Does an FHA Loan Require PMI?
- FHA mortgages do not permit lenders to charge for PMI, or private mortgage insurance. Instead, the FHA charges borrowers a mortgage insurance premium, or MIP, fee.
- The mortgage insurance premiums take two forms with FHA mortgages. First, borrowers must pay a 2.25 percent upfront premium. Second, borrowers must pay a monthly premium equal to between 0.25 percent and 0.55 percent per year of the loan amount.
- The Wall Street Journal reports that as of 2010, the FHA wants to raise the monthly mortgage insurance premiums. If Congress accepts the proposal, the upfront mortgage insurance premium will drop.