Buying a Home
The home buying process may seem complicated, but if you take things step-by-step and use private mortgage insurance (PrivateMI), you will soon be holding the keys to your own home.
PrivateMI helps you buy a home sooner and with less money toward the down payment. For many qualified borrowers, as little as 3 percent or less of the home’s value is all that is needed to secure a loan, compared to the traditional 20 percent usually required.
With the high price of homes in many markets across the country, that 20 percent down payment is nearly impossible for most first-time home buyers. Making homeownership a reality sooner—as much as ten years sooner for most borrowers—is one reason why PrivateMI is today's smart choice.
PrivateMI has helped more than 25 million families buy their homes with the type of loan that best suits their needs. You can learn more by looking at our home buying chart outlining the process and detailing the use of PrivateMI, and by reading our consumer's guide to owning a home with less than three percent down.
Financing Your Home with Less Risk, Lower Monthly Payments and Tax Deductible Premiums
PrivateMI is a fixed-fee predictable monthly payment. Compared with other financing options, PrivateMI is often more affordable, both as a monthly payment and over the life of the loan. PrivateMI is there only as long as you need it; when you’ve built 20 percent equity in your home, mortgage insurance can be canceled. In fact, 90 percent of borrowers cancel their PrivateMI within 60 months.
By federal law, your lender will annually remind you of your right to request PrivateMI cancellation and explain how to do it once you are eligible. Your lender will automatically cancel PrivateMI when your mortgage balance is 78 percent of the home’s original value. For many borrowers, PrivateMI premiums are tax deductible.
Learn more about how PrivateMI offers home buyers more options and many benefits.
Help for Low-Income Home Buyers
If you are a low-income home buyer, you may be eligible for programs that include PrivateMI and therefore make it possible to buy a house with a down payment of 3 percent or less. The flexibility of these programs helps many people achieve homeownership and begin to build equity sooner.
Features of these programs often include:
- Tailoring loans to community needs and working with local community groups;
- Education components that help you learn about the home buying process and provide counseling to help you keep your home if you run into financial difficulties; and,
- An array of realistic options in such areas as down payment, PrivateMI premiums and credit verification. Proof of on-time rent and utility payments, for example, can substitute for a more traditional credit history.
Your lender can help you determine whether you qualify for an affordable housing program with PrivateMI.
Helping You Buy—and Keep—Your Home
While a loan with PrivateMI is more predictable and often less expensive than other types of financing methods, anyone can run into financial difficulty. PrivateMI companies understand and make an effort to help you hold onto your home if you need help. PrivateMI companies know that their success rests on your success, and they work with lenders to help you minimize the risk of losing your home if you have problems making mortgage payments.
If you lose your job, get divorced or encounter other financial challenges, PrivateMI companies will try to help you find ways to make your mortgage payment, protect your credit and your investment in your home. PrivateMI companies will work with lenders to restructure payments and terms, forbear from collecting the loan for a period of time, and will even loan their own money to borrowers. All of this adds up to one thing: PrivateMI means lower risk for borrowers.
A loan with PrivateMI has fixed and predictable monthly premium payments with no surprises, is often more affordable than other loan options, and can be canceled when it is no longer needed. It is also tax deductible for many borrowers. Learn more about taking the next steps toward owning a home with PrivateMI.