Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) is insurance for the lender, not the borrower, in the event repayments aren’t met forcing sale of the property.
If the borrower is unable to meet the loan payments and the property is sold for less than the outstanding loan balance, the insurance covers the gap between sale price and loan value.
Critically incurring LMI results in additional thresholds in the loan application process.
The LMI cost varies by lender, a $750k purchase with a 10% deposit results in an LMI cost of between $15k and $18.5k presenting the biggest cost saving outside of the interest rate.
Lenders Mortgage Insurance can be avoided in some circumstances, whether it’s first home guarantee eligibility, a professional waiver or potentially a $1 LMI offer, speak to us about your eligibility to avoid LMI.