Maximizing Appraisal Value of Home Via House Hack

[Arturo Pena Miranda]

Hi BP Community,

My wife and I recently bought a home in Orlando, FL. We used conventional, 3% down payment loan. For that reason, we need to pay PMI. We wish to remove PMI as quickly as possible and would like to convert a part of our 600 sq ft garage into another room.

We are not sure about the specifics of the conversion.  Would converting half of the garage and leaving a one-car garage maximize appraisal value?  Would leaving two spots maximize appraisal value?  Would the conversion, in fact, hurt the value?

Please let me know if you have thoughts on this issue.  Ideally, I would like to be able to contact an appraiser in the area and would be interested in hiring his services for suggestions on how to maximize value.

Many thanks in advance.

[Tyler Gibson]

@Arturo Pena Miranda The fastest way to get rid of the PMI is to pay down the loan. Unless the house was in distress when you bought it and you are fixing it up it will be hard to force appreciation. Using time and principal paydown you should be able to get to 20% equity and then petition the bank for revaluing and removal of PMI.