Does the new federal housing order mean your mortgage insurance is being canceled?
A newly signed executive order has created an attention-grabbing headline: some borrowers could eventually have private mortgage insurance canceled proactively. That possibility is real, but it is not an immediate, universal change. The October 22 order directs the Federal Housing Finance Agency to establish a pilot program involving eligible single-family mortgages owned, guaranteed or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The proposed system would use automated valuations and other data to identify borrowers who appear to meet equity and additional cancellation requirements. The pilot would apply only to mortgages made after the program is established. Eligibility, payment-history, safety-and-soundness and contractual requirements would still apply. The White House What can existing homeowners do now? Many borrowers with conventional loans already have PMI-cancellation rights. For qualifying mortgages, homeowners can generally request cancellation when the principal balance...