First Step - Gathering Information, Homeowners Protection Act of 1998

I'm generally a rule follower.  I like to do the right thing.  So, when we had enough money to get to 80% Loan-to-Value and remove PMI, I started to do my research.  This was in early February 2012, or less than five months after the origination date (September 26, 2011) of our loan.

The first thing I did was check the information with our account on Wells Fargo Home Mortgage under our escrow account.  I saw a handy link called "Is your PMI required?"  This was exactly what I wanted to see!  I took this screenshot today, so the information is still currently on the WFHM site.

I clicked the link to find out more.  I saw a section that gave a quick summary of the Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 (HPA).  Again, I took this screenshot today, so the information is still on the WFHM site.

I was happy to read the "Is your Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) required?" section on the WFHM site.  It is a summary of the HPA, which is a law that tries to keep mortgage lenders from screwing consumers over.  I believed that this section confirmed what we were told before signing the loan paperwork, and that we would be able to cancel PMI after paying down to 80% LTV.

In English, it says there are many factors to getting PMI removed that we don't want you to understand, but must mention because of the HPA.

1. HPA says borrowers can request PMI cancellation for loans that:
1. are for single family, owner occupied dwellings.  That's us!
2. originated after July 29, 1999 and have 80% LTV.  Us again!
3. loans before July 29, 1999.... doesn't apply to us
2. Payment history must be good.  At this point, we are four for four on on-time payments.  Looking good!
3. Loan-to-value: borrowers can request cancellation at 80% LTV!  That's what we want!  Also note that automatic termination occurs at 78% LTV.  But we don't want to pay more than we have to.
4. Investor requirements.  This must be were they cover their ass for high-risk loans or other things.  As far as I can tell, there should be no additional investor requirements.

So, it looks like we can request PMI cancellation, and it should be smooth sailing, right?  Of course not!

The next thing that I'll do is call one of the contact numbers to verify that we can cancel PMI once we pay the loan down to 80% LTV.