CALL NOW FOR A FREE CONSULTATION ABOUT PMI-("PRIVATE MORTGAGE INSURANCE") REMOVAL HERE IN UTAH:  801-557-8439---ANYTIME, DAY OR NIGHT!  Read on for more important information on PMI Removal Appraisals.......

Assuming a decent credit rating, any potential home buyer here in Utah can secure a loan for a house. Why? Because these transactions are secured by a very valuable asset: the home itself. If a borrower defaults on a loan, the risk for the lender is often only the difference between the value of the home and the amount outstanding on the loan, less the amount it costs them to foreclose and resell the property.

For this reason, lenders are very wary of lending more than a certain percentage of a homes value. Traditionally, this has been 80 percent. The cushion this provides the lender helps ensure that their losses from loan defaults are kept to a minimum.

In recent years here in Utah, however, it has become increasingly more common to see home buyers using down payments of 10, 5 or even 0 percent. Naturally, loaning this much presents the lenders with a lot more risk. To offset this risk, these transactions often require "Private Mortgage Insurance", or "PMI". This supplemental policy protects the lender in case a borrower defaults on the loan, and the value of the house is lower than the loan balance.

PMI has been a large money-maker for the Utah and nationwide mortgage lenders. The amount of the insurance often $40-$50 per month for a $100,000 house is commonly rolled into the mortgage payment. Given the size of the overall payment, this additional fee is often overlooked. Homeowners here in Utah continue to pay the PMI even after their loan balance has dropped below the original 80 percent threshold. This occurs naturally, of course, as the home owner pays down the principal on the loan. On a typical 30-year loan, however, it can take many years to reach that point. BUT HERE IN UTAH WITH RISING HOME VALUES, PEOPLE ARE GETTING TO 80% LOAN TO VALUE MUCH QUICKER!

And despite dropping values nationwide, Utah has remained strong overall.  A CNN Money report just indicated we are still gaining value at 14% even this year in the Salt Lake City area, for instance!! The link to the CNN Money site can be found on the top of my home page.  Take a look for yourself!

Until recently lenders were under no obligation to tell home owners when they had reached a point where the PMI can be dropped. That all changed in 1999, when the Homeowners Protection Act took effect. In most cases, this law now obligates lenders to terminate the PMI when the principal balance of the loan reaches 78 percent of the original loan amount. Savvy Utah homeowners can get off the hook a little earlier. The law stipulates that, upon request of the home owner, the PMI must be dropped when the principal amount reaches only 80 percent!

It is important to note that this law only applies to home loans whether first time or refinances that closed after July, 1999. Also certain other conditions must be met, such as being current on the loan payments. Buyers that purchased here in Utah before July 1999 can also have their PMI removed, but they must initiate the process and though the lender is under no obligation to do so, most will.

Of course, there is another way that home owners equity can reach beyond the 80/20 percent ratio. Many areas of the United States have seen significant gains in the value of real estate over the past decade. We have gained equity considerably here in Utah! In fact, certain areas have seen appreciation levels of 20 percent or more in each of the last 5 years. Even those people living in these areas in Utah with more modest gains may find that the value of their property has quickly grown to the point where the amount of principal they owe on their loan is less than 80 percent of the homes current value.  There are miles of homes in Salt Lake City and West Valley City which went for years and never got higher than $140,000, but have jumped up in the last 2 years to over $200,000--depending on the house!!  THE MONEY YOU COULD SAVE IN GETTING RID OF YOUR PMI CAN OFTEN PAY FOR YOUR APPRAISAL MANY TIMES OVER!!

The hardest thing for most home owners to know is just when does their home equity rise above this magical 20 percent point? A licensed real estate appraiser like us at Brady Valuation Group can certainly help. It is an appraiser's job to know the market dynamics of their area. We have years of experience here in Utah, and have done thousands of appraisals in this market. We know when property values have risen or declined--FEW HOME VALUES HAVE DECLINED IN UTAH.  MOST HAVE APPRECIATED CONSIDERABLY. We offer appraisal services to help customers find the value of their homes and remove PMI payments. Faced with this data, the mortgage company will most often eliminate the PMI with little trouble. The savings from the PMI removal pays for the appraisal in a matter of months--sometimes in the first month or two! At which time, the home owner can enjoy the savings from that point on.

CALL US TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT REMOVING YOUR PMI BY HAVING A CERTIFIED APPRAISAL DONE!!   801-557-8439  --ANYTIME, NIGHT OR DAY

For more information on PMI and the Homeowners Protection Act, try one of these links:

Cancellation of Private Mortgage Insurance: Federal Law May Save You Hundreds of Dollars Each Year