Mortgage/PMI question

Your best bet is to just contact your lender and ask.

Some places/lenders have a minimum period you have to wait before you can petition to get them to drop PMI, so if you closed yesterday, but magically had enough equity to qualify to have it dropped today, you might still have to wait (up to three years in some places).

Also, depending upon how much you pay per month in PMI, it may be worth refinancing again, anyway.

thanks.   Looking at all of those options- I am in the re-fi process, but want to figure out if it's more cost-effective to NOT re-fi. I closed over a year ago but not close to 3 years.

I'll post later about what an abomination the re-fi process is with BOA, the current lender. However, I want to warn anyone out there thinking of using them-- DO NOT. I absolutely cannot stress this enough.

When we refied in 09 (I think) an appraisal was part of the process.  We refied through BOA also (Although I didn't have a bad experience).  If you are currently in the middle of a refi then your PMI will be set based on whatever the lender's appraiser appraises your house at, I would think.  In other words, your refi you are currently getting is going to reset the rules on your PMI.  The previous refi won't matter.

If there is some dispute about their appraiser vs the one you got, then I would talk to your lender and see if a third is necessary or what the deal is.

FHA loans require that you pay monthly MI for at least 60 months regardless of loan to value.  So, most likely you will benefit by getting out of FHA and into a conventional loan with no PMI now.

PeterAK, Mortgage Guy

Your PMI question has already been well answered, I'll just comment on your dislike of BoA.

While I am not a fan of BoA The Evil Empire, these days *all* banks/mortgage brokers look like the devil.  Seriously.  In the most epic knee jerk reaction EVER, banks that previously would give a loan to anyone now seem to require ridiculous amounts of data/numbers/etc. to approve a loan.  Really, if I had a first born child I think they would have asked for it.  And the rules change every other week.  I have bought three houses and gone through another 3 refi's....on the most recent refi I had to fill out a form I'd never filled out before...child care certification.  It asked if you paid child care, how much, and if not, why not.  Um, hello.....I don't pay child care BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A CHILD!  I highly doubt I would have forgotten to tell you about a child!  And then there was the time I was selling some mutual funds for the downpayment.  I showed them the statement to prove I had the money in the funds.  Then they wanted proof I sold them.  THEN they wanted proof of where the funds went.  Um, really?  Where the heck do you THINK they went?  You're getting a big check next week!  Note that these requirements are all to satisfy the UNDERWRITERS...your lender/loan officer is generally just the messenger.

Anyway, just throwing the 2 cents out there that your "bad experience" might not be the bank so much as it may be the current mortgage lending environment.... :D  It makes all mortgage applications seem evil.

That being said, the lender I've done my last two refi's through has been fabulous...great loan officer...very responsive.  Always seems to have the best rates too.  So if anyone needs a refi recommendation let me know and I'll pass you his contact into!  I have no financial interest in it...I just like the guy because he's treated me right through two refi's!

This is too funny.  My mortgage was already with BofA and they denied my refi application!!!!!

I mean.....how stupid is that.  Whether or not they approved the refi, I was going to owe them the same amount of money on the same piece of property.  I guess they just wanted me to pay them the higher APR......

thanks for the PMI info- not what I wanted to hear, but I kind of figured it.

japarker24:
My mortgage was already with BofA and they denied my refi application—YES- that’s what I’m afraid of: I make more money than when I bought the house, the house is worth more and I’ll save hundreds of dollars each month by the refi- and you don’t think that’s a good idea???????

They’ve asked me 3x to confirm that my mortgage payments are up to date-            I’M PAYING YOUR BANK EVERY MONTH- YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE MY HISTORY! Even after I faxed over the proof and I told them I’d waive any privacy issues and allow them to access my payment history, that was not good enough= they’ve asked me again to confirm this info.

jldicarlo…I don’t mind satisfying the underwriters, but they should be anticipating what they will need ahead of time. To be asking me for info 6 months into the process and then saying, “we’ll rush this over to underwriting” –that is a poorly run business. I have been told at least three times that certain information would be their final documentation request and they still come back for more.

What sux is like I said, I’ve been told they don’t need any more docs and that we’re close to closing. So  when rates moved lower I didn’t think it would be worth starting all over again, but I should have since I was still months away from closing and now rates are back up!!

They're probably selling all of their mortgages to fannie/freddie... so if the mortgage won't meet their new "stricter" requirements, they won't give you a new loan.   They don't care about the interest... they're not the ones getting it.  All they care about is being able to sell your mortgage.