Canceling Private Mortgage Insurance

Private Mortgage Insurance is a special type of insurance policy, provided to protect the lender against loss if a borrower defaults on their loan. Most lenders require PMI when a homebuyer makes a down payment of less than 20% of the home's purchase price.

The Homeowners Protection Act provides two methods for you to remove PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) from your home loan: requesting cancellation or automatic cancellation. Keep in mind that these rules apply to conventional mortgage loans and are only applicable to loans that closed after July 29, 1999.

Requesting PMI Cancellation

You can request that your lender cancel PMI when the principal balance of your mortgage falls, or is scheduled to fall to 80 % of the original value of your home.

Here are some additional requirements that must be met in order to cancel PMI:

• Your request must be in writing.
• You must have a good payment history and be current
• on your payments.
• Your lender may require you to certify that there are no junior liens (such as a second mortgage) on your home.
• Your lender can also require you to provide evidence, usually with an appraisal, that the value of your property hasn't declined below the value of the home when you first bought it. If the value of your home has decreased, you may not be able to cancel PMI.