As high mortgage rates and elevated home prices continue to crimp housing affordability, Federal Housing Finance Agency's Bill Pulte is seeking cuts to a common "hidden cost" of homeownership.
Targeting private mortgage insurance, which around 800,000 borrowers used to buy homes last year, Pulte is aligning policies between mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to allow loan servicers to proactively call borrowers when they're eligible to drop their mortgage insurance. Previously, only Freddie Mac allowed servicers to do so.
"If your Home is worth more, or you have paid the loan down far enough, you should be able to drop EXTRA Mortgage Insurance," Pulte wrote in a post on X on Tuesday.
"Right now Fannie Mae will not let your loan company call and tell you that you may qualify because your home has gone up in value! You have to know to ask. Freddie Mac will let them call. That is crazy. We are fixing that. Fannie Mae will follow Freddie's rule: if you may qualify to drop unnecessary extra insurance because your home has gained value, they can contact you and walk you through how to cancel your PMI. You can stop paying for coverage you do not need and keep the money."
Read more: What is private mortgage insurance (PMI)? Definition, cost, and how to avoid it

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