Las Vegas Appraisal Service, Inc. can help you remove your Private Mortgage InsuranceA 20% down payment is usually the standard when purchasing a home. Considering the risk for the lender is often only the difference between the home value and the sum due on the loan, the 20% adds a nice buffer against the charges of foreclosure, reselling the home, and natural value variationsin the event a borrower is unable to pay. The market was accepting down payments as low as 10, 5 and often 0 percent during the mortgage boom of the last decade. A lender is able to handle the added risk of the minimal down payment with Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. PMI protects the lender if a borrower doesn't pay on the loan and the market price of the property is less than the balance of the loan. PMI can be expensive to a borrower in that the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is bundled into the mortgage monthly payment and often isn't even tax deductible. Contradictory to a piggyback loan where the lender takes in all the costs, PMI is favorable for the lender because they secure the money, and they receive payment if the borrower doesn't pay. 
Does your monthly mortgage payment include PMI? Contact us, you may be able to save money by removing your PMI. How homeowners can prevent paying PMIThe Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 requires the lenders on nearly all loans to automatically cease the PMI when the principal balance of the loan equals 78 percent of the original loan amount. The law guarantees that, upon request of the homeowner, the PMI must be abandoned when the principal amount reaches just 80 percent. So, wise home owners can get off the hook a little earlier. Considering it can take many years to arrive at the point where the principal is just 20% of the initial loan amount, it's important to know how your home has appreciated in value. After all, every bit of appreciation you've obtained over the years counts towards dismissing PMI. So why pay it after the balance of your loan has dropped below the 80% threshold? Your neighborhood may not be following the national trends and/or your home might have acquired equity before things simmered down, so even when nationwide trends indicate falling home values, you should understand that real estate is local. The toughest thing for most homeowners to know is just when their home's equity rises above the 20% point. An accredited, licensed real estate appraiser can surely help. It's an appraiser's job to understand the market dynamics of their area. At Las Vegas Appraisal Service, Inc., we know when property values have risen or declined. We're experts at identifying value trends in Las Vegas, Clark County and surrounding areas. When faced with data from an appraiser, the mortgage company will generally do away with the PMI with little anxiety. At which time, the homeowner can retain the savings from that point on.
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