But you could be better off with a conventional loan and PMI if you have a good credit score or can afford a larger down payment. ... An FHA loan's insurance premiums could remain for the life of the loan, which may increase your long-term costs. But there are several ways to cancel your PMI and lower your monthly payment.
In this case, the LPMI does save you a bit of money each month. However, you can never cancel LPMI, even if you pay your mortgage down below 80% of its value. Traditional PMI simply falls off when your loan balance hits 78% of the original purchase price.
The cost of PMI depends on your credit score and down payment, but generally it ranges from 0.3 percent to 1.5 percent of the original loan amount each year. That's an extra cost, on top of the interest you pay on your mortgage.
To sum up, when it comes to PMI, if you have less than 20% of the sales price or value of a home to use as a down payment, you have two basic options: Use a "stand-alone" first mortgage and pay PMI until the LTV of the mortgage reaches 78%, at which point the PMI can be eliminated. 1 Use a second mortgage.
The traditional way to avoid paying PMI on a mortgage is to take out a piggyback loan. In that event, if you can only put up 5 percent down for your mortgage, you take out a second "piggyback" mortgage for 15 percent of the loan balance, and combine them for your 20 percent down payment.
PMI is designed to protect the lender in case you default on your mortgage, meaning you don't personally get any benefit from having to pay it. So putting more than 20% down allows you to avoid paying PMI, lowering your overall monthly mortgage costs with no downside.
Let's take a second and put those numbers in perspective. If you buy a $300,000 home, you would be paying anywhere between $1,500 – $3,000 per year in mortgage insurance.
While PMI is an initial added cost, it enables you to buy now and begin building equity versus waiting five to 10 years to build enough savings for a 20% down payment. While the amount you pay for PMI can vary, you can expect to pay approximately between $30 and $70 per month for every $100,000 borrowed.
Because of the Homeowners Protection Act of 1989, lenders must cancel conventional PMI when you reach a 78% loan–to–value ratio. Many home buyers opt for a conventional loan because PMI drops while FHA MIP does not go away on its own – unless you put down 10% or more.
You can avoid PMI by simultaneously taking out a first and second mortgage on the home so that no one loan constitutes more than 80% of its cost. You can opt for lender-paid mortgage insurance (LMPI), though this often increases the interest rate on your mortgage.
Zillow notes that credit unions will occasionally waive PMI for applicants on a case-by-case basis. Some financial institutions will also ask buyers with poor credit or inconsistent income to get PMI, even if they make a significant down payment.
To cancel your PMI payments, you'll need to be up-to-date on your mortgage payments and have a good payment history. Send a PMI cancellation letter to your lender, who will likely check whether you have any liens or second mortgages on the property.
Sometimes called a “piggyback loan,” an 80-10-10 loan lets you buy a home with two loans that cover 90% of the home price. One loan covers 80% of the home price, and the other loan covers a 10% down payment. Combined with your savings for a 10% down payment, this type of loan can help you avoid PMI.
PMI rates can range from 0.5% to 1.5% of the loan amount on an annual basis. A mortgage calculator can be a good resource to budget for the monthly cost of your payment.
The greater the combined risk factors, the higher the cost of PMI, similar to how a mortgage rate increases as the associated loan becomes more high-risk. So if the home is an investment property with a low FICO score, the cost will be higher than a primary residence with an excellent credit score.
To get rid of your PMI, you would need to have built at least 20% equity in the home. This means that you have to bring down the balance of your mortgage to 80% of its initial value (home initial purchase price). At this stage, you may request that your lender cancel your PMI.
On average, PMI costs range between 0.22% to 2.25% of your mortgage . How much you pay depends on two main factors: Your total loan amount: As a general rule, PMI expenses are higher for larger mortgages. Your credit score: Lenders typically charge borrowers with high credit scores lower PMI percentages.
When it comes to calculating mortgage insurance or PMI, lenders use the “Purchase price or appraised value, whichever is less” guideline. Thus, using a purchase price of $200,000 and $210,000 appraised value, the PMI rate will be based on the lower purchase price.
Tip. Calculate the amount of your annual MIP payment on a new FHA loan by multiplying the current MIP rate by your projected loan amount. Divide by 12 to get your monthly MIP payment. Unless you know your exact loan amount and loan-to-value, consider this calculation an estimate.
Conventional mortgages, like the traditional 30-year fixed rate mortgage, usually require at least a 5% down payment. If you're buying a home for $200,000, in this case, you'll need $10,000 to secure a home loan. FHA Mortgage. For a government-backed mortgage like an FHA mortgage, the minimum down payment is 3.5%.
If you are purchasing a $300,000 home, you'd pay 3.5% of $300,000 or $10,500 as a down payment when you close on your loan. Your loan amount would then be for the remaining cost of the home, which is $289,500. Keep in mind this does not include closing costs and any additional fees included in the process.
For example, if you make $3,000 a month ($36,000 a year), you can afford a mortgage with a monthly payment no higher than $1,080 ($3,000 x 0.36). Your total household expense should not exceed $1,290 a month ($3,000 x 0.43).
The “20 percent down rule” is really a myth. Typically, mortgage lenders want you to put 20 percent down on a home purchase because it lowers their lending risk. It's also a “rule” that most programs charge mortgage insurance if you put less than 20 percent down (though some loans avoid this).