How big of a down payment do you have to give to avoid paying mortgage insurance?

20% of the value of the house or the purchase price, whichever is lower.

If you can afford this down payment, you are not required by law to take on mortgage insurance. This is because 20% is deemed enough equity that you are less likely to walk away from and default on a loan.

This means that it is best if you save up for a down payment on your new house. The waiting time you have while waiting for you to reach the required amount would be well worth the savings you will have since you can avoid paying mortgage insurance premiums for your home loan.

Mortgage insurance gives you the privilege of buying a house at less than 20% down payment. With it, you can even buy a house for as little as 4% down payment!

But, even if you provide less than 20% in down payments, you can still try to do away with the mortgage insurance payments. You can try to negotiate with your bank to have it waived. The bank may just agree with this, especially if you have a good credit rating. But of course, it's still up to the bank to decide about this.

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