Private Mortgage Insurance, Who Pays?

Author: Tony Robinson

Chances are unless you're right in the throes of purchasing your home, you've never even heard of private mortgage insurance. But, if you intend to purchase a home and you don't want put the 20% down that traditional lending institutions require, you're going to become very familiar with private mortgage insurance. What is private mortgage insurance and who pays for private mortgage insurance? This article will take the opportunity to discuss private mortgage insurance and why you're required to purchase it; we'll also examine the latest federal regulations governing private mortgage insurance.

Let's first define what private mortgage insurance actually is, and why you might be required to purchase the insurance. Private mortgage insurance is an insurance purchased to protect the lender, not the borrower. The borrower however pays for the mortgage insurance, and is provided to the lender instead of the 20% down payment normally required when purchasing real estate. The insurance provides the difference between the fair market value of the home and the actual price a lender may be able to sell the property for, in case of a default on the loan. Normally, the lender will require a 20% down payment and forgo the private mortgage insurance option. However, under certain circumstances if the buyer has an excellent credit rating, is well known to the lender, and is deemed to be low risk, private mortgage insurance may be an option offered by the lender.

The current mortgage market seems to be flooded with such varied products as the interest only loan and the 125 loans that private mortgage insurance seems to be a thing of the past. You rarely encounter a situation when the buyer is required to purchase the private mortgage insurance; those situations most likely to continue to require the purchase of the private mortgage insurance are those where the lender is a traditional lending institution. Mortgage companies have long since ceased requiring borrowers to purchase private mortgage insurance.

Mortgage investors, such as the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs, have recently come to the aid of the borrower by introducing an option to the primary mortgage market that allows borrowers to pay as little as 5% down and purchase only enough mortgage insurance to cover 25% of the loan; this creates a potential citing situation for the borrower. The borrower may pay a slightly higher interest rate in order to lower the cost of insurance that the advantage lays here: mortgage interest is fully tax deductible, private mortgage insurance is not.

There's another option, also regulated by the federal government and passed into law in 1999, known as the homeowners protection act of 1998 established rules for regulation of private mortgage insurance requirements once a homeowner reaches a level of 20% equity. What the law requires, in layman's terms, is that a lending institution must notify you once your equity levels reach 20% of the appraised value of the home. Once you the kind of 20% equity level, you must be given the option to drop private mortgage insurance. If this proposal had passed into law some 20 years ago, it would have been met with great resistance among the lending community; today, the interest only loan and loans that offer mortgages in excess of the appraised value of the home overshadow the effect of the 1998 homeowner's act.

Many homeowners seem to mistake the private mortgage insurance purchased in order to secure the loan, with that of the homeowner's liability insurance. Lenders are responsible for making clear the distinction between private mortgage insurance purchased to protect the lender versus the homeowner's liability insurance purchased to protect the homeowner. Both forms of insurance will need to be purchased, and the borrower will be responsible for payment of both insurance premiums.

Quite often as we go through the mortgage process, we encounter many unexpected expenses; private mortgage insurance is normally one of those unexpected expenses. As a consumer if you're contemplating the purchase of a home, contact your local lending institution, or a mortgage company in your area, and asked for information concerning the purchase of a home for first-time homeowners. The information you're provided should contain all the terms, conditions and terminology explanations that you will need in order to make an educated decision when choosing lenders and homes.

About the author: Tony Robinson is a Real Estate Investor, Webmaster and International Author. Visit http://www.ezy-mortgage.com/ for his tips on mortgages.