Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)
Definition of "Private mortgage insurance (PMI)"
The concept behind a Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is pretty simple: it exists to make sure the lender doesn’t lose its money.
What it does is “buy” the possible defaults of a borrower to a lender. Meaning: if the borrower doesn’t pay the premium, the Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) enters in action and pays it on his/her behalf.
The PMI cost is usually included in the monthly mortgage payment in addition to the principal, homeowner’s insurance, property tax and interest, and just like them, it is a separate thing; it doesn’t build equity to your home.
Why do it?
Well, most of the time you don’t have an option; it is a requirement from the Lender that you get Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) in order to be able to borrow the money. However, it truly can be good for both parties: the lender doesn’t lose money and the borrower can get a house even if he doesn’t have the whole 20% of the home’s value to use as down payment, since lenders sometimes waive the need of it because of the safety provided by the Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI).
Real estate Tips:
One of the greatest insurances in the world is knowledge! Devour our Real Estate Terms and use our Real Estate Agent Directory to contact a local real estate agent when you're ready to go into the market for/with your house!
Popular Mortgage Terms
The lender's risk that, between the time a lock commitment is given to the borrower and the time the loan is closed, interest rates will rise and the lender will take a loss on selling ...
A computer-driven process for informing the loan applicant very quickly, sometimes within a few minutes, whether the application will be approved, denied, or forwarded to an underwriter. ...
A variety of unsavory lender practices designed to take advantage of unwary borrowers. Predatory lending covers much the same ground as Mortgage Scams and Tricks/Scams by Loan Providers. ...
Same as term housing expense. The sum of the monthly mortgage payment, hazard insurance, property taxes, and homeowner association fees. Housing expense is sometimes referred to as PITI, ...
Deceptive practices used by mortgage loan providers and other participants in the mortgage process. Scams by Loan Providers: Lenders and mortgage brokers may employ a number of tricks ...
Same as term Negative Points: Points paid by a lender for a loan with a rate above the rate on a zero point loan. For example, a lender might quote the following prices: 8%/0 points, ...
The standards imposed by lenders in determining whether a borrower can be approved for a loan. These standards are more comprehensive than qualification requirements in that they include ...
A non-citizen with a green card employed in the U.S. Non-permanent resident aliens are subject to somewhat more restrictive qualification requirements than U.S. citizens. Permanent ...
On an ARM, the assumption that the value of the index to which the interest rate is tied does not change from its initial level. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.