Owning and Keeping a Home
There's nothing like the feeling of being a homeowner. But owning a home is an ongoing commitment - new issues and responsibilities can come up at any time.
- Moving.
As a new homeowner, the first step you face is moving into your new home. By planning ahead, you'll eliminate a lot of last-minute challenges that many people face. We can help with useful information and worksheets to get those last minute details in order. - Remodeling.
At some point, you will probably think about remodeling, which can improve your enjoyment of your home as well as its value. Our remodeling section offers useful information about where and how to get started. - Refinancing.
Down the road, you may want to consider refinancing, which can lower the interest rate and monthly payment on your mortgage or allow you to take money out of your home's equity. Find out what you need to do to get a lower monthly payment or refinance to pay for other family needs. - Avoiding foreclosure.
And of course, you always need to manage your monthly expenses so that you will never be at risk of losing your home through foreclosure. If you're having financial problems, there are some basic things you can do to avoid foreclosure.
Resources
About PMI Insurance.
Generally, if your down payment is less than 20% of the price of the home,
you will be required to purchase Private Mortgage Insurance (called PMI
or sometimes MI). This protects the lender if you should be unable to
pay off the loan.
Federal law requires PMI to be cancelled under certain circumstances, for example when you have paid off a certain percentage of your mortgage or your home’s property value has increased to a certain percentage above the value of the mortgage.
Contact your lender for specific information about the status of your private mortgage insurance.
