When PMI can come off

PMI is insurance you may have to buy with a conventional loan when you put down less than 20%. It protects the lender, not you, and it's added to your monthly payment. Known¹

You can ask your lender in writing to cancel it once your balance is scheduled to reach 80% of the home's original value (the lower of the price and the appraisal), with a good payment record; it ends automatically at 78% if you're current on payments (CFPB). Rule²

To ask at 80%:

• Ask your servicer in writing.
• Have a good payment history and be current.
• Certify that no second mortgage or other subordinate lien is on the home.
• If the holder asks, show that the value hasn't fallen below the original value. Rule^2,3,4

Extra payments can bring your 80% request date closer, and PMI must end automatically at 78% if you're current. No premiums may be charged more than 30 days after the PMI ends, and unearned premiums come back within 45 days. Rule^2,3,4

On a Fannie Mae loan you can ask to end PMI based on today's value, shown by a value check that includes an interior and exterior inspection, plus a clean payment record (nothing 30+ days late in 12 months or 60+ in 24). The balance must be at most 75% of today's value after 2 to 5 years, or 80% after more than 5 years. Other investors, Freddie Mac included, set their own rules, which can't be less favorable than the Act. Rule^5,2

FHA mortgage insurance follows HUD's rules, not the Homeowners Protection Act.

• Case number from June 3, 2013, with 10% or more down: annual MIP for 11 years.
• Less than 10% down: for the life of the loan, unless you pay it off or refinance.
• Case number before June 3, 2013 (closed after 2000): MIP ends at 78% of the original value, after at least 5 years on loans longer than 15 years. Rule^6,7,8

VA: no monthly mortgage insurance; a one-time funding fee instead. Rule⁹