How to Get Rid of Private Mortgage Insurance

If you want to buy a house but can't pay 20 percent of the cost upfront, a lender will want you to have private mortgage insurance. PMI protects the lender from loss if you can't make payments on a loan with less than a 20 percent down payment. PMI increases a borrower's monthly mortgage payment, which is why most borrowers don't want to shoulder it. Short of saving up a sufficient down payment, however, there are only a few ways to avoid PMI or get rid of it.