I’m looking to obtain mortgage insurance/protection on my home in the event either my husband or I lose our jobs. Just something that will pay the monthly bill until a new job is found. I see a lot of sites offering it and a lot more that just offer protection in the event of disability or death. Are there any companies that are recommended for this?

Laura L, Home insurance covers lots of different things. I don’t understand all the fine print of my homeowners policy, but my home insurance agent is always a phone call away. Try calling your agent or a homeowners agent in your town. http://www.goodinternetdeals.com/Home-Insurance.html They will be able to help you.

I just bought a house and have a loan for about 85% of the appraised value of the house. Is there a way of getting around mortgage insurance if you owe more than 80% of the value of the house? Thanks!

You can get rid of mortgage insurance a couple of different ways depending upon how long you have owned the home. If you have lived in it a year or more, you can have it reappraised and if what you owe is 80% or less of the value of the home you can request that the lender drop it. Beaware however that they don’t have to technically until you pay it down to 78% LTV but most will.

If you had a reason to refinance or pull cash out for some reason, you could also do a 2nd mortgage and as part of that transaction pull cash out to pay down the first mortgage to 78% LTV and then have a 2nd lien for what you need plus the other 7% to pay the loan down.

Either way, the lender gets to make the decision on whether or not they will let you drop the PMI. Start by calling them first. Another benefit of getting 80%ltv or less is that you do not have to escrow for taxes and insurance anymore and can handle it yourself. Depending upon where you live, that could be a lot of money.

I know that you can use itemized deductions on federal taxes, for the mortgage insurance paid, and property taxes paid.

1. Are there any other itemized deductions which can be claimed on federal forms?

2. Are there any deductions that I can claim on State forms?

Thanks.
I am considering moving to either Maryland or Virginia.

Depends on what state you are in. Some states don’t allow any deductions, even the items you can deduct for federal.

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Two days before I cloed my pmi went up 800 dollars. I now pay 800 a month just for private mortgage insurance. I have made all payments on time for a year. I just want it to be lowered to what is normal. O yeah and with this market i have no equity to refinance!

PMI stays on a property until the house reaches 80% loan to value. The bank usually automatically removes the PMI when the value is at 78% of the loan.

So, you either need to make extra principal payments on the loan or you need to sit it out and wait for the market to gain value.

Talk to your bank again when you see houses around you selling for what you think will give your house an 80% loan to value and get an appraisal done.

If you have no equity now, it is impossible to make it go away.

Refinancing won’t make it go away – unless, you get two loans instead of one. The first mortgage is done at 80% loan to value of the property. The second mortgage (at a slightly higher percentage rate) is done for the balance (in this case 20%). You pay both off at the same time, but the second is a shorter loan period.

It works because if you have a second mortgage for the same cost each month as the PMI, you are paying 800 toward your house, as opposed to paying it to PMI (money you won’t see again).

My friend is planning to buy a house in Ontario. He’s pretty young, in his 20s and he might buy another house when he starts a family. He asked me if its a bad idea to get CMHC mortgage insurance when buying a house? Does it put a black mark on his credit record and effects him when buying another house later on? Also I heard, starting October everyone in Canada has to put a 20% when buying a house. Is this true?

No, you don’t have to put 20% down. But if you don’t you need mortgage insurance – either from CMHC or another company to borrow from any major lender in Canada. There is a sliding percentage, highest with 5% down and reducing to nothing at 20% down. This is not a matter of his choice he is unlikely to get a mortgage without it.

It has nothing to do with his credit or subsequent housing purchases. What happens in October is that CMHC will no long insure 40 year mortgages or ones with less than 5% down. The other mortgage insurers have followed suit and some major banks have already implemented the policy.

My friend is planning to buy a house in Ontario. He’s pretty young, in his 20s and he might buy another house when he starts a family. He asked me if its a bad idea to get CMHC mortgage insurance when buying a house? Does it put a black mark on his credit record and effects him when buying another house later on? Also I heard, starting October everyone in Canada has to put a 20% when buying a house. Is this true?

No, you don’t have to put 20% down. But if you don’t you need mortgage insurance – either from CMHC or another company to borrow from any major lender in Canada. There is a sliding percentage, highest with 5% down and reducing to nothing at 20% down. This is not a matter of his choice he is unlikely to get a mortgage without it.

It has nothing to do with his credit or subsequent housing purchases. What happens in October is that CMHC will no long insure 40 year mortgages or ones with less than 5% down. The other mortgage insurers have followed suit and some major banks have already implemented the policy.