How to Remove PMI From Your Mortgage in Texas

I'm Bond Peter Njoku, a licensed Mortgage Loan Officer (NMLS #2670329), and PMI removal is one of those things that most homeowners don't realize they can request themselves — they just assume it disappears eventually and stop paying attention. The truth is there are three real paths to getting rid of PMI, and two of them you can pursue well before your servicer would automatically remove it. I walk existing homeowners through this regularly, especially once home values in DFW have climbed enough to change the math.

Path 1: Automatic Termination

Federal law under the Homeowners Protection Act requires your servicer to automatically terminate PMI once your loan balance reaches 78% of the original home value, based on your original amortization schedule — as long as you're current on your payments. You don't have to do anything for this to happen; it should show up on your statement without a request. The catch is that this only tracks your original purchase price and scheduled paydown, so it doesn't account for extra principal payments you've made or any appreciation in your home's value.

Path 2: Requesting Early Removal at 80% LTV

You don't have to wait for the automatic date. Once your loan balance reaches 80% of the original value, you have the right to submit a written request to your servicer asking for PMI removal. To qualify, you generally need to be current on your payments, have a good payment history over the prior 12 months, and have no other liens on the property. Some servicers will require a new appraisal at your expense to confirm the home hasn't lost value — that appraisal cost is usually far smaller than a year or more of PMI payments, so it's almost always worth it if you're close to the threshold.

Path 3: Using Home Appreciation to Get There Faster

This is the path most Texas homeowners miss. If your home's value has gone up since you bought it — which has been common across Garland, Mesquite, and much of DFW over the past few years — you may have already crossed the 80% loan-to-value mark based on current value, even though your original amortization schedule says you're still years away. Ordering a new appraisal to establish that current value can get PMI removed well ahead of schedule. I help clients figure out whether recent comparable sales in their neighborhood make this worth pursuing before they spend money on an appraisal — call or text me at 469-545-7180 and I'll look at recent sales near you.

Path 4: Refinancing Out of PMI Entirely

If you have an FHA loan with MIP that doesn't have an automatic removal date — which happens when your original down payment was under 10% — refinancing into a conventional loan is typically the only realistic way to eliminate the insurance premium. Once you refinance into a conventional loan with at least 20% equity, PMI simply doesn't apply. This only makes sense if current rates work for your situation, since you're resetting your loan terms, so I always run the full break-even math including closing costs before recommending it. My refinance page covers the broader rate/term refinance process, and my PMI vs. MIP guide explains why FHA and conventional insurance behave so differently.

What to Do Right Now

If you think you're close to any of these thresholds, the fastest way to know for sure is to have someone actually run your numbers — your original purchase price, your current loan balance, and recent comparable sales in your area. I do this for homeowners across Garland, Mesquite, Dallas, and the rest of DFW at no cost, and it takes just a few minutes to tell you whether you're already eligible for removal or how much closer you need to get. Call or text me at 469-545-7180, and if a refinance turns out to make more sense than a removal request, I can walk you through that path too.