Removal of PMI, is this standard ?

[Jason Lamb]

Hi All, I recently had my primary residence appraised for a HELOC which I paid $600 for. One of my plans was to get rid of my PMI. I owe 318k and my appraisal came in at 418k I just received the PMI removal form from (roundpoint). The form says that I cannot use the current appraisal and that I would have to pay another $600 for an appraisal from round point to verify the value of the home. Is this standard? I pay about $265\month in PMI. So I would like to get rid of it. I guess paying another $600 wouldn't be the worst but seems foolish. Any suggestions would be appreciated..

[Jeff Dulla]

@Jason Lamb You could do a whole bunch of things. You could probably refinance and do one brand new loan. There are shops that will definitely offer 4.00%, probably 4.125% covering all costs, on a refinance. You could also do a fixed first and fixed second product - like US Bank offers. The second is fixed as well - 30 Year Fixed. Rates should be pretty comparable to what you have but obviously you can drop PMI.