Possibly. But mortgage insurance is not the horrible waste of money many people seem to believe.Lenders view loans for more than 80% of the homeu2019s value as carrying higher risk, so they require a way to limit their exposure should the borrower stop making payments and they have to foreclose. Thatu2019s where mortgage insurance comes in.The cost of monthly insurance on a conventional varies according to the loan to value ratio and the borroweru2019s credit score. The monthly cost for a 90% loan is .30% for a borrower with a 760 score or higher. If the same buyer puts down 3%, the monthly cost goes to .69%. Lenders will allow the borrower to drop the insurance once the equity reaches 20% of the homeu2019s value. The insurance is normally dropped automatically when the loan balance reaches 78% of the original purchase price. For a 90% loan, this would occur in about 10 years, 8 months.There is another option for mortgage insurance that fewer people are familiar with. The buyer can pay a single premium, typically financed into the loan, and avoid monthly insurance completely. For a buyer with a 760 credit score, the cost is .87%u2014about $3,100 for a $400,000 purchase with 10% down.Borrowing against your retirement fund can be a good strategy. The interest rate should be very low, and the monthly payment is not counted as part of your debt to income ratio, since youu2019re just borrowing money from yourself. But donu2019t make the mistake of thinking that mortgage insurance is some sort of punishment. It is merely an economical alternative to a large down payment.I hope this is helpful. Good luck!