However, a down payment of 20 percent or more will allow you to
avoid paying for mortgage insurance, which is like shaving half a percentage point or more off your mortgage rate.
The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) was created by the Federal Housing Finance Agency in March 2009 to allow those with a loan - to - value ratio exceeding 80 % to refinance without
also paying for mortgage insurance.
Federal officials could also eliminate the requirement that
buyers pay for mortgage insurance for the entire life of their loan and drop it when the borrower reaches 20 percent equity — just as it is done in the conforming market.
The Massachusetts housing finance agency, MassHousing, offers a 30 - year fixed rate mortgage that lets you put down as little as 3 percent on a home purchase
without paying for mortgage insurance.
However, because modular home loan programs have a higher risk for lenders, they will require you to
pay for mortgage insurance which will cost you an extra $ 100 per month or so.
There is a very simple way to protect borrowers
from paying for mortgage insurance that is no longer needed to protect the lender: Require that lenders pay for the insurance that protects them.
Borrowers who use government - insured FHA loans must
also pay for mortgage insurance, but it's different from PMI — it is provided through the federal government.
Federal officials could also eliminate the requirement that
buyers pay for mortgage insurance for the entire life of their loan and drop it when the borrower reaches 20 % equity — just as it is done in the conforming market.
With mortgage down payments lower than 20 % of the home's value, you have to
pay for mortgage insurance until your payments reach the 20 % equity mark — in other words, when your loan - to - value ratio is less than 80 %.
Unfortunately, for those who made the minimum FHA down payment of 3.5 %,
paying for mortgage insurance for the life of the loan is a necessary service charge for taking out an FHA mortgage.
Depending on the size of your down payment, your lender may require you to
pay for mortgage insurance.