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Do I need private mortgage insurance?

By Trulia | Published: Oct 14, 2009 | 36 Comments

Every lender wants security—some form of collateral that can be claimed, and if necessary, liquidated—in the event that the borrower doesn't pay.

Properties tend to be secured by "equity." That's the margin between the loan balance and the value of the underlying property. Consider a $60,000 loan secured by a $100,000 home. There is plenty of equity ($40,000 of it), so the lender has plenty of security. If the monthly payments don't come in, the lender can claim the home in a foreclosure.

When the equity is not so substantial, however, the lender has a problem. Even if the home is taken in foreclosure, its value may not match the money that's owed on the mortgage. And the lender must factor in the added costs of hiring lawyers, owning the home for a while, and then maybe paying a broker's commission to resell it.

Enter the solution: Private Mortgage Insurance, or PMI. Traditionally, when a loan balance exceeds 80 percent of the home's value, the owner has been required to insure his ability to pay. If he didn't pay, the insurer would step in and pay if off for him.

PMI has long been required of homebuyers with less than 20 percent to put down. The rates are determined by a formula like this: Multiply the loan balance by .005. So an $80,000 balance would require annual PMI of $400, which is divided into monthly payments of $33.

Most homebuyers need PMI because 20 percent of the sale price on a home is a big chunk of money. But when the principle balance drops below 80 percent of the home value (perhaps after a few years of payments) lenders are required to notify homeowners and drop the PMI requirement.

With the looser lending standards of the past decade, the lending industry devised ways for borrowers to dodge the PMI requirement. A borrower lacking a 20 percent payment was allowed to take out a "second" loan to make up the difference.

Someone with only a 10 percent down payment, for example, could accept one loan for 80 percent of the purchase price and a second one for 10 percent. The "second" has a higher interest rate because the lender is at greater risk and if the home is foreclosed, his lien is in a junior position to the first lender. And voila! No more PMI. Another advantage to the buyer was that interest paid on the second loan was tax deductible—unlike PMI.

However, financing tricks like that are mostly a thing of the past. At this point, very few lenders have much cash to put into second-position loans on purchases that are already highly leveraged. Another option in the past was to pay more interest on your first-position note. Some lenders were willing to waive the PMI requirement in exchange for interest rates .75 percent to 1 percent higher. Nice terms if you can find them. But if you do, check your calendar—you may be stuck in a 10-year time warp.

Comments

By Chad Bergman,  Tue Dec 8 2009, 10:35
I wanted to share the details about the tax deduciton of mortgage insurance from the IRS.gov website:

Qualified mortgage insurance is provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Federal Housing Administration, the Rural Housing Service, and private mortgage insurance (PMI) companies. Taxpayers can treat qualified mortgage insurance premiums paid or accrued during the tax year as home mortgage interest. The insurance coverage must relate to home acquisition debt, the insurance contract must have been issued after 2006, and the taxpayer must have paid the premiums before 2010 for coverage in effect during 2009. PMI is deductible on Schedule A, line 13.

In order to deduct PMI, the taxpayer must meet these qualifications:

Paid or accrued January 1, 2009 - December 31, 2009
Borrowers obtained mortgage to buy, build, or improve their home
If AGI is more than $100,000 ($50,000 if Married Filing Separately), the amount of mortgage insurance premiums that would otherwise be deductible is reduced or eliminated

**In today's environment of changing guidelines, overlays, market to market varances I would strongly recommend doing your homeword with your LENDER about the ability and chances of getting mortgage insurnace. There are any blanket yes or no answers for this since every borrower, property and lender is different. A good rule of thumb is to FHA to have a much better chance at MI, or put down at least 10% if going with traditional conventional MI coverage. 5% down coverage is very hard to obtain.

please contact me with any questions or clairification.

Chad Bergman, CML
Frost Mortgage
http://www.MyDenverHouse.com
By Cmay,  Tue Dec 29 2009, 03:11
What about the special rural housing loans with obtainable in Madras area? Low inerest, nothing down except the initial downpayment of $500 to $l,000 for escrow.
I am divorced, recently retired, and disabled, woman. I have the income to purchase due to a sales contract and funds coming in, but I have close to a $800 per month 2007 Jeep which I will be refinancing with the credit union in less than a year, the balance is $30,000 and I have paid two years on it. Traded cars due to accident and got upside down on the equity and didn't realize it. That is my major debt. By buying a home, my rent payments are reduced $500, so I will have no trouble with the mortgage. My plan is to also have a roommate within two years that will pay half the mortgage and utilities cost. Will he underwriters take that into consideration when reviewing my ability to pay. I don't want to be penalized at closing by the lender for points due to their thinking I don't have ability to pay in future, because I will, I already have several people asking to share my home and one is a very good friend of mine. how does this work.
By Cmay,  Tue Dec 29 2009, 03:17
I have paid $800 plus for rent for about five years here in Clackamas. I have been a bad girl and overdrew my bank account due to not watching my balance because I thought I had so much money, but I am training myself not to do that and hope the underwriter won't penalize m for that. Divorced women do crazy things like that after being married fo 41 years. Its like being set out to fly on your own and you learn the hard way. HOPE SOMEONE UNDERSTANDS WHAT I AM SAYING

