Homeowners, Property Tax & Repairs · Surprise rank #75
Drop PMI Early and Save Hundreds or Thousands a Year!
The federal Homeowners Protection Act gives many homeowners with conventional mortgages rights to cancel private mortgage insurance before the loan ends.
Who
Homeowners with covered conventional residential mortgages that require borrower-paid private mortgage insurance.
What to do
Start here: Check the mortgage amortization schedule and current principal balance, then contact the servicer in writing when approaching the cancellation threshold.
Eligibility: A borrower can generally request cancellation when the principal balance is scheduled to reach 80% of the home's original value and other conditions are satisfied; automatic termination generally occurs at 78% if the loan is current.
What you get
Borrower-requested PMI cancellation and automatic PMI termination can stop the monthly private mortgage-insurance charge once statutory conditions are met.
Benefit: Elimination of future monthly PMI premiums.
Possible value: Often hundreds or thousands of dollars per year depending on the mortgage and PMI premium.
Good to know
Important: FHA mortgage insurance is different. Borrower-requested cancellation can require a good payment history, no junior liens and evidence that property value has not declined.
Availability: Active federal protection
Why people miss it: PMI is often buried inside the monthly mortgage payment, so homeowners can continue paying after they have reached a cancellation threshold.
Sources reviewed: Aug 10, 2026