Mortgage Insurance: What You Should Know

Mortgage insurance stands as a guaranty that reduces or if not, eliminates the loss to the lender in an event that the borrower defaults on the mortgage. As a result, the lender and the mortgage insurer also share the risks of lending a property or an amount of money to the borrower.

There are times when people often confused the term mortgage life insurance with mortgage insurance. Mortgage life insurance is different from the latter because it covers the event of the death of the borrower, or the homeowner's insurance. It also serves as a guaranty that the homeowner is protected from loss due to any uncontrollable events such as fire, flood, or other natural disaster.

From a buyer's perspective, this type of insurance gives a lot of benefits to the buyer. One of the benefits from this insurance policy is that it can help increase the buying power of the homeowner. It can also allow buyers to own their property sooner. It is also very convenient for first time home buyers to use mortgage insurance in order for them to afford their first home.

It will also be easier for them to get a better of a more expensive home later if they wish because they will only be required to put lesser amount for the down payment. Another benefit of this insurance policy is that it can give homeowners gain tax advantages. It is because they will be entitled for reduced interest to claim. The cash that they would have used can be used if the buyer is interested to invest in other properties, or would need an amount for moving costs and other necessary expenses.

Mortgage insurance offers a lot of help for borrowers. Often times, lenders would ask the borrower to give at least 20% of the home's price as a down payment. But if the borrower has mortgage insurance, the lender can allow them to give at least 5% to 10% down payment and that is already a great value especially for buyers who don't have enough savings. The insurance will guaranty your lender that you are really committed to meet your obligation as the borrower or the buyer.

This insurance is also meant to protect the lender and the bank on the event that you decide to default your loan. For instances where you decide to default your loan and you want to claim for benefits, then you will be required to file a claim but the payment however will still go to the lender.

Basically, it will be the borrower who will pay for the mortgage insurance. Though there are a lot of premiums to choose from, you must still be aware of the fact that a monthly amount may be included as the payment for the property to be given to the lender.

Even with a lot of benefits, this insurance policy also has some disadvantages. One of it is the risk of losing your home once you failed to file a claim the moment you realize that you cannot keep up with the payments. It is also very important that you maintain good communication with your lender and inform them right away if you can't make the payment. You are also at risk of ending up with damaged credit the moment your insurance company failed to make the payments on time.
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