PMI Removal Appraisal: How It Works

What is PMI and why remove it?

Private mortgage insurance (PMI) is added to your monthly mortgage payment when you originally put less than 20% down. It protects your lender — not you — and can add hundreds of dollars to your monthly expenses. Once you've built sufficient equity through appreciation or payments, you can request its removal.

How a PMI removal appraisal works

Servicers typically evaluate a PMI removal request using your loan-to-value (LTV) ratio along with other requirements such as payment history and loan seasoning; the thresholds and rules vary by loan and servicer. If home values in your area have risen since you purchased, a current appraisal may help document your home's value as part of a removal request. Hudson Valuation Group does not determine eligibility; your servicer makes that decision. Hudson Valuation Group does not guarantee PMI cancellation.

Hudson Valuation Group provides PMI removal appraisals, developed and reported in accordance with USPAP, for use where the mortgage servicer permits a borrower-ordered appraisal, throughout Contra Costa, Alameda, and San Joaquin Counties.

Steps to remove PMI using an appraisal

1. Contact your mortgage servicer to confirm eligibility, their PMI removal process, and their valuation requirements
2. Confirm whether they accept a borrower-ordered appraisal and in what format; some servicers order the appraisal or other valuation directly
3. If a borrower-ordered appraisal is accepted, order the appraisal from Hudson Valuation Group
4. Submit the appraisal report to your lender with any required forms
5. Your servicer reviews the request and decides whether PMI can be removed

What affects your home's current value

• Market appreciation since your purchase date
• Improvements and renovations you've completed
• Condition relative to comparable properties
• Changes in the surrounding neighborhood or market

East Bay market appreciation

Contra Costa County communities — including Walnut Creek, Danville, San Ramon, Brentwood, and Discovery Bay — have seen meaningful appreciation in recent years. Some homeowners who purchased a few years ago may want to ask their servicer about PMI removal. Contact your mortgage servicer before ordering an appraisal to confirm eligibility and valuation requirements. Some servicers require that they order the appraisal or other valuation directly.