• Contact the PMI department at the toll free number shown on your mortgage statement. Tell them you have 20% equity and want to drop the PMI. They will explain the requirements of doing so, including instructions on how to secure an updated appraisal.
• Refinance to a new mortgage program that won’t require PMI.

If you’re considering a new mortgage, you also have options:

• Put 20% down. If you don’t have 20% to put down, you can avoid PMI by getting a piggyback loan -- a second mortgage that allows you to make the equivalent of a 20 percent down payment by borrowing part of the down payment in the form of a 2nd mortgage. (For example, you might want to put 10 percent down on your new home. To finance the rest, you obtain a first mortgage of 80 percent, and a second mortgage of the remaining 10 percent.) What’s more, a piggyback loan has an income tax advantage: You can deduct the interest from your taxable income, whereas the cost of PMI isn't deductible.
• If you accept a higher interest rate on your mortgage loan, you could avoid PMI. (The rate increases generally range from 1/2 percent to 1 percent, depending on your down payment.) Because non-conforming or sub-prime loans do not conform to standard guidelines, they do not require PMI. And again, the mortgage interest is tax deductible.
• Consider a purchase Home Equity Line Of Credit (HELOC). A HELOC is like a cross between a conventional mortgage and a credit card. With a HELOC, you qualify for a line of credit based on the amount of equity in your home. For purchases, the lender "pretends" that you own already own the house and gives you a line of credit for 100% of its value. You then use the money to actually purchase the property.

We are experts at how and when each of these programs works the best. Before making any decisions, we will show you a comparison of the different programs on paper so you can make your own decision as to which program is best for you.