is lower than what the borrower still owes on the loan. Because the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is lumped into the mortgage monthly payment and oftentimes isn't even tax deductible, PMI is pricey to a borrower. Unlike a piggyback loan where the lender consumes all the damages, PMI is advantageous for the lender because they obtain the money, and they get the money if the borrower defaults. 
Does your monthly mortgage payment include PMI? Contact us, you may be able to save money by removing your PMI. How can homebuyers keep from paying PMI?With the implementation of The Homeowners Protection Act of 1998, on nearly all loans lenders are required to automatically stop the PMI when the principal balance of the loan equals 78 percent of the beginning loan amount. Smart homeowners can get off the hook a little early. The law guarantees that, upon request of the home owner, the PMI must be released when the principal amount reaches just 80 percent. It can take many years to arrive at the point where the principal is only 20% of the initial amount of the loan, so it's important to know how your home has appreciated in value. After all, all of the appreciation you've acquired over time counts towards dismissing PMI. So what's the reason for paying it after your loan balance has dropped below the 80% mark? Despite the fact that nationwide trends predict declining home values, understand that real estate is local. Your neighborhood may not be heeding the national trends and/or your home may have secured equity before things settled down. An accredited, licensed real estate appraiser can help home owners understand just when their home's equity rises above the 20% point, as it's a tough thing to know. As appraisers, it's our job to keep up with the market dynamics of our area. At Southern Star Real Estate Services, we're experts at pinpointing value trends in Powder Springs, Paulding County and surrounding areas, and we know when property values have risen or declined. When faced with figures from an appraiser, the mortgage company will most often cancel the PMI with little trouble. At that time, the home owner can delight in the savings from that point on.
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