Pmi removal

[Carla Mastrangelo]

hi,

I am about to make an offer on a condo and am trying to determine the details of my financing which includes PMI. The offer I'm making is $228,600 (listing price 239k). My location is downtown Austin, so an excellent neighborhood with I think significant growth potential.

I am considering making a 5% down payment which leaves me with about $160 in PMI. I am curious how long realistically I could have that removed/I would reach approximately 20% equity which I Understand is the requirement for PMI removal. My mortgage lender usually this is occurs within two years, but some people are telling me otherwise. Any advice here? Are there other factors such as appraisal value that can influence the time line for PMI Requirmemts?

Thanks!