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PMI removal appraisals
If your home has gained value or you have paid your loan down, an appraisal can be part of asking your loan servicer to cancel private mortgage insurance (PMI). Scott D. Kelley, Kentucky Certified General Appraiser #4265 (appraising since 2006) appraises homes across 19 western Kentucky counties.
Start with your servicer
Check your servicer's rules first, because most require them to order the appraisal and they set the requirements for cancelling PMI early. Ask for those requirements in writing before you pay for an appraisal. If your servicer accepts an appraisal you arrange, call us with the servicer's requirements.
How PMI cancellation works
Under the federal Homeowners Protection Act, as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains it:
- You can ask in writing to cancel PMI when your balance is scheduled to reach, or you have paid it down to, 80% of the home's original value, if you are current, have a good payment history and have no junior liens.
- For that request the servicer may require evidence, such as an appraisal, that the home's value has not fallen below its original value.
- PMI generally ends automatically when the balance is scheduled to reach 78% of the original value, if you are current. No appraisal is needed for automatic termination.
Removing PMI based on a higher current value is set by your servicer and the loan's investor, not by the federal statute, and usually involves an appraisal the servicer orders. FHA mortgage insurance (MIP) follows different rules. Source: CFPB, "When can I remove PMI from my loan?"
What the appraisal covers
An inspection and measurement of the home, research of comparable sales, and a written report with the value opinion and supporting analysis. How to prepare for an appraisal · how living area is measured.
Counties served
Hopkins · Webster · Henderson · Union · Livingston · Marshall · Lyon · Trigg · Christian · Todd · Logan · Warren · Muhlenberg · Ohio · Daviess · McLean · Hancock · Caldwell · Crittenden
How to order
Call 270-667-4216 (Mon–Thu 8:00 AM–4:00 PM, Fri 8:00 AM–12:00 PM CT), email admin@tradewaterrealty.com or use the appraisal order form with the property address, county, purpose and any deadline. We quote the fee for your assignment before any work starts. Office: 114 N Broadway Ave, Providence, KY 42450.
Frequently asked questions
Can an appraisal remove PMI?
Often it can help. If your home has gained value, an appraisal ordered through your loan servicer can show your loan-to-value ratio is low enough to cancel PMI, under the servicer's rules.
Who orders a PMI removal appraisal?
Usually your loan servicer, through its own process. Check your servicer's requirements in writing before paying for an appraisal.
Do I need an appraisal for PMI to end automatically?
No. Under the Homeowners Protection Act, PMI generally ends automatically when your balance is scheduled to reach 78% of the original value, if you are current on payments, and current value is not a factor.
Does this apply to FHA mortgage insurance?
No. FHA mortgage insurance (MIP) follows different rules. Ask your servicer how MIP applies to your loan.
General information, not legal, tax or lending advice, and not an appraisal of any property.