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 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 payment made by the borrower over and above the scheduled mortgage payment. If the additional payment pays off the entire balance it is a prepayment in full; otherwise, it is a partial ...
Proliferation in the number of loan, borrower, property, and transaction characteristics used by lenders to set mortgage prices and underwriting requirements. Nichification is unique to ...
Also called variable or flexible rate mortgage, an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) is a mortgage where the interest rate is not constant, but changes over time by the mortgage lender. ...
The dollar amount of interest paid each month. The interest payment is the same as interest due so long as the scheduled mortgage payment is equal to or greater than the interest due. ...
A contribution to a borrower's down payment or settlement costs made by a home seller, as an alternative to a price reduction. ...
The sum of all interest payments to date or over the life of the loan. This is not a good measure of the cost of credit to the borrower because it does not include upfront cash payments and ...
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 ...
The definition of interest is extremely important in today’s business environment where lending and borrowing money are the power stations of our economy. A widespread definition of ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.