Have equity in your home? Want a lower payment? An appraisal from Williams Appraisal and Realty Services, LLC can help you get rid of your PMI.When buying a house, a 20% down payment is typically the standard. Since the liability for the lender is generally only the remainder between the home value and the amount remaining on the loan, the 20% adds a nice cushion against the expenses of foreclosure, reselling the home, and natural value changeson the chance that a purchaser doesn't pay. During the recent mortgage upturn of the last decade, it became common to see lenders taking down payments of 10, 5 or even 0 percent. How does a lender endure the added risk of the low down payment? The answer is Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI. PMI covers the lender in the event a borrower is unable to pay on the loan and the market price of the house is lower than the loan balance. PMI can be pricey to a borrower on the grounds that the $40-$50 a month per $100,000 borrowed is rolled into the mortgage payment and oftentimes isn't even tax deductible. Separate from a piggyback loan where the lender absorbs all the losses, PMI is lucrative for the lender because they obtain the money, and they get paid 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 home owners can keep from bearing the expense of PMIThe Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 obligates the lenders on most loans to automatically stop the PMI when the principal balance of the loan equals 78 percent of the primary loan amount. The law guarantees that, at the request of the home owner, the PMI must be abandoned when the principal amount reaches only 80 percent. So, keen home owners can get off the hook a little early. Because it can take countless years to reach the point where the principal is just 20% of the original loan amount, it's necessary to know how your home has increased in value. After all, all of the appreciation you've obtained over the years counts towards dismissing PMI. So what's the reason for paying it after the balance of your loan has fallen below the 80% threshold? Your neighborhood might not be adopting the national trends and/or your home could have secured equity before things simmered down, so even when nationwide trends hint at declining home values, you should understand that real estate is local. An accredited, licensed real estate appraiser can help home owners understand just when their home's equity goes over the 20% point, as it's a tough thing to know. As appraisers, it's our job to understand the market dynamics of our area. At Williams Appraisal and Realty Services, LLC, we're experts at analyzing value trends in Charleston, Charleston County and surrounding areas, and we know when property values have risen or declined. Faced with data from an appraiser, the mortgage company will often remove the PMI with little trouble. At which time, the homeowner can delight in the savings from that point on.
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