We purchased our home in XXXX. We had 7 % as a down payment and PMI was a requirement for our loan because we had less than 20 %. 
In XXXX, we refinanced our loan with HARP as we were " underwater '' but still wanted the benefits of a better interest rate. There was not an appraisal required -- the mortgage company based our home value off of what they felt were comparable sales and gave us a value we knew to be far lower than our actual value, but we were assured that did not matter. PMI was again required with this new loan. 
Right now, 3 years and 10 months after our HARP refinance, we have at least 20 % equity/80 % LTV ( based on comparable home sales, local mortgage broker estimates, online home value estimates on sites such as XXXX, etc. ) After researching the requirements of getting PMI off, certain we qualified, I contacted our mortgage company to request that they take PMI off. I learned that my mortgage company has requirements beyond what I read in the Home Owners Protection Act ( HOPA ) and because our loan is less than 5 years old with the company and " their investors '' require that I have 75 % LTV. I think I may actually qualify for 75 %, but wonder how they can have their own rules? PMI protects them/the investors, but if we 've proven ourselves to be low risk ( our income is strong, credit is excellent, all on time payments for 9 years of owning a home, and our Home Value is easy to determine that it has risen above the 80 % LTV ) why would getting PMI OFF be difficult? What is " in it '' for them to make the borrower continue to pay $ XXXX a year while sitting in a home with 20 % + equity? I suspect potential XXXX between the mortgage company and the insurance company? Some sort of kick back? When I asked the customer rep if the mortgage company works with only one insurance company, I was told yes. 
HOPA mentions 78 % being the legal requirement to have a mortgage company remove PMI automatically. However, this is based on the original home value, which for us would n't be for 10+ years, costing us over {$30000.00} on unnecessary PMI premium payments. This does not seem right and if not illegal, seems to at the very least be poor business practice that costs borrowers thousands of dollars. 
Because our " original '' value of our home when the XXXX HARP refinance closed was very low, our mortgage company believes our LTV is over 100 % and without me paying for an appraisal, it will not be changed. I believe more should be done on the lender 's end to better determine borrower 's updated home value and therefore expedite the removal of PMI. 
I was unable to speak to anyone beyond a customer service rep and was told that the first ( and only ) step is me paying {$550.00} for a home appraisal with no guarantees that they will end up removing PMI. 
If I did not act, my mortgage company would have us pay our {$260.00} PMI payment until the law stated they 'd have to remove it -- this would be the " midpoint '' of our loan on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX. We believe we today ( XXXX/XXXX/XXXX ) qualify to have it removed. We would instead pay the XXXX for 11 more years and 3 months, costing us {$36000.00} dollars. This is not okay. 
Here are some more information about our loan : Current ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) Estimated value according to my research : $ XXXX, LTV of 78 % or below Mortgage Company information : LTV=147.4 %, Scheduled LTV 78 % XXXX, Scheduled midpoint=XXXX, Scheduled 80 % LTV=XXXX