I Have Mortgage Insurance Because I Didn't Put 20% Down-what Is That Insurance For?

It protects the lender for the amount over 80% if you default on the loan.  Once your loan falls below 80% loan to value (by the house going up and you paying off principal as you make payments) you can ask to have the PMI removed.  It can be a bit of a hassle to get them to do it but they will.

For more on PMI see
http://easyrentaltools.com/tutorials/MIvMLI.cfm
or
http://easyrentaltools.com/tutorials/pmi-deduct.cfm

Mortgage Insurance protects your lender. It is insurance to offset losses your lender would incur in case you do not repay your loan and the lender is not able to recover the costs after foreclosure and sale of the property. This is required if you do not pay the %20 down payment, however, after your loan is paid down to within %80 of the loan value, you can make inquiries about having the PMI removed.

The insurance, called PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) is an insurance policy that the lender takes out ON YOU and YOU pay for the premiums until you have 20% equity in your home.

This insurance protects the lender just in case you default on your loan.

I hope this helps!

It protects the lender for the amount over 80% if you default on the loan.  Once your loan falls below 80% loan to value (by the house going up and you paying off principal as you make payments) you can ask to have the PMI removed.  It can be a bit of a hassle to get them to do it but they will.

For more on PMI see
http://easyrentaltools.com/tutorials/MIvMLI.cfm
or
http://easyrentaltools.com/tutorials/pmi-deduct.cfm