Here's a tip that might save you thousands of dollars

If you have owned your home for more than five years, you could save thousands of dollars. Homes purchased with a loan greater than 80% require PMI, or Private Mortgage Insurance. This insurance pays the mortgage company off if you don't pay off your loan. But when your equity, the difference between your loan and the current value of your home, reaches 20% or more, you are no longer required to pay PMI. If you have paid enough on your home in just a few years that the loan is less than 80% of what you originally paid for it, you should be able to qualify for a removal of your PMI payments. PMI is generally half or less of 1%, but it is still money going out of your pocket.

You may be one of thousands of people who are considering refinancing your home so you can lower your payments. Make sure you and your lender take into account the difference of the appraised value of your home and the amount of your loan. If the difference is 20% or more, you can remove the PMI payment.

Another thought on refinancing is that usually a lender will require you to get an appraisal to prove the value of your home. Before you spend the $400+ for an appraisal, ask the lending company if they would be willing to accept the assessed value. You will know what your assessed value is if you recently received your tax statement from the county to let you know what their new assessment is on your home. We all know that Grant County has considerably raised our assessed values since Moses Lake and other Grant County homes have consistently increased in value for the most part.

If you are just curious about the market value (similar, but not the same as appraised value) of your home, just give me a call at 509-431-5804 and I'll supply you with the sales of comparable homes in your area to give you an idea of what your home's value is.