Bought home 5% down. Newly renovated. Can i cancel PMI?

Jim, With an FHA loan, the mortgage insurance would be on there for 11 years regardless of the value or downpayment, even if you had put 20% down. MI cannot be "removed" on an FHA loan earlier like it can be on a conventional loan. This should have been explained to you (I hope that it was) when you purchased the home. That said, it could be possible to refinance out of the FHA loan and into a conventional loan to eliminate the MI if you have gained 15% more equity. I am right over in Seekonk, if you like I can take a look at some comparables and try and see if you may have enough equity first before you start worrying about applying for the refinance. Feel free to call me @ (866) 640-5513 or email: jarred@betterfinancing.net

You will need to refinance out of the FHA program. You can call or email me to discuss the process. Ron Milton Director MBA Mortgage. 617-510-4143 rmilton@mbamortgageco.com

with the new FHA rules you on a 30 year mortgage it doesnt cancel.... you can refi on to a conforming loan if the home will hit the 200+ mark after renovations.

Under the circumstances you describe, the mortgage insurance on your loan will remain for the life of the loan. You may be able to refinance in order to move to a conventional program, but you'll need to go through the mortgage process again, the home will need a new appraisal with strong comparable sales and you'll need to provide lots of documentation on the remodel. Best of luck!

As indicated, FHA loans have MI for the life of the loan now. Refinancing into a conventional loan is your only option. Even if you do not have quite 20% equity, you could greatly reduce it and you will be entitled to a partial refund of the upfront MIP you paid when buying (1.75% of the loan amount). I'm happy to help with the financing or just give you advice. So if you need more information, or a competing rate quote you can go to my web page, call or email. and use my live support button to discuss or get advice on anything at all with me. Web Address is: http://www.loansfromrob.com/quote/ Email is rhanson@gladewaternational.com and direct phone is 240-752-7549. Good Luck -- Rob Hanson

FHA will not remove MI.. it's for the life of the loan.. to remove MI, you would have to refinance into a conventional loan.. this can be done, and even If you don't have 20% equity, you still might see a significant savings to refinance, since the MI is much less than FHA... With conventional financing, you have to pay MI for at least 2 years, and you need 20% equity to petition to have it removed.. .. I'm a Broker here in Scottsdale AZ and I only lend in Arizona. If you or someone you know is looking for financing options, feel free to contact me or pass along my information. William J. Acres, Lender411's number ONE lender in Arizona. 480-287-5714 WilliamAcres.com

In an effort to provide further information, noting that the other lender comments seem to have answered your question.You may wish to determine whether the value is there first. If you contact a lender, I am sure they will walk you through refinancing to a Conventional program, which is the only way to get out of the FHA MMI (monthly mortgage insurance). The MMI stays forever with recently closed FHA loans.The important point is that it is likely you could benefit by refinancing to a Conventional loan, but first it is best to make sure you don't waste your money on an appraisal. It is likely that the kitchen and bathroom improvements would not add dollar for dollar value improvement. In all likelihood they will only increase the value somewhat on an appraisal. It is best to contact an appraiser to get an idea of how much the value would be different for your specific case and your specific home. If you contacted the appraiser who last did your appraisal (whose name and number are on the appraisal), they may be kind enough to shed some light. In this way you can make sure that if you decide to refinance to a Conventional loan, that you are not wasting the money on an appraisal, because if the value does not materially improve, refinancing would offer little to no benefit.

Jim, as others have said, the only way to get rid of FHA monthly "PMI" is to refinance into a conventional loan. If you truly have 20% equity (or possibly as little as 10%) that might make sense but the interest rate may be higher for conventional loans and you'll have most of the same costs all over again so you'll want someone to walk you through an analysis. The new rate will be based on your current credit score. Good luck

With an FHA loan you are now required to pay PMI for the entire life of the loan. Your option to eliminate PMI would be refinancing to a conventional loan. A conventional loan will require that you pay PMI until you have 20 percent equity in the home. Depending on how much value the renovations added to the home, you may or may not have enough equity to cancel PMI at this point. Consult a local lender as well as a Realtor to possibly determine how much your home is currently worth.

Jim,Based on the many comments below, you now know that the mortgage insurance will follow the term of the mortgage on a 30 year FHA loan under the new guideline changes in June, 2013. Unfortunately, the bank will not automatically re-appraise your home to eliminate PMI.As others have suggested, you are able to do a refinance from an FHA mortgage to a Conventional mortgage.There are products available that allow you not to have any private mortgage insurance with less than 20% equity.If you would like more details or would like to discuss your situation further, please contact me through my profile information. I am happy to help.Lynda Mckenzie

FHA mortgage insurance can not be removed based upon the home improvements. You would need to do a new refinance (with a conventional loan). FHA loans are based on pay down of the original principle based on the original purchase price. On newer FHA loans with less than 10% down, the PMI is for the life of the loan and can never be removed.

Can look to refinance you to FNMA/FHLMC, if you are still looking to do this. Give me a call! Nathan Kessler 702-522-6745 City First Mortgage Services