I FELT I NEEDED TO ADD TO MY FIRST COMMENTS. MY SISTER IS A MORTAGE BANKER OR WAS ONE, BUT I FOUND RELATIVES ARE HARD TO WORK WITH, IT IS TO UNCOMFORTABLE. I JUST DON'T WANT A LOT OF STRESS OVER THIS. I AM LOOKING TO BUY A HOME FOR NO MORE THAN $80,000 . NEW NEVER BEEN LIVED IN - IN A HOUSIN TRACT IN MADRAS. HOPE I CAN MAKE THIS WORK. CMAY
By Cmay,  Tue Dec 29 2009, 03:19
okay, guess my typing must be bad tonight
By Debra Bruni,  Sun Jan 24 2010, 17:03
Special Note to all PHYSICIANS/RESIDENTS, DENTISTS, CPA'S, ATTORNEY'S: YOU ARE ALL QUALIFIED FOR 100% LOAN, NO PMI, VERY LOW RATES. Just go to http://www.doctormortgagealliance.com or info@doctormortgagealliance.com and the staff will assist you immediately.
NO PMI !! yea !!
I also feel they can assist "first time buyers" with NO MI loans even if they are not of the stated occupations listed above here, so good for everybody. I have had many clients use this service sucessfully. Good luck house hunting. DB
By Home Buyer Help,  Fri Mar 12 2010, 08:03
Great blog post on PMI, I was not aware that is possible to deduct on your taxes. I'm going to do some homework on this and put this information on my website. Thanks.
By .,  Wed Jun 9 2010, 12:54
Wells Fargo does have a bank portfolio loan that has NO PMI. The loan is called the Community Development Mortgage Program, or CDMP for short. Currently we can go up to 98% LTV, and again, there is no PMI, or upfront mortgage insurance premium, and this isn't a lender paid mortgage insurance deal. Although we do offer that too!
By Justin W. Richards,  Mon Jun 21 2010, 20:03
This is a great blog post... especially for first time home buyers. With as many fees as buyers can expect in todays market, this one of all could and should be one of the more important ones that buyers pay attention to.

Great article!
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By Elliott R. Oliva,  Tue Dec 14 2010, 05:42
With Conventional financing you can avoid PMI 3 ways.

1. Paying 20% down or more
2. Splitting the loan up into two liens
3. Ask your lender for a Lender Paid MI option

If you are not familiar with these options please contact me at your convenience for more details.

Thank you.

http://www.elliottoliva.com/FHAInsurancevsPMI
By Gina Fairchild,  Thu Jan 20 2011, 11:32
Here's another example of how PMI can help you increase your buying power. Without PMI, a $20,000 down payment would limit you to homes costing $100,000 or less. But with PMI, you could apply that same $20,000 as a 5 percent down payment on a $400,000 home. PMI gives you more options, and allows you to get more home for your money.

Gina
http://sunbrellapillows.net
By Kevin Walton,  Wed Feb 9 2011, 14:25
Like it or not, PMI is here to stay........for awhile and repeat homebuyers need to understand this. Many borrowers are still searching for a lender who does the 80/20 combo because they don't trust originators these days. Same goes for the new GFE. It's different than what they're used to. The PMI tax deduction is set to sunset in December of 2011. The IRS has been renewing it year by year so let's hope they do it again. Nice article and indeed is necessary for first timers to read
http://www.californiarealestateloanshop.com
By Robert Lee,  Wed Mar 2 2011, 08:04
Cmay I understand your frustation! Unfortunately today Lenders guidelines are extremely strict...you will most likely need to prove that you will have a roommate to help you pay mortgage and utilities. An underwriter will want to see a lease with her name on it.
Its best to buy now with record low interest rates in addition to Huge tax benefits

Best of Luck to you,
Bob
By Jeremy Schaedler,  Fri Oct 21 2011, 03:55
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By Jim Eyre,  Fri Nov 18 2011, 05:53
KeyBank Mortgage has 100% LTV mortgage financing, no PMI. The program is called the Key Community Loan, and it's a fabulous product. It is exactly the same as the Wells Fargo CDMP loan in all respects, except that KeyBank doesn't require a down payment. Borrower must contribute a minimum of $500.00 of their own funds to closing costs, with a minimum 620 credit score.
By Shawn Rosa,  Tue Dec 13 2011, 13:42
the title of this article suggests that PMI is optional. for FHA loans and certain other convetional loans with smaller downpayments, it is required
By Andy,  Sun Apr 8 2012, 07:34
i think i need a mortgage insurance for sure. will apply one for shortly? I have already started looking for a company offering the same which is best suited for me.

andrew
website - http://www.suretybonds.info
By Matie,  Tue Jul 17 2012, 06:59
Qualified mortgage insurance is provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Federal Housing Administration, the Rural Housing Service, and private mortgage insurance (PMI) companies. Taxpayers can treat qualified mortgage insurance premiums paid or accrued during the tax year as home mortgage interest. The insurance coverage must relate to home acquisition debt, the insurance contract must have been issued after 2006, and the taxpayer must have paid the premiums before 2010 for coverage in effect during 2009. PMI is deductible on Schedule A, line 13.

http://www.indexpost.com/
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By Jarodgrob,  Fri Aug 24 2012, 20:08
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By Jakim39,  Sat Oct 13 2012, 17:08
I need help. I have an uncle who is in a wheel chair and receiving SSI. He owns his own home that my grandparents left him. The hole family has turned there back on him. LONG STORY AND VERY MESSY . All he has is me. Make a long story short , I cant afford to heat his house and mine . He is getting to a point he shouldnt be living alone. SO there for I would like to know if he can get a loan using his house as collateral to buy a house that we both can live in so I can take better care of him.How do we do this with him getting SSI
By opondomusa,  Mon Nov 5 2012, 00:26
Private Mortgage Insurance is intended to protect a lender from borrowers who may default on a loan -- while also making home ownership available to a larger portion of the population who would otherwise not qualify for a mortgage.

REF: http://www.realtypin.com/news/story/764-the-ins-and-outs-of-todays-private-mortgage-insurance
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When shopping for a home, you're going to be asked at some point whether you've been "pre-approved" or whether you have mortgage "pre-approval." You're going to want to answer "yes" to these questions -- buyers who can are in a much better position to purchase ...

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