Hey Maggie!
Plenty of good advise.
Federal law does require a lender to remove PMI when value is at 78% or less of apprasied value. Today's lenders look at this many different ways these days. I work at a Indiana Broker and be more than happy to answer direct questions (don't worry I won't try to refinace you unless you want) email me with your lenders name and I will get you the rules they use. I may also be able to have an appraisor looks up some comps. $400 +/- is about right. Do not spend unitil you know the lender has the apprasior approved.
Hope it helps.
Tony

If you have reason to believe that your loan balance is in deed 80% of your homes value you can ask your lender to remove the PMI. As suggested by other agents you can have a Realtor provide recent sales in your area to help you determine if you are close to this value. We have an appraiser on our team that could actually provide an appraisal if you are close to that magic number that you could present as evidence to your lender. I would contact the lender first to see what they will need from you to initiate this process.

I would call a buyers agent who you would like to do future business with. Explain your refinance situation. Even though they are not "selling" or "buying" a home with you, a good agent worth their salt will be glad to assist. I would ask for a market analysis on your home using the past 6 months "sold" comparables, as these are the same "comps" an appraiser will be using. This should give you a pretty good idea of current value. The difference in this and your loan balance will be your equity position. To drop PMI, you’re looking for 20%, not 14-17%, or ballpark figures. You really need 20% or more because in today’s mortgage climent, appraisers are not going to fudge it or give you the benefit of the doubt. You need solid equity. Next you need to determine what type of loan you have is it an FHA, VA, Conventional? They type of loan you have will help determine your refi options. Example. You might be able to just drop MI with an appraisal, or you might need to do a whole re-fi. In the case of FHA, you might "streamline re-fi, and drop your MI and rate. There are lots of options out there rather than just "refinancing". It pays to shop around for rates. Ask for the "APR". This will give you a fair "apples to apples" comparison. Rates points, closing costs, buy downs all start to sound like alphabet soup after a while. APR boils it down to 1 number. Your agent should be able to explain APR. If not, question them why. 80/20 type loans open up a whole different set of opportunities. A good agent will have a pocket full of loan officers they have called on through the years. Remember that not all loan officers are alike either. Do they desktop underwrite, or manually underwrite? Are they a bank, broker, credit union? Appraisors will sometimes know the loan officer if they have been in the business for awhile. If the loan officer has a good reputation, and values are close, but justifiable, you just might get the benifit of the doubt on pricing. (Not that they will give you free credit on the appraisel, but may work harder to justify the appraisel if it's close) Knowing the differences can have a direct impact on how successful your refi can be.
I have helped 3 customers in the past month re-fi their homes. With one, we have been watching and timing the market and locked in a 5.375% 30 year rate for only $800. Refied through their credit union. Great rate, great program, also dropped PMI. I'm a 15 year broker with lots of refi experience and would welcome the opportunity to help you.

You need to have 24 months of current payments and have some equity in your home before your lender will remove any pmi. Contact a local mortgage broker in your area for details. Good luck.

Maggie
You might want to speak with your lender before you begin the process. Find out their current LTV parameters (some lenders have changed from the 20/80 requirements.) Also find out their current requirements for establishing value. Some lenders are requiring the comparable solds be no older that 3 months.
After you find out their parameters, the agent who represented you in your purchase would be happy to evaluate your property with the lender's given parameters.
If your home is within the lender's parameters to request removal of PMI, you may want to contact your mortgage broker or loan officer. Since he/she is the one who oriiginated the loan for you, he/she can give you contact information for an appraiser who is approved by your lender. (Not all appraisers are on a lender's "approved appraiser" list)
Best of luck

all good advice, best bet would be to ask your previous buyer agent to help you with this, he/she should be more then happy to do this for you.
You can also go to zillow.com.....but be aware it will not be very accurate if you are looking for a good nailed down number..

Many banks will waive the appraisal fee if you follow through on a refi, it just depends.

Also, look at it this way: $400 for appraisal. I am guessing you are spending at least $100/month on PMI insurance. If you are able to wipe this off, you will have that $400 paid off in 4 months.

http://www.MyIndianapolisHome.com

If you do not have a buyers agent. Call a local real estate firm and explain your situtation to the agent on floor duty. They should be happy to help you with a brief market analysis. Also, you can go to Realtor.com, type in your address and they will give you a list of homes recently sold in your area. Then take a drive by and see if they are similar to your home.

Can you phone the buyer agent who helped you purchase the home and ask him/her for assistance in providing a CMA? The lender will not accept this, and yes, you will need to pay an appraiser. But, the CMA done by another party might give you a better idea of whether the investment is worth it or not.

Maggie, I agree that $400.00 may appear to be a large fee for an appraisal but that is determined by where you live. On the East or West coast appraisal costs will be a little more than in TX. However, the bank will want actual value determination for your property, not a guess and not a realtor comp. But if you're paying an extra 50-120 more each month for PMI and relatede costs, is it not worth that $400.00 once to get rid on that monthly cost? Do the math and see what benefits you gain then if it makes sense, call that appraiser.

You can probably get comps from a local agent. You could also look at eppraisal.com Some lenders may accept this kind of information. But, in most cases, you need an actual appraisal. That said, $400 is a little steep for the average house. You might want to shop that a little bit.