PMI ON YOUR MORTGAGE

Many people don't have 20% to put down on a home purchase and they borrowed 90% or 95% of the purchase price.   AND they used a single mortgage that has mortgage insurance to protect the lender (in case of default, the lender is covered for any losses due to interest accumulation, late fees, costs of sale etc.).  Many mortgage originators do not tell their consumer that this insurance can be removed WITHOUT refinancing.   If you have had your loan in place for at least 2 years and you have made your payments on time and your home has appreciated in value, you may ask your loan servicing company what their policy is for removing the monthly mortgage insurance portion of your payment.  There is no requirement for them to do this but most mortgage companies have a policy that says if you have paid timely for 2 years and your home has grown in value so that the loan is 80% (some are 78%) or less and an appraisal will support that, you can get rid of part of your payment for only the cost of an appraisal.  Take a look at your mortgage statement to see how much of your payment is being used for the MI.  If your MI is costing you $70 per month, for instance, and you can pay $300 for an appraisal to prove value, you will "recover" your cost in 4.3 months!