Getting Rid Of PMI

The rules are all over the place, depending on what type of mortgage you have, how old it is, and in some cases, what state you live in. If you have a conventional mortgage placed after July 29, 1999, private mortgage insurance (PMI) may be discontinued at your written request when you're borrowing no more than 80 percent of the value of the property. It must be dropped automatically when equity reaches 22 percent. So if that's the type of loan you have, one way to stop paying PMI is to make extra principal payments till you've reduced the debt sufficiently. For conventional mortgages placed before that 1999 date, some states have their own regulations. Each mortgage or insurance company may have its own policy, and the way to determine what yours might be is to ask. If you have an FHA loan placed after January 1, 2001, mortgage insurance premium, MIP, will be dropped when the remaining loan falls below 22 percent of purchase price. No new appraisal is required. For older FHAs, the length of time for mortgage insurance was set at the start, depending on the size of the down payment. MORTGAGES TAX ON LOAN Dear Edith, Would I have to pay income taxes on the money I received from a reverse mortgage? I currently pay no taxes as all my income is from social security and is not that much. I don't want to have to pay the taxes. I feel that would be taxing my own money