PMI is a type of insurance that protects the lender, not the borrower, in case the homeowner defaults on a conventional loan.

This article was first published on NerdWallet.com. Buying a home usually has a monster obstacle — coming up with a sufficient down payment. You can put less than the traditional 20% down payment but ...

Paul L. Underwood is a writer and editor specializing in finance whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Esquire, Texas Monthly and more. Paul lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, two ...

Buying a new home comes with many additional costs — one being private mortgage insurance (PMI) for home purchases with less than a 20% down payment on a conventional loan. This insurance protects the ...

When purchasing a home with a conventional loan, you might be required to pay for private mortgage insurance (PMI). This is generally the case if your down payment doesn’t meet a certain threshold of ...

Buying a home usually has a monster obstacle — coming up with a sufficient down payment. You can put less than the traditional 20% down payment but the lender will likely require you to buy mortgage ...

Dreaming of buying a home? If you don’t have a 20% down payment on the home’s purchase price, lenders will require you to get private mortgage insurance. Private mortgage insurance protects the lender ...