Private mortgage insurance planning

Is It Worth Paying for an Appraisal to Remove Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)?

Compare the cost of a broker price opinion or appraisal with the private mortgage insurance you may stop paying if a servicer approves an early cancellation request.

For many purchase mortgages, this is generally the lower of the original sales price or appraised value. Refinanced loans can use a different original-value definition.
Use this as a planning estimate. The servicer or investor determines which valuation is acceptable.
Replace this example with the broker price opinion (BPO), appraisal, or other valuation fee quoted by the servicer.
Use the threshold your servicer or investor says applies. Current-value rules can differ from the 80% original-value cancellation reference.
Use your PMI disclosure or servicer estimate when available. This field is used only for the savings comparison.

Results will appear after valid values are entered.

Loan-to-value comparison

The calculator shows LTV using both the original value and your estimated current value. These are planning calculations, not an eligibility decision.

Original-value LTV — Current balance ÷ original value
Estimated current-value LTV — Current balance ÷ estimated current value
Principal reduction to 80% of original value — A balance reference only. Other cancellation requirements can still apply.
Principal reduction to entered current-value threshold — Based on the estimated current value and entered threshold

Is the valuation cost recoverable?

Break-even assumes PMI stops after a successful request. If the request is denied or cancellation takes longer, actual savings will be lower.

Annual PMI cost —
Valuation-cost break-even — Quoted valuation cost ÷ monthly PMI
PMI cost over entered wait period — Based on the entered number of months
Conditional net savings — PMI avoided during the entered wait period minus the valuation cost, assuming cancellation succeeds now

Current-value threshold reference

Minimum verified value needed at the entered threshold —
80% original-value balance reference —

The Homeowners Protection Act uses original value for the federal borrower-requested cancellation and automatic termination framework for many covered mortgages. Investor rules can also provide current-value paths with different seasoning, LTV, payment-history, property, and valuation requirements.

Do not use the calculator result as proof that PMI must be removed. Ask the servicer which rule applies, what value it will use, whether a BPO or appraisal is required, and what payment-history or seasoning requirements must be met.

Related guide

Understand the value behind a mortgage-insurance removal request

Learn the difference between original value and current value, why a broker price opinion or appraisal may be required, and why meeting an LTV threshold does not by itself guarantee removal.

Can You Remove Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) Early?

Compare the statutory original-value path with current-value investor rules, valuation costs, seasoning, and payment-history requirements.

Read the mortgage-insurance removal guide →

For educational purposes only. This calculator estimates LTV, principal-reduction amounts, valuation-cost break-even, and conditional PMI savings. It does not determine whether a loan, borrower, property, or valuation is eligible for mortgage-insurance cancellation or termination. Review the Calculator Methodology for shared assumptions, rounding, payoff timing, and privacy-conscious analytics details.