FMOOD 0247: What Is PMI?

This episode is all about PMI: Private Mortgage Insurance. Private Mortgage Insurance is money that you pay in addition to your monthly house payment to protect the lender in the event that you are unable or unwilling to continue making payments on your mortgage.

 

Typically, PMI is only necessary when you are unable to come up with at least a 20 percent down payment at the time of purchase. There are some creative lending products that may help you to avoid PMI, however, they are usually only beneficial to the lender. They are typically in the form of a second mortgage or other loan with a higher percentage rate than the primary mortgage loan. I don't personally recommend this. I would do what you can in order to come up with a 20 percent down payment before you consider purchasing a home.

 

I do understand that sometimes it's not possible to do this, so you may need to pay PMI (or perhaps you are already paying PMI). If that's the case, I would recommend to find out from your lender the date that the PMI will automatically fall off as well as the date that you will be able to request that PMI be removed. In most cases, PMI will drop off on its own when you owe 78 percent or less of the home's original appraisal amount. You may be able to request PMI to be removed once you have built at least 20 percent equity in your home, but you will need to confirm this with your particular bank or lender.

 

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