Lenders who don't charge PMI

[Dennis Cobos]

Hi everyone! I will be investing in my first property (duplex or triplex) in the next few months, hopefully around May, in Sacramento CA. I've been working with an agent already and have started to narrow down my criteria and know what price range I can afford. For financing, I will be able to do between 10-15% max as down payment. I have heard from multiple people in podcasts who have done less than 20% down using a conventional mortgage with the perk of not being charged PMI. I don't want to be charged PMI if possible. Has anyone on here gotten a conventional loan with less than 20% down and not been charged PMI? If so, who was your lender? Otherwise, does anybody have recommendations for specific Lenders/Banks I can try who do conventional loans, allow less than 20% down payment and DON'T charge PMI? Thanks in advanced!

[Wes Blackwell]

@Dennis Cobos

As far as I know, there are only a few ways to avoid paying PMI with less than 20% down:

1. Serve in the military. VA loans don't require PMI no matter your down payment
2. Get an 80-10-10 or 80-5-15 piggyback mortgage. Essentially, you put 10% down and then take out a second mortgage for the remaining 10%. I believe the first lender will treat the 2nd loan as the rest of your down payment. Not sure though, not always available either...
3. "Buying Out" your PMI with a slightly higher interest rate - Usually, the rate bump is around half a percentage point, meaning that the borrower pays about .5% more on his mortgage than he otherwise might in exchange for dodging PMI. Not all lenders offer this.

You need someone in the lending field to confirm the above, but I believe those are three options. My friend @Chris Mason will probably be able to point you in the right direction.