An Update

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Summary of my situation and tips for PMI removal

• February 2013, I called Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (WFHM) and asked what it would take to get PMI removed when we hit 80% Loan-to-Value (LTV).  I was told that I had to get to 78% LTV.  Which was completely wrong.  I asked for additional guidance and was told to fax their resolution department.
• I faxed the Resolution Department several times asking what it would take to remove PMI at 80$ LTV.  I was told that I had to get to 78%.  I pointed out the wording in the Homeowner's Protection Act.  
• Finally, we paid to 80% LTV in May and sent in a letter demanding removal of PMI per the HPA
• Several more letters come and go telling us that we need to get to 78% LTV.
• I complain to every executive that I can find and start this blog.
• An Executive Mortgage Specialist (EMS) sends a letter shortly after this.  She says that she understands that I am frustrated, but WFHM needs a "current valuation."  She does not acknowledge that PMI can be removed at 80% LTV.
• After getting nowhere, I submit a complaint to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in August.  A 2nd EMS contacts me, with the same form letter saying that my complain is complex and they need some time.  I should scan these in for the humor.
• After 2 months with the 2nd EMS, he comes back with information from the PMI department.  They will remove PMI if I can get a current appraisal.  At this point, prices have been dropping, and I didn't think that it would make the 80% LTV, unlike February when I first requested.
• Three months after the OCC complaint, OCC forwards it to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB).  This gets me a 3rd EMS, who doesn't know what the first two had done.  I got her up to speed, and then she stopped talking me because they mark the case as resolved after the offer.

At no point did WFHM acknowledge that they were lying/misleading customers/incompetent.  Their final offer was for me to get an appraisal more than six months after I first requested directions on how to remove PMI.  I found this to be unacceptable, but I don't have any contact with the EMS anymore because they closed the case.  I guess I could open another complaint.  Now that prices have gone up again, an appraisal would certainly prove that the value had not dropped.

We did get to 78% LVT last year, and WFHM did remove PMI at that point and close our escrow account.  That had its own minor hiccups.

My tip is to read the Homeowners Protection Act.  You can request PMI to be removed if you meet certain conditions.  The HPA says that if you make a written request (and you meet the minimum requirements), are current, and have a good payment history, then the last condition is:

the borrower satisfies any requirement of the mortgage holder for: 

(i) evidence of a type established in advance that the value of the property has not declined below the original value; and (ii) certification that the borrower’s equity in the property is not subject to a subordinate lien

My point is that WFHM did not requested this evidence until months after I originally requested to remove PMI.  Further, it is made optional in my PMI disclosure for this loan.  They also did not respond within 30 days of my request to have PMI removed.

Any lawyers out there?