Re-Financing Advice to rid PMI

[Chris Daliani]

Hello BP! Looking for mortgage advice. I purchased property about a year ago for $365k. I put 5% down and therefore have PMI at $190/month. Since purchase I have put roughly $80k in upgrades/renovations. The area has appreciated on top of this and feel that the home would appraise in the $425k range. I owe $340k on the mortgage and therefore with those numbers have the 80% LTV to get rid of the PMI.

Does anyone have any advice or can refer a solid mortgage company for a refi and what I should be looking for?

Any input on this would be great! Thanks

[Melissa Dorman]

If you put 5% down I'm assuming you live in it and it's an FHA loan, in which case the PMI stays for the life of the loan. I have a similar issue and will be refinancing to a conventional loan after I finish my rehab. Many conventional loans allow you to have just a 15% equity stake if it's owner occupied and the mortgage insurance automatically drops off at 20-21%. If it appraises high, you could do a cash out refi and get some money back. On Point community credit union does not sell off their loans and mortgage trust is also a great trustworthy company in Portland OR where I am at.