Stop Paying For PMI You No Longer Need.

On most government-backed financing the insurance stays for the life of the loan, so canceling is not an option. Refinancing into agency financing is what removes it. On existing agency financing there are cancellation rules, and a licensed loan officer can tell you whether you already qualify without refinancing.

Enough that the new loan no longer requires insurance. The exact threshold depends on the program and the property, and is confirmed during underwriting.

Your new loan replaces the balance you owe today, so the size is set by your existing mortgage rather than by a purchase price. It still has to fall within the annual conforming limits for your county, which is rarely the binding constraint on a refinance of this kind.

There is no fixed minimum credit score on this program. Eligibility is determined by automated underwriting, which weighs your credit history alongside your income, assets, and the property.

No. This is a rate-and-term refinance, which replaces your existing loan without pulling equity out. Cash-out is available on a separate Saxton program.

Usually yes, since the equity in the property is what determines whether insurance is required. Some transactions qualify for an appraisal waiver.

It depends on what the insurance is costing you against the cost of refinancing. A licensed loan officer will run both numbers side by side before you commit.

Not always, and it is worth knowing which situation you are in before you refinance anything. On conventional financing the federal Homeowners Protection Act gives you two routes that cost nothing. You can ask your servicer in writing to cancel the insurance once the balance reaches 80 percent of the home’s original value, and the servicer has to drop it automatically at 78 percent, as long as you are current on payments. On government-backed financing there is usually no cancellation route at all, because the insurance is written to stay for the life of the loan, and refinancing into conventional financing is the way out. A licensed loan officer can tell you which of those two situations applies to your loan before you pay for anything.*

On a conventional loan, yes, through the cancellation routes above once you have enough equity. On FHA financing taken out after June 2013 the mortgage insurance premium generally stays for the full loan term when the down payment was under 10 percent, so a refinance is the practical way to remove it. Which rule applies to you depends on the program you are in and when the loan closed.*