Stop paying mortgage insurance you have outgrown.

Call your servicer first

Before you spend anything, call the company you send your mortgage payment to and ask three questions:

• Will you cancel PMI based on the home's current value?
• What loan-to-value ratio do you require, and how long must I have had the loan?
• Do you order the appraisal, or can I choose the appraiser?

The answers depend on who owns your loan and how long you have had it, and they decide whether an appraisal is worth ordering at all. Some servicers order the appraisal themselves through their own process.

Two different routes

Under the federal Homeowners Protection Act, you can ask to cancel PMI once your balance reaches 80% of the home's original value, and it ends automatically at 78%, if you are current on payments. That route uses the purchase price, so no appraisal is needed.

The faster route for many Central Florida owners is cancellation based on current value. That is the servicer's policy rather than a federal right, and it is where an appraisal comes in.

A quick sanity check

Divide your loan balance by what you think the house is worth today. If the result is not comfortably under your servicer's threshold, wait. If it is, an appraisal is usually the cheapest way to save that monthly premium. I am happy to talk through recent sales on the phone before you commit.

Common questions