The Spokane mortgage guides
Remove PMI
Updated: August 2026
How to Remove PMI in Spokane.With or Without Refinancing
Spokane values have climbed enough that thousands of owners are paying mortgage insurance they could cancel this month. The lender will not call to tell you.
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You can remove PMI from a conventional mortgage three ways: request it at 80% loan-to-value, let it drop automatically at 78%, or — the route Spokane's appreciation has opened for thousands of owners — request early removal based on your home's current value. Only the last one requires you to know it exists.
The two slow ways and the fast one
The Homeowners Protection Act built two default exits. At 80% of original value you can request cancellation in writing, current payments required. At 78% the servicer must cancel on its own. Both run on your original purchase price and the loan's amortization schedule — a treadmill that takes most 5%-down buyers the better part of a decade to walk.
The fast lane runs on current value. Conventional servicers can drop PMI when a new valuation shows 25% equity after two years of ownership, or 20% after five. Spokane's median moved from the low $300s to around $425,000 over the last handful of years — which means buyers from 2019 through 2022 routinely cross those thresholds on appreciation alone, years ahead of their amortization schedule. The servicer won't volunteer this. You ask, they order an appraisal, and a few hundred dollars later a $150-a-month line item disappears.
FHA is a different fight
FHA's mortgage insurance doesn't play by these rules: with less than 10% down, MIP runs for the life of the loan. No request letter fixes that. The exit is refinancing into a conventional loan once your equity clears 20% — and here the same appreciation math applies, so plenty of Spokane FHA buyers already qualify. The catch is the trade: killing MIP by refinancing means taking today's rate on the whole balance. If your FHA rate is from 2020, that trade needs real scrutiny; if it's from 2023, it's often easy. That's a side-by-side I run constantly, and the FHA guide covers the insurance mechanics in full.
The letter that starts it
Value-based removal is unglamorous paperwork, which is probably why so few owners do it:
- Write your servicer — the company you pay, not necessarily who originated the loan — requesting PMI cancellation based on current value.
- They order the valuation; you pay for it, typically a few hundred dollars.
- They apply their equity test — 25% inside two to five years of ownership, 20% after — and confirm your payment history is clean.
- PMI ends; your payment drops the following cycle.
If the appraisal comes back short, you've lost the appraisal fee and nothing else — and you now know your real number. Some owners split the difference: a modest principal payment to cross the line, then the letter.
How I run the numbers with you
Tell me what you bought, when, and for how much, and I'll tell you which side of the thresholds you likely sit on before you spend anything on an appraisal. If you're conventional, we map the request. If you're FHA, I price the conventional refinance against your current rate and show you whether the MIP savings survives the trade. Either way you'll know whether you're one letter away from a smaller payment. Call, text, or start above.
On the record
Frequently asked questions.
How do I remove PMI from my mortgage?
Three routes on a conventional loan. Request cancellation once your balance reaches 80% of the home's original value — a letter to your servicer, good payment history required. Wait for automatic termination at 78%, which the servicer must do by law. Or use the fast lane: if Spokane appreciation has pushed your equity up, you can request removal based on current value — typically 25% equity after two years of ownership, or 20% after five — with a new appraisal or valuation the servicer orders.
Can I remove PMI without refinancing?
Usually, yes — that's the point most owners miss. Conventional PMI cancels by request or automatically; no new loan needed, no closing costs, your rate untouched. The written request goes to your loan servicer, not your original lender. Refinancing to kill PMI only makes sense when something else justifies the refi too — a better rate, or FHA mortgage insurance that won't cancel on its own.
When does PMI automatically fall off?
At 78% loan-to-value based on your original purchase price and amortization schedule, as long as you're current — that's the Homeowners Protection Act, not lender kindness. There's a backstop too: PMI must end at your loan's halfway point regardless of balance. But 'automatic' runs on the original value schedule, which ignores appreciation entirely. Owners who wait for automatic often pay a year or three longer than they had to.
How do I get rid of FHA mortgage insurance?
Different animal. FHA's MIP with less than 10% down runs the life of the loan — no 78% cancellation, no request letter. The exit is refinancing into a conventional loan once your equity and credit support it, which given Spokane's appreciation is exactly the move a lot of 2019-2022 FHA buyers are positioned for right now. Whether the refi math works depends on your current rate versus today's — I run both sides of that trade before recommending it.
How much does removing PMI save?
Conventional PMI typically runs a few tenths of a percent of the loan amount per year — on a $400,000 balance, often somewhere between $100 and $250 a month depending on your credit score and original down payment. Canceling it is one of the only ways to cut your housing cost that requires no refinance, no rate change, and no luck. The appraisal for a value-based request costs a few hundred dollars and pays for itself in months.
Does my home's appreciation count toward removing PMI?
Yes, on conventional loans — this is the Spokane-specific opportunity. Servicers can approve removal at 75% loan-to-value on current value after two years, or 80% after five. A buyer who put 5% down on a $380,000 Spokane Valley home in 2021 has likely crossed those lines on appreciation alone. The servicer orders its own appraisal or valuation; your Zillow screenshot won't do it, but the real number often lands close.
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