One way to avoid paying PMI is to make a down payment that is equal to at least one-fifth of the purchase price of the home; in mortgage-speak, the mortgage's loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is 80%. If your new home costs $180,000, for example, you would need to put down at least $36,000 to avoid paying PMI.
Get an 80-10-10 loan
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.
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.
Lenders typically require PMI when the borrower has less than 20% for a down payment. If you default on the mortgage loan, the insurance policy will cover the amount of money left on your mortgage.
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.
Getting rid of PMI is fairly straightforward: Once you accrue 20 percent equity in your home, either by making payments to reach that level or by increasing your home's value, you can request to have PMI removed.
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).
The lender will waive PMI for borrowers with less than 20 percent down, but also bump up your interest rate, so you need to do the math to determine if this kind of loan makes sense for you. Some government-backed programs don't charge mortgage insurance.
The lender or servicer must automatically terminate PMI when your mortgage balance reaches 78 percent of the original purchase price — in other words, when your loan-to-value (LTV) ratio drops to 78 percent. This is provided you are in good standing and haven't missed any mortgage payments.
Pros of a 20% down payment
Lower monthly mortgage payments are the biggest perk of putting 20% down. When you make a larger down payment, you have a smaller loan amount This means a lower monthly payment and less mortgage interest paid over the long haul.
Private mortgage insurance does nothing for you
This is a premium designed to protect the lender of the home loan, not you as a homeowner. Unlike the principal of your loan, your PMI payment doesn't go into building equity in your home.
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.
It's nearly impossible to make that kind of return in the stock market, retirement account, or another financial instrument. PMI, then, can be viewed as an investment – a very sound one – and not a waste of money.
What happens if you can't put down 20%? If your down payment is less than 20% and you have a conventional loan, your lender will require private mortgage insurance (PMI), an added insurance policy that protects the lender if you can't pay your mortgage.
One way to avoid paying PMI is to make a down payment that is equal to at least one-fifth of the purchase price of the home; in mortgage-speak, the mortgage's loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is 80%. If your new home costs $180,000, for example, you would need to put down at least $36,000 to avoid paying PMI.
By putting a minimum down payment of 20% you can avoid paying CMHC insurance. If you put a down payment of less than 20% on your new home, your mortgage is considered a high ratio loan (ratio of loan to home value) and consequently you must take out CMHC insurance to cover the lender if you default on the mortgage.
You have $25,000 in savings to make a down payment, covering 10% of the home's value. ... Conventional wisdom might tell you to put down at least 20% of the home's value, and that may be right for those with significant savings or an existing home to sell.
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.
“In order to get your private mortgage insurance removed, you may need to be on the loan for a minimum of 12 months,” shares Helali. “After you've been on the loan for one year, the lender should automatically dissolve the PMI when you have 22% equity in the home.”
For homeowners with a conventional mortgage loan, you may be able to get rid of PMI with a new appraisal if your home value has risen enough to put you over 20 percent equity. However, some loan servicers will re–evaluate PMI based only on the original appraisal.
Conventional loans do not require mortgage insurance if the borrower holds 20% equity (the difference between the amount of money you owe and what your home is worth). So, if you currently have 20% equity in your home, you may be able to refinance your FHA loan into a conventional one and remove the mortgage insurance.
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.