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 Insurance Terms
Background information used in life and health insurance underwriting to ascertain the probability of hereditary disease. The purpose is to determine if the disease is of such a nature that ...
Theory developed in 1931 by H. W. Heinrich; states that an accident is only one of a series of factors, each of which depends on a previous factor in the following manner: accident causes ...
Option to an insurance company to replace, reconstruct (repair), or reproduce (rebuild) damaged or destroyed property covered by property insurance rather than indemnify an insured in cash. ...
Written form which has precisely the same terms as the other property insurance policies covering a particular property. ...
Total limit on the amount of coverage an insurer will underwrite on an individual risk. The amount underwritten includes the amount to be ceded through a reinsurance agreement. ...
Same as term Debit Insurance: life insurance on which a premium is collected on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis, usually at the home of a policyholder. The face value of the policy is ...
Same as term Contract Holder: in insurance, individual with rightful possession of an insurance policy, usually the policyowner. ...
Death caused by a person without legal justification. Wrongful death may be the result of negligence, such as when a drunken driver hits and kills someone; or it may be intentional, as when ...
Pension plan format. After deciding how much to contribute, the employer can suspend, reduce, or discontinue contributions during the first 10 years only for reasons of business necessity; ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